Woman ATA Pilot and Beaufighter
Can any PPruners help track down a tale about the early days of Beaufighters?- my splendidly active and fascinating 85 yr old friend and neighbour, who is an ex-Beaufighter, Spitfire XIV and Catalina pilot, would like to know if it is true.
The tale is that in the early days of the Beaufighter (before he flew them) the reputation for torque-related swing, especially on take-off, had caused a general reluctance to fly the beast. All that changed when a Beaufighter arrived on delivery - it may or may not have performed a bit of a display - and when it landed, out climbed a diminutive ATA woman pilot. After that ... no-one was prepared to show any lack of manly keenness to fly the Beaufighter!
I vaguely recall hearing the tale years ago but cannot track it down. If someone can help, we'd be very grateful and, in return, I'll post his tale of a Beaufighter wheels-up landing with unexpected results!