Chivenor Austers.
Skylark4-Your experience would have been with Maurice Looker who run North Devon Air Services t/a The Puffin Aero club/Devonair,he used to fly ad hoc flights over to the Lundy Isles in G-AJXC an Avco Lycoming ( modified from an industrial engine ) Auster 5.
He once ditched another Auster G-AJEA into the Bristol Channel when the engine failed,both himself and his passenger were picked up by a passing ship,one of the few people to land an Auster on water and survive by the way !
Devonair also had two Miles Aerovans G-AILM & G-AJOG which were intended for the Lundy operations but never really used apart from when some R.A.F officers were invited to cull the deer on Lundy,they all piled into the Aerovan with guns and ammo to do the job,what a sight seeing one of these landing on Lundy ! but getting away from our beloved Auster,I rebuilt G-AJXC whilst working at Devonair 1959 remember well we used to start her by feeding the cables from the trolly hack through a cut out in the perspex cockpit,someone held the leads in place while Maurice shouted 'clear prop' then fumbling from the back out again,heady happy days these were.
Maurice went to work for the West London aero club at White Waltham as CFI,he still lives in Maidenhead,what stories that man must have of his career both in the R.A.F and civvy street.
Wonder what happened to my old Auster G-AJXC ?