THE BEVERLEY – ANOTHER THOROUGHBRED
A famous aircraft designer saw a Dutch Barn blow past in a gale. The basic idea of the Beverley was born at that moment.
The original design of the machine was intended to fulfil a single-seat fighter specification, but as full power was required to taxi the aircraft forward at a slow walking pace, another engine was added. The resulting increase in all-up weight necessitated the addition of two further engines to enable it to move at all. This had increased the general dimensions somewhat, and work was often delayed for several days at a time while the aircraft was utilised as a spare hangar for visiting aircraft.
This state of affairs continued for so long that by the time the prototype was ready for flight all other new types of aircraft were jet powered. This rather embarrassed the designer. Fearing to appear behind the times, he had the propellers placed much higher than he had originally intended in the hope that they would not be noticed. This entailed raising the mainplane and fuselage sides. Subsequently the Production Manager raised the roof – which accounts for the immense height of the machine.
As no adequate runway was available, the undercarriage was adapted to take locomotive wheels and its first take-off was from both tracks of the Brough – Hull railway line. It was in fact airborne by the time it reached Beverley – hence its name. A conversion kit for this purpose is still in existence. While the aircraft is in use in this role, the flight deck should at all times be referred to as the ‘Driver’s Cab’ and the V.H.F. should be re-crystallised to include the frequencies of Crew Signal Box and the Head Office of the National Union of Railwaymen.
Spinning the aircraft is not recommended, as the torque reaction involved causes the Earth to rotate in the opposite direction to the spin, to the accompaniment of terse notes from Greenwich Observatory. The aircraft is, however, extremely versatile, and may be employed in many roles, particularly those that do not include flying or movement of any kind.
It is extremely amenable to modification: for example wind-tunnel tests have shown that the wings could be placed at the bottom and the wheels at the top without any appreciable drop in performance.
Taken in all, the Beverley is an ideal aircraft for a civilian enthusiast with a million pounds, a private oil-well, and a complete abhorrence of the rules of flying.
Anon, from RAF Abingdon, Berkshire, UK (where some of these aircraft were based), circa 1963.