View Full Version : Percival Q6
ozplane
9th Jan 2005, 11:51
Does anybody know what has happened to the last surviving Percival Q6 which was being restored to fly. If I remember correctly it was just about "there" but needed a cash injection to complete it. For those not familiar with the type it was a sort of 1930s Dove with very elegant rounded lines.
jabberwok
10th Jan 2005, 02:13
And a very nice aircraft it was too - one of a number of innovative aircraft that appeared just before the war which might have had a real impact had hostilities not intervened.
G-AFFD was being restored at Ronaldsway in the Isle of Man but progress was extremely slow - I saw it there about 20 years ago. I know they made new outer wing sections for it as the originals were missing.
A quick oogle gives a nice photo of it in 2001 and says it was being moved to the UK but does not say where. Picture at G-AFFD (http://www.island-images.co.uk/Aircraft/2001/T3376.html)
treadigraph
10th Jan 2005, 06:37
My alcohol raddled brain is screaming "Redhill" for some reason, though it is still registered to somone on the Isle of Man... Perhaps it was at Redhill a long time ago.
Love to see it flying with the DH-90...
ozplane
10th Jan 2005, 07:12
Thanks chaps. I think the Redhill "connection" is that it was based there post-war with an aeronautical college and then subsequently rescued. I did hear tell it was/is at Sywell awaiting a benefactor. Like you say Treadi it would be super to see it at OW with the Dragon and the Dragonfly.
treadigraph
10th Jan 2005, 07:18
That's it! Wasn't it with Chelsea College of Aeronautics or whatever, now down at Shoreham?
It was someone who was at Sywell who bought it, they had a maintenance and flying school outfit there. They moved out a while back. Fordaire is the co. name.
EGGW.
ozplane
10th Jan 2005, 14:45
Rex Ford, and his company Fordaire, did the restoration of the green Rapide G-AKRP which I last saw looking rather neglected at Cranfield. So where did the Q6 end up I wonder?
Guy from work who is a Percival fan, says he saw it in the Hangar at Ronaldsway very recently. Someone from Sywell was trying to buy it but deal not finalised yet.
jabberwok
12th Jan 2005, 00:58
I'll check to see if the aircraft is still at Ronaldsway - I know someone in ATC there..
ozplane
24th Jan 2005, 10:04
Just before this one slides off the radar, Jabberwock,did your chum at Ronaldsway find the Q6?.
Stampe
24th Jan 2005, 13:28
Don,t know about the Q6 but I believe the Fordaire Rapide was purchased by someone in Iceland and has been flown there.Sad to hear that such a nice restoration had to stand out for so long ultimately to depart the country of its birth.
jabberwok
24th Jan 2005, 16:22
No response as yet - I'll try again.
jb
jabberwok
25th Jan 2005, 15:46
OK - problem solved.
The Q6 is still in Hangar 2 at Ronaldsway so I am assuming the sale fell through. I doubt my contact will know what future is in store for the aircraft but I wil ask..
jb
jabberwok
31st Jan 2005, 11:54
Belay my last - the situation appears to be a bit more complex.
The Q6 was indeed due to ship to the UK but the deal collapsed. It is possible that some parts of the aircraft may have shipped - the outer wing sections no longer being obvious at Ronaldsway.
As to where the parts are this is unknown..
jb
ozplane
4th Feb 2005, 16:28
Thanks for the update jw. It would be a great shame if it didn't come together. I see from your earlier post that new outer wings were made and these are now missing. I wonder if there is an element of "cause and effect" in there somewhere.
jabberwok
4th Feb 2005, 18:58
I don't think so.
From what I remember of the early rebuild of the Q6 it arrived at Ronaldsway with many parts missing. The outer wings were amongst these and a search for the original plans revealed these had been destroyed during the war.
Many months later a set of new outer wings arrived but I know not where from or who the makers were. This was a long time ago - I'll guess at least 10/15 years.
When I last saw the Q6 it was still being stripped down and there was little obvious apart from the engine bearers and a very bare fuselage shell. It has obviously come a long way since then.
jb
jabberwok
16th Feb 2005, 13:51
Final update..
Thanks go to Jon Wornham over at Ronaldsway who nipped down to the hangars and took a photo of the Q6 yesterday. Outer wings still appear to be present in the new shot so I wonder if any parts at all ever moved to the mainland?
Photo at Island Images (http://www.island-images.co.uk/Aircraft/2005/DB141425.html)
ozplane
17th Feb 2005, 13:47
Thanks for the update and photo jabberwock. It does look to be tantanisingly close to completion doesn't it? Just wish I had the money (and a twin rating!)
mungo_55
25th Mar 2005, 19:09
Well, I saw Rex Ford today and its the first he's heard about the deal with the Q6 falling through ! He is at Little Gransden at the moment but awaiting hangarage at another airfield, which will help with getting the Q6 going. The Dominie has gone to Eaglescott in Devon (as reported in Aeroplane Monthly) as the deal for it to go to Iceland DID fall through. The main thing is its got a hangar again.