Historic Aircraft Returns Home to Prestwick for Ayr 800
The next event in Ayr 800 – the year-long calendar of activities to mark the 800th anniversary this year of Ayr being granted Royal Burgh status – will be a celebration of an important date in Ayrshire’s history that takes place on Saturday, June 25 to mark the golden jubilee of the first flight of the Twin Pioneer airliner in 1955.
(PRWEB) June 19, 2005 -- The next event in Ayr 800 – the year-long calendar
of activities to mark the 800th anniversary this year of Ayr being granted Royal
Burgh status – will be a celebration of an important date in Ayrshire’s history
that takes place on Saturday, June 25 to mark the golden jubilee of the first
flight of the Twin Pioneer airliner in 1955.
The 16-passenger Twin
Pioneer was designed and built at the Scottish Aviation factory at Prestwick
Airport with a requirement to have short take-off and landing characteristics,
so that it could be used in remote parts of the world with small and very basic
airfield facilities.
Some of the stories covering the design and
operation of Twin Pioneers in civil and RAF service will be recounted at a
conference on the aircraft to be held at the Marine Hotel in Troon on 25 June,
the 50th anniversary date.
The anniversary weekend will also be marked
by the return of a Twin Pioneer to Prestwick Airport. It is scheduled to touch
down at Prestwick Airport at 1600 hours on Friday, June 24, 2005.
Owned
by Air Atlantique of Coventry and the sole operational example in the world,
Twin Pioneer G-APRS will offer historic pleasure flights on Saturday 25 and
Sunday, June 26, from Orangefield, off Monkton Road, Prestwick.
The Twin
Pioneer had its origin in the smaller Prestwick Pioneer designed to an Air
Ministry requirement for a single-engine communications aircraft able to operate
from confined landing strips.
First flown in 1947, and in its developed
Mark 2 form in 1950, the Prestwick Pioneer became famous for its ability to fly
at very low speed and for demonstrations of its very short take-off and landing
runs. This performance was due in large measure to the high lift devices, the
flaps and slats, with which its wings were fitted.
It was in Malaya that
the unique characteristics of the Pioneer were first put to great use by our
armed services in the campaign against communist guerrillas, acting in a supply
role to jungle forts with only tiny airstrips in the middle of dense jungle.
So effective was the four-passenger Prestwick Pioneer that a need for a
larger aircraft with similar performance became apparent, and design work was
put in hand by Scottish Aviation on the twin-engine aircraft that became the
16-passenger Twin Pioneer, later nicknamed the “Twin Pin.”
To give the
necessary short take-off and landing characteristics the wings of the Twin
Pioneer were fitted with the same flap and slat high lift devices as the
Prestwick Pioneer.
The prototype of the new aircraft made its first
flight from Prestwick Airport on 25 June 1955. By the time production ceased in
1962, 87 Twin Pioneers had been built, finding their way into civilian and
military service and operating in most continents of the world.
Like
their smaller sisters the Prestwick Pioneers, Twin Pioneers were put to work in
Malaya by the RAF and also the Royal Malaysian Air Force. Other tours of
military duty for the Twin Pins were in the baking hot desert area round Aden
and in various parts of Africa, equipped to carry out many different roles
though acting mainly as a light transport.
Civilian aircraft operated in
many countries - including Australia, Kuwait, Indonesia, Borneo, Iran, Iraq,
Canada, Nepal, Morocco and Sierra Leone, and some Twins even ended up in Vietnam
and Cambodia.
One of the most interesting aircraft was G-AOER fitted
with large wing-tip magnetometers and a large camera hatch for the Rio Tinto
geophysical survey. The last major operator of the Twin Pioneer, Flight One,
used them in the surveying role until 1991.
More than nine Twin Pioneers
still exist, probably the most important being G-APRS still earning its keep
with Air Atlantique as the only flying example in the world.
Permanently
in Scotland, the former Flight One Twin Pioneer G-BBVF is displayed at the
Museum of Flight at East Fortune Airfield east of Edinburgh.
At the RAF
Museum at Cosford west of Birmingham one of the ex-78 Squadron machines is
currently in storage, pending construction of a new display building.
Of
the other remaining Twin Pins, two are in museums in Malaysia, two are in more
or less airworthy condition in Australia, with a third under restoration for the
Australian Aviation Museum, and one is in Switzerland.
And one even
turned up in Baghdad at the end of the recent Iraq war.
In its 70-year
history, the aircraft factory at Prestwick Airport has sent over one thousand
new aircraft of five different types into the skies - the Prestwick Pioneers,
Twin Pioneers, Bulldogs, and most recently the Jetstreams.
It is a
remarkable aviation heritage to which the Twin Pioneer made a significant
contribution. The weekend of 25 June will be a unique occasion to hear about the
Twin Pioneer, to see it in the skies, and even to fly in it.
The Twin
Pioneer conference and the visit by G-APRS to Prestwick have been arranged by
the Prestwick Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society. The Prestwick Branch of
the Society is greatly indebted to Glasgow Prestwick International Airport, Air
BP and South Ayrshire Council for their support towards bringing the Twin
Pioneer back to Prestwick for the anniversary weekend.
Pleasure flight
departures will be from near McIntyre Avenue, Orangefield, approached from
Monkton Road, Prestwick. For advance bookings for flights (price £50 per person)
phone Air Atlantique on 08703 304747. For further local information on the Twin
Pioneer conference in Troon or on flights phone 01292 477796 or 01292
476032.
Contact:
Quentin Wilson, Secretary of the Prestwick Branch of
the Royal Aeronautical Society. Telephone 01292 477796 or e-mail e-mail
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About Ayr 800:
In 2005 the historic town of
Ayr in Scotland marks the 800th anniversary of King William the Lion of Scotland
signing a Charter in 1205 proclaiming Ayr to be a Royal Burgh.
Ayr
Guildry, an association of local business people which itself dates back to
1325, is currently organizing Ayr 800, a 12 month long calendar of events to
celebrate the anniversary throughout the year.
Brian Martin of Ayr
Guildry said: “It seems fitting and appropriate to celebrate 800 years of Ayr’s
history in as many different ways as possible.
“Since the inception of
this project, I have been amazed to discover the number and diversity of clubs,
associations and groups that flourish in our town. Ayr 800 provides them all
with a magnificent opportunity to play a prominent part in our year of
celebrations.
“For people and businesses in the hospitality and tourism
industry, Ayr 800 offers the chance to attract visitors who might otherwise not
have come to our town in 2005.
“And Ayr 800 provides an additional
platform for local businesses to promote their products, skills and services to
the world.”
Brian Martin concluded: “Regular updates to the calendar of
events will be posted on the Ayr 800 website at http://www.ayr800.co.uk
“All businesses, clubs,
societies and individuals who would still like to take part in this great
celebration of our town’s history will be most welcome, and should get in touch
with us as soon as possible.”
Enquiries:
Brian Martin, Ayr Guildry.
Telephone: +44 (0)1292 442103.
John Hay, Clerk to Ayr Guildry. Telephone: +44
(0)1292 264091.
http://www.ayr800.co.uk
Issued on behalf of Ayr Guildry
by Fame Publicity Services.
Media enquiries (including evenings and
weekends):
Murdoch MacDonald
Fame Publicity Services
10 Miller
Road
AYR, Ayrshire
Scotland KA7 2AY
Telephone: +44 (0)1292
281498
Mobile: 07833 667322.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb252613.htm