bentley priory - Spink

September 6, 2012 - LONDON
Cunningham being presented with the Harman Trophy by President Eisenhower, October 1956
A New Company - The Same Dedication
In January 1960 de Havilland became a division of Hawker
Siddeley; the latter had historically been involved with
military aircraft but was anxious to have a strong presence in
the Civil Aviation world; de Havilland brought with it the
Trident aircraft, and thus secured a strong entry into the
market; whilst the Trident was developing with British
European Airways, Cunningham remained busy testing
Comet versions; when the first Trident was completed in
1961 Cunningham returned to test fly it; he and colleagues
carried out more than 1,800 hours of testing on it before the
first Trident was certified airworthy in 1964 (he was awarded
the C.B.E. in 1963, the Derry and Richards Memorial Medal
in 1965, and the Seagrave Trophy in 1969).
Both Pakistan and China made substantial orders for Trident
aircraft, and once again the company’s figurehead was called
into action - with Cunningham heavily involved in the
delivery of the aircraft to Pakistan and the training of their
pilots; China ordered 29 of the aircraft over a seven year
period from 1972-79; Cunningham spent over a year in
China to ensure the smooth running of the hand over of the
aircraft, and Chinese technicians were trained at Hatfield.
Chairman Mao’s China
Cunningham’s task, ‘was basically to deliver Tridents one by
one to Kwangchow, together with a team of technical
experts, and get them accepted. Until the acceptance
agreement was signed, the aircraft remained the property of
Hawker Siddeley, but they were to be delivered with Chinese
markings.
It sounded quite simple for a man who had delivered aircraft
worldwide and trained crews, but China was unknown
territory and seemingly as remote as the Moon... there were
very few aircraft going into the People’s Republic of China.
Pakistan International, Aeroflot, and Air France were the only
airlines allowed to fly there.’ (ibid)
Cunningham went on to make over thirty trips to China, and
he always had to do a test flight with a Chinese crew from
Cunningham with the crew of Trident B280, on the arrival
of Vice-Premier Wang in London, November 1978
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