The AIR-BRITAIN Militarv Aviation Historical Quanerlv

15Dec67 Remains sold to Ministry of Technology (used for
ground trials).
22Jan69 Struck off Charge after making 141 flights.
May 1974 Allotted to the RAF Museum, but in May 1978
loaned to the Royal Navy Engineering College at
Manadon as an instructional airframe (numbered
A2619) . It was then loaned to the School of Aircraft
Handling at RNAS Culdrose from 11 Apr78 (marked
as 'SAH-6') before moving to storage at Carding ton
in Feb94 and then to display at the Cosford
Aerospace Museum.
XS696
05Mar65
24Mar65
01 Apr65
First flight.
Allotted to TES West Raynham.
Caught fire on take-off at West Raynham and
destroyed. sac same day as Cat.5(c). The
accident happened on its tenth flight.
Below: Seven of the TES Kestrels on their flight line at
RAF West Raynham during September 1965, wearing the final
digit of their individual serial numbers as codes.
(Central Press Photos via Phil Butler)
Bot1om: XV·6A 64-18262 in the external display line-up at the
US Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on
30July1974. (Phil Butler1C71319)
Aeromilitaria - Winter 2010
Chris Farara kindly made some comments on my earlier
article on the P .1127 prototypes, a digest of which
appears below:
On page 51 of the Summer issue, the photo of XP980 shows
that a Harrier wing has been fit1ed for the trials that it was
being used for. On page 52, it should be stated that MWDP
funding was only provided for the Bristol engine, not the
P.1127 airframe; it should also be stated that all Hawker
development flying was carried out at Dunsfold, and the work
at Bedford was research being carried out by the RAE. The
photo showing the ram-air turbine should have stated that this
was always exposed when the engine was shut down, as it
relied on positive pressure in the flying control circuit, provided
by the running engine. The lower photo on page 52 shows
XP831 having 'inflated'-shape intake lips, while XP836 has the
'deflated' shape, with XP831 being dedicated to low-speed
and XP836 to high-speed testing, these shapes being most
appropriate for their intended flight envelopes. The photographs
on pages 51 and 53 show the inflatable lips installed,
while those on page 54 show alternative metal types, with
those on XP984 being the finalised type, as used on the
Kestrels. The inflatable type was abandoned, being liable to
tearing in certain flight conditions. Finally, the crash of XP831
at Paris was due to rotation of the air nozzles because of a
malfunction, leading to a modification to the control valve to
prevent any recurrence. Although the malfunction might have
been caused by 'FaD', this was never proved.
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