What a pleasure it is to open the stout brown envelope which arrives
every three months to reveal the latest issue of the Aviation
Historian, in pristine condition. Then to look at the beautifully
colour printed front cover and the intriguing back cover before opening
it, smelling it, feeling its quality and scanning the contents page.
There is always a feast of aviation writing which one can’t wait to
start reading!
Issue 29 is no exception. On the cover a Harrier
GRMk1 in a field
in Germany; on the back an air-to-air shot of a Chipmunk rolling
(or
“frolicking” as it is aptly captioned) over Portsmouth harbour. And
inside, for the Hawker enthusiast, Keith Hayward tells us how the
Harrier escaped Healey’s axe and we learn how a Hurricane (and other
types) was used for UK laminar flow research; the myth of the Mustang’s
laminar flow wing is also exposed. The Hurricane also features in an
article about the RAF’s readiness for war in 1939. You can read about a
nuclear powered Sud Caravelle project (really), the little known
SNCASE/SUD Voltigeur counter insurgency twin; and much, much more
unusual and quirky aviation history.
In the Hawker Hunter in Key Publishing’s Combat
Machines series Tony Buttler, who lectured to the Association in
October, gives a concise account of the design and development of our
favourite fighter. All the UK and export variants are described with
production lists, experimental versions are covered, combat deployments
explained, as are UK and foreign aerobatic teams. For the modeller
there are no less than 35 colour side elevations, a photographic
walk-round and a list of kits. Illustrated with well chosen, and
sometimes unusual photographs, Tony makes what could be a tired old
subject an exciting prospect.