Originally Posted by
JENKINS
No experience of RAF Basset, but while serving I accumulated enough hours on Beagle 206, both normally aspirated and boosted, to appreciate the aircraft in those wonderful days of relatively simple General Aviation. Single pilot, decent avionics, good vision, and in my estimation much nicer than the PA31-310 which I also flew at the same time. I pitched up at Northolt on one occasion and my chums there came over to take a shufti. The Royal Air Force at the time did not appreciate that a navigator was no longer necessary, and neither was the hefty door fitted to their Bassets. Shame, a nice machine spoiled.
I believe that redundant aircraft became popular for one-run drug operations in certain parts of the world.
Never got to fly in a Basset but I had several friends working for Shorts who were contracted to provide ground services at Bovingdon. They told me the rumour was that Bassets were 'chosen' from the '206 production line by selecting those aircraft which had had to be partly re-built due to some sort of problem.
Whether this was true I don't know but in any case, they found that on Bovingdon's 'undulating' main runway, heavy braking would cause the prop tips to touch the surface so the blades had to be shortened.
As regards carrying a navigator; this extended to the '80s and later when MOD(PE) bought PA31s for the comms flights at Farnborough and Boscombe Down. Until the Farnborough 'Transport Flight' was disbanded by DRA just before MOD flying moved out, ('we are in the business of aviation research, not running an airline') the PA31s always carried a navigator and in fact Boscombe may still operate this system..