Jenkins, your RAF duties in 'Cessna 206' intrigue me as this is a high-wing single engine six-seater also known as the Skywagon. If your memory is like mine, could it have been the Beagle 206 Basset, the 1960s seven-seat twin designed by the late British manufacturer to replace the Anson and to ferry the V-bomber crews?
I think these had Continental engines which I remember for blowing exhaust gaskets if not complete pots. I preferred the Lycoming myself whether working on it or being pulled along by it, continuous traction being much desired in such circumstances, even more so when there's only one of 'em.
Last Basset I saw was at an airfield in the Midlands in 1978. The Bassets had been sold off by the RAF and this one, still in RAF colours less roundels, had been bought by a private owner. He celebrated by taking the family to Madeira, but on their homecoming the brakes failed and Damage was Done. Beagle spares being no longer available, the Basset was put to sleep.
Danny: I had forgotten that lucky you flew the monster Thunderbolt! What an experience. I read that the Pratt and Whitney engines were generally smoother than the Wrights. It occurs to me that the multi-row radials, called the Corncobs by the Americans, would require two cranks and two master conrods; if these were spaced at 180 deg as would seem logical, the engines might be smoother. But I never saw one in bits so I don't know.
Last edited by Geriaviator; 6th Apr 2015 at 12:00.
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