Hawker Archive At Brooklands Museum
As many of you will know, I, your Editor
have been looking after the Sopwith/Hawker/BAe Kingston historical
material at Brooklands since I retired from Brtish Aerospace - in fact
I received my 25 year award in October. During that time the collection
has grown by a factor of at least 100 due solely to donations from
Hawker people, most of whom were Members of the Association.
So, if you have any reports, photographs, drawings,
publications, in fact anything, that you liberated (or were even
presented with) from Kingston or Dunsfold during your time there and
you (or possibly your spouses or partners) no longer want it cluttering
up your study/loft/garage/shed, then please don’t dump it but pass it
on to me. I don’t want anything that your family would be wanting to
keep but other items, however trivial they might seem, would be very
welcome and be given a good and safe home and be available to
researchers, authors, and TV programme and film makers. All these
categories of people have visited the archive in considerable numbers
over the years. My contact details are in the Editorial. Thank you.
Hawk Xx154 Delivered To Old Sarum
Dick Poole witnessed the first ever HS 1182 Hawk, XX154, arriving at Old Sarum Aerodrome…
The aircraft was retired from the Empire Test
Pilot’s School (ETPS) and is now displayed in the Boscombe Down
Aviation Collection Museum at Old Sarum. The delivery from Boscombe
Down was as an
underslung load by an RAF Chinook helicopter
on the 21st August, the 45th anniversary of the first flight in 1974
from HSA Dunsfold. The weather on delivery was dry but overcast and
fortunately the wind strength was low enough to let the helicopter
flight go ahead. Once safely on the ground the lifting slings were
removed and the aircraft was towed to the apron with Chris Hodson, son
of Gordon Hodson the origanator and Project Director of the Hawk, in
the front cockpit. It has been housed in the Collection’s hangar.
During its time at Dunsfold XX154 was engaged in
trials for flight envelope expansion, loads measurement, stalling
characteristics investigation and development and tailplane stall
rectification. It was flown intensively immediately after the first
flight to accumulate enough flight time to be allowed to display at the
Farnborough Airshow. On the 18th January 1982 XX154 was transferred to
the RAE at Llanbedr for unmanned-target shepherding, flight trials and
pilot continuation training. It had achieved 406 flight hours and was
at a fairly low modification state, including cable operated brakes.
Soon after delivery to the RAE it went to RAF Abingdon for servicing
and an upgrade. In early 2000 it was transferred to Boscombe Down and
finished its service with the ETPS there in December 2018.