Originally Posted by
treadigraph
That's a find! 1981? The B-17 pass looks a bit Don Bullock-ish (unless Keith Sissons went that low as well - I always thought he was a bit more conservative); if so, dates it pre September 1980, no doubt the Enstrom was in the sure hands of Dennis Kenyon.
Keith could fly like that but chose not to, DB usually did until Biggin Hill. DK always gave a 'spirited' Enstrom display although he normally flew the turbocharged version which had the extra 'puff'.
RG was a regular competitor in the aerobatic world and moved on to a Pitts.
I visited Bill Wilkes workshop in Caterham when he was building the scale mustang, the structure was 'substantial', and being all wood and ply skinned it was no lightweight.
As I recall he had obtained a Ranger engine (as fitted to the Fairchild Argus) which gave 175-200 hp depending on spec. It duly appeared at Redhill and I believe one of our ETPS members did the permit approval tests. I never saw it doing a 'tight display' prob for very good reasons, and indeed the next time I saw ii was from the Swift as I ran in for my display slot at Barton, and the broken remains of the scale mustang were still on the airfield it having spun in earlier in the afternoon. This highlights the 'issue' with an all wood structure (structure and skin) it is very difficult to make them 'light'' ( especially if building a scale aircraft), and because the wings have a higher % weight factor if ply skinned the whole structure has a energy factor that is quite unforgiving if the speed bleeds. As a comparison the Rollason Beta (100 hp Continental) was not a 'scale' copy and could be designed accordingly, although it was very difficult to homebuild (hence not many finished).