A-31s and A-35s - again !
Chugalug,
From memory, there were sketchy Pilots Notes for the V.72, issued by Vultee. They were not of much use. (I recall that they recommended, in the event of a stuck-up u/c - "reduce speed as far as possible, and use rudder to yaw the aircraft vigorously from side to side" (?? - this struck us as a fair way to induce a spin). But by the time we got them, we could have written much better PNs ourselves. All our knowledge was gained from experience and transmitted by word of mouth.
I'm afraid I don't know if the A-31 and A-35 production overlapped. Peter C. Smith reports that the Vultee V-72 cockpit was originally planned to RAF requirements (after all, we were paying for them !), to become the Vengeance Mk.I. But the Americans took some of the production, called it the A-31, and rearranged the cockpits to their own design. This may have been carried over into the later A-35s. But this is guesswork.
I know nothing of helicopters or their operation, and I do not wish to re-light the old controversy here, but I agree with you that the Mull of Kintyre accident and its consequences leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
I started on a review of the A.P.2024 illustrations, but it became too big to handle now, and I'll Post it another day.
Danny.