Author Topic: Amateur flying and aeroplanes in the midlands  (Read 5707 times)

avion ancien

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Re: Amateur flying and aeroplanes in the midlands
« Reply #11 on: June 06, 2017, 04:43:20 PM »
Have you yet found the photos, pieman?

MikeB1

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Re: Taylor C103 - Wagtail 1937 to 1950
« Reply #12 on: July 30, 2020, 04:44:40 PM »
[size=0pt]My father Leonard Bracey and Fred Taylor built [/size][size=0pt]Wagtail, an ultra-light weight aircraft, in 1937/38 for the cost of £15.00. They flew it until late 1948 after which it was sold, Fred Taylor emigrating to Australia in 1950. It was stored at Dunton Hall during the war years but rebuilt from 1945 onward. From correspondence between my father and Fred in the 1980’s it would appear Fred’s relatives live in the Gloucester / Cheltenham area and I am looking to contact them. I do not have current surnames but the names I have are Janet, Silvia, Gordon and Audrey. The narrative on the attachment was recording in the 1980’s by my father and digitised by me as part of preserving his recording of the time constructing and flying Wagtail. Can anyone help me to contact the Taylor family?[/size]
[size=0pt]Michael Bracey[/size][size=0pt][/size]

avion ancien

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Re: Amateur flying and aeroplanes in the midlands
« Reply #13 on: July 30, 2020, 05:36:07 PM »
That’s a wonderful photograph, MikeB1. I assume that the two gentlemen in it are your father and Fred Taylor. Which are which?

The caption to the photograph suggests that it was taken at Castle Bromwich Aerodrome in 1948. If so, presumably the Wagtail was flown in and, if so, your father and/or Fred Taylor were chancing their arms, bearing in mind that the Wagtail wasn’t registered, didn’t have a certificate of airworthiness, etc. – although apparently their solution to this problem was to describe all their flights as ‘tests’ which, they concluded, didn’t require adherence to the legal ‘niceties’!

Do you have any other photographs of the Wagtail or any of the other aeroplanes built by Fred Taylor and your father? If you do, I suspect that I’m not the only person who’d be delighted to see them.

roy one

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Re: Amateur flying and aeroplanes in the midlands
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2020, 07:33:35 PM »
enjoy




each day is a blessing and I bless each day when it comes

avion ancien

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Re: Amateur flying and aeroplanes in the midlands
« Reply #15 on: August 05, 2020, 04:05:51 PM »
Was that the actual colour scheme?

roy one

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Re: Amateur flying and aeroplanes in the midlands
« Reply #16 on: August 05, 2020, 05:15:37 PM »
just a guess i can make it any colour you    like O0
each day is a blessing and I bless each day when it comes

avion ancien

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Re: Amateur flying and aeroplanes in the midlands
« Reply #17 on: August 05, 2020, 05:31:40 PM »
Artistic licence, then!  :)

Martyp

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Re: Amateur flying and aeroplanes in the midlands
« Reply #18 on: March 31, 2022, 07:49:59 PM »
Hi Mike Fred was my great grandad. Janet is my mum and sylvie is my great aunt. The other children of Fred was my nan Jean (she stayed in england)  pat , sylvie and  john all emigrated to South Australia.
My email is marty Pearce @ btinternet.com

avion ancien

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Re: Amateur flying and aeroplanes in the midlands
« Reply #19 on: June 23, 2022, 01:54:12 PM »
Although I made reference of it in my initial post, no subsequent mention has been made of the Burgoyne-Stirling Dicer, built by Don Burgoyne at Knowle in about 1937-39, bearing the 'borrowed' registration mark G-AECN. There aren't many images of this aeroplane. I've attached a copy of the only one that I have.

MikeB1

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Re: Amateur flying and aeroplanes in the midlands
« Reply #20 on: June 24, 2022, 07:13:26 PM »
Hi Marty P and Roy One
I have reconstructed your email address and have forwarded a response to you, I look forward to hearing from you - mike @ bracey-online.com
The coloured picture of Wagtail certainly brings a different perspective to the story. Nowhere in my father’s text does he refer to the colour of Wagtail so some artistic license is quite valid, and the black and white picture would suggest the fuselage is two tone. I would however suggest a couple of points, one paint adds weight and cost to the aircraft and given it was linin covered and doped I am not sure they painted it and there for the colour would be an off white, the area on either side of the cockpit was plywood and therefore probably was panted. 
Mike


 

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