Friday 16 September 2016

Meteor RA 490, Boulton Paul 111 Prone Pilot Meteor WK 935 -50th Anniversary of the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough 7/8 July 1955



via Colin Dodds;

 "..Help wanted. I very recently acquired a small collection of original old 9cm square prints which include the formation photo that I believe may be unique. Almost certainly taken at Farnborough, these three aircraft never appeared together at a Farnborough show. Left to right are Meteor RA 490, the aircraft developed by Westland with two RR Nenes used for jet deflection experiments. Then the Boulton Paul 111 and then right the Prone Pilot Meteor WK 935. Has anyone else seen or got any photos of this flypast? Can anyone help with any more details. I imagine it was sometime between 1952 and 1954. Any further information or thoughts appreciated..."




and via Ian Powell;

 "..this may just be coincidence but the Cosford history sheet for the Prone meteor says "Flown, and statically displayed, at the 50th Anniversary of the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough 7/8 July 1955". Also of interest is this quote "The Flight Division of Aerodynamics Department of RAE was colloquially known as ‘Aero Flight’. The Division’s personnel moved to Bedford from Farnborough from Spring 1955 onwards, with Danny Lean (future Division Head) being one of the last to move in Jan 1956. The main group of research aircraft moved to Bedford in November 1955. One of the first research aircraft flying at Bedford, in April 1955, was the jet-deflection Meteor RA490, re-locating from Farnborough each day..."