May 2010 covers_Covers.qxd - World Airnews

THE BRITISH public and indeed
many, many others might think the
Battle of Britain was won by the
Spitfire, but I’m guessing most pilot readers
are better educated.
With 32 Hurricane squadrons on
strength and only 19 Spitfire squadrons, it
was the Hurricane’s fight.
The “Hurri” went on to serve in all theatres,
including North Africa, the Middle
East, Burma and Russia. Only its thick wing
restricted its further development as a
fighter. However, its strength and loadcarrying
ability enabled new roles such as
fighter-bomber (‘Hurribomber’), tank
buster (‘Flying Tin Openers’), operation
from carriers as the Sea Hurricane and
catapulting by rockets off merchant ships
(‘Hurricats’).
The Hurricane was the Royal Air Force‘s
first monoplane fighter and the first capable
of a level speed over 300 mph. It was
designed by Sydney Camm, drawing on
the tried-and-tested construction techniques
used in the Hawker Hart and Hind
bombers and Fury and Nimrod fighters,
perhaps the most beautiful biplanes of all
time. Hawker’s wood, fabric and tubular
metal structures enabled Hurricanes to go
into service earlier than the Spitfire, which
used the then new and highly labour-intensive
stressed-skin technology.
The first impression of the Hurricane is
that this is a big aeroplane. The Spitfire is
almost dainty by comparison. There is a
retractable step on the Hurricane just aft
of the trailing edge that you will need to
use to even get on the Hurricane wing and
8 WORLD AIRNEWS, MAY 2010.
it takes yet another fuselage step to get
over the cockpit rail and into the cockpit.
It must have been quite a climb in the
heat of a squadron scramble.
Sitting inside the cockpit on the Irvin
seat parachute is roomy and comfortable
in a vintage kind of way, capacious at the
hip and a tapering fit at the shoulders. I
am six-foot tall and it is the most comfortable
of all cockpits for me.
The first impression of the cockpit layout
is that below the standard RAF blind
flying panel, controls, trims, indicators and
the H-box of flap and undercarriage selector
seem to be attached anywhere they
can be mounted on the tubular frame. In
terms of strength, it is like sitting inside
the Forth Bridge.
The view out of the cockpit ahead is
very different to the Historic Aircraft Collection
Mk.V Spitfire that I flew previously.
Although it has the same 27 litres of supercharged
V-12 Rolls Royce Merlin in
front, the Hurricane nose drops away a little
so there is better visibility forwards, although
it is still poor by modern light
aircraft standards.
However, the view out to the side with
the multi-framed canopy is like looking
through a greenhouse, filled with irritating
blind spots.
I normally work around the cockpit
from left to right. Battery, generator and
avionics master switches all on; forward
to the throttle and above the RPM lever.
Unlike the Spitfire where they are in the
same unit, the throttle and propeller units
are separate. The mixture on G-HURI has
two positions RUN and ICO, the engine
works on one and not on the other – so it
is easy to remember!
Elevator trim – neutral; rudder trim –
fully right. Fuel on and in the detent;
check around the standard RAF blind flying
panel, the undercarriage indicator
lights – green light on. Unusually there are
spare lights to check.
ALL IN THE ‘H’
The thing that most struck me when Charlie
Brown did my conversion to type back in
2005 was the ‘H’ undercarriage and flap
selector. Undercarriage is on the left side of
the ‘H’ and flaps on the right. At least
there’s a safety catch to prevent you raising
the gear while on the ground. It looks like a
car gear selector, but I doubt whether
learner drivers fret about it as much as I did
when I started flying the Hurri.
I move the selector to flaps down and
test what is a quite excellent hydraulic hand
pump. For the first of many times in the
prep and flight I will check that I have selected
the flap gate and not the undercarriage.
The hand pump can also be used to
pump the undercarriage down if there is a
loss of power in flight. There is also a foot
pedal that if pushed forward will allow the
undercarriage to lower in flight by gravity.
Now I am ready for engine start. I unscrew
the Ki-gas primer, make six pumps
after the pressure comes up and lock it.
Stick back into my stomach, brakes on and
with sufficient pressure and parking catch
on. The Hurricane, like the Spit, needs
three hands to start. The start and boost