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Derek Piggott
Alan Derek Piggott (27 December 1922 – 6 January 2019) was one of Britain's best known glider pilots and instructors. He had over 5,000 hours on over 153 types of powered aircraft and over 5,000 hours on over 184 types of glider. He was honoured for his work on the instruction and safety of glider pilots. In 1961 he became the first person to make an officially authenticated take-off and flight in a man-powered aircraft. He also worked as a stunt pilot in several feature films. Early years Piggott was born in Chadwell Heath, Essex, the son of Rev. William Piggott and Alice Harvey. His father was a conscientious objector in the First World War, led the rent strike against London County Council after the war, and was a frequent speaker at Hyde Park. When his mother died, the family moved to Sutton, Surrey, where Derek attended Sutton County School. When he left school he became a trainee scientific instrument maker. He had been a very active aero-modeller and helped to form the ...
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Chadwell Heath
Chadwell Heath is an area in east London, England. It is situated on the boundary of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London Borough of Redbridge, around west of Romford and east of Ilford, and north-east of Charing Cross. The name was first used in the 17th century for a settlement in the parish of Dagenham in Essex, which later absorbed the neighbouring hamlet of Chadwell Street in the parish of Barking (later Ilford). Chadwell Heath railway station, on the Great Eastern Main Line, opened in 1864, connecting the area to Central London. After the First World War, the area developed as a residential suburb and formed the northern limit of the Becontree estate, causing an increase in population density. The area became part of Greater London in 1965. The area is home to the Chadwell Heath Academy. It was the final residence of Eva Hart, a survivor of the , and a local pub (housed in the former Police Station) is named after her. History Toponymy The name ...
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RAF Little Rissington
RAF Little Rissington is an RAF aerodrome and RAF station in Gloucestershire, England. It was once home to the Central Flying School, the Vintage Pair and the Red Arrows. Built during the 1930s, the station was opened in 1938 and closed in 1994. The married-quarters and main technical site were sold in 1996 (the former becoming the village of Upper Rissington). RAF Little Rissington has been retained by the Ministry of Defence and is known as Little Rissington Airfield. It remains active along with the southern technical sites, under the operational control of HQ No. 2 Flying Training School RAF at RAF Syerston. It is now home to 621 Volunteer Gliding Squadron RAF and 637 Volunteer Gliding Squadron RAF as the primary military units, providing elementary flying training for Combined Cadet Force and Air Training Corps cadets. The airfield is also used by the forces as a relief landing ground, training area and parachute dropping area. In previous years, the Royal Air Force ...
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Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties of England, historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its southern suburbs were transferred from Derbyshire to the city council. It is the largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The city is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines and the valleys of the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don with its four tributaries: the River Loxley, Loxley, the Porter Brook, the River Rivelin, Rivelin and the River Sheaf, Sheaf. Sixty-one per cent of Sheffield's entire area is green space and a third of the city lies within the Peak District national park. There are more than 250 parks, woodlands and gardens in the city, which is estimated to contain around 4.5 million trees. The city is south of Leeds, east of Manchester, and north ...
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Combined Cadet Force
The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a youth organisation in the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which operates in schools, and normally includes Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force sections. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance, resourcefulness, endurance and perseverance". One of its objectives is "to encourage those who have an interest in the services to become Officers of the Regular or Reserve Forces", and a significant number of British military officers have had experience in the CCF. Before 1948, cadet forces in schools existed as the junior division of the Officers' Training Corps framework, but in 1948 Combined Cadet Force was formed covering cadets affiliated to all three services. As of 2019, there were 42,720 cadets and 3,370 Adult Volunteers. The MOD provides approximately £28M per yea ...
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Slingsby Kirby Cadet
The Slingsby T.7 Kirby Cadet is a British training glider designed and built by Slingsby that first flew in 1935 and saw service with the Royal Air Force for use by the Air Training Corps as the Cadet TX.1 throughout the 1950, 1960s and 1970s.RAF Museum, Hendon Design and development The T.7 was developed to specification 20/43 from the civilian Kirby Kadet to meet an Air Ministry requirement for a training glider as part of the air cadet programme, and it entered service as the Cadet TX.1 with the Royal Air Force. It was further developed with a change of wing into the T.8 Kirby Tutor (service name Cadet TX.2) which in turn was developed into a two-seat version the T.31B Tandem Tutor (service name Cadet TX.3). One saw service in SLAF from 1957-1959. Former operators ; *Royal Air Force ; *Royal Ceylon Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை வ ...
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Slingsby T
Slingsby may refer to: * Slingsby (surname) * Slingsby, North Yorkshire * Slingsby Aviation, formerly Slingsby Sailplanes, a manufacturer of gliders and other aircraft * Slingsby Channel Slingsby Channel is a strait on the north side of Bramham Island in the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the British Columbia Coast, Central Coast of British Columbia. It is one of only two entrances to Seymour Inlet and the associated maze of wate ..., a strait in the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada * Slingsby Baronets * HC Slingsby PLC, a historical British company started in 1893 {{disambiguation ...
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Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including Commandant Air Cadets, a Full Term Reserve Service RAF officer. In 2013, the officer in command of the ATC was Air Commodore Dawn McCafferty. Although many ATC cadets go on to join the RAF or other services, the ATC is not a recruiting organisation for its parent service. Activities include sport, adventure training (such as walking and paddle-sports), ceremonial drill, rifle shooting, field craft, powered aircraft, glider flying, and other outdoor activities, as well as classification training leading up to a BTEC in Aviation Studies. Week-long trips to RAF stations, or camps offering adventure training or music, allow the opportunity for cadets to gain a taste of military life and often some flying experience in RAF gliders and RAF tra ...
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Detling
Detling is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is located on the slope of the North Downs, north east of Maidstone, and on the Pilgrims' Way. History and features The ''Cock Horse Inn'' was used to stable additional horses when required to take heavily laden coaches and wagons on the steep route up Detling Hill. The village is now bypassed by the A249 road, which opened in 1962. Jade's Crossing, a footbridge to the west of the village, opened in 2002 after a local resident, Jade Hobbs, was killed trying to cross the road. The Grade I listed village church is dedicated to Martin of Tours. The former airfield at the top of the hill was a Royal Navy Air Station during World War One, and an RAF station during World War Two. It was bombed by the Luftwaffe several times, with considerable loss of life. Its original area has been divided with some of the original hardstandings being used in a light industrial units area, part of t ...
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Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era. The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a medium bomber for "world-wide use" which could carry a torpedo internally, and make shallow dive-bombing attacks. Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one of the versions, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bom ...
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De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or "Mossie". Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, nicknamed it "Freeman's Folly", alluding to Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman, who defended Geoffrey de Havilland and his design concept against orders to scrap the project. In 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world.Bowman 2005, p. 21. Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, the Mosquito's use evolved during the war into many roles, including low- to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, high-altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike, and photo-reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation as a fast transport to carry small, high-value c ...
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Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griffon engined Mk 24 using several wing configurations and guns. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire remains popular among enthusiasts; around 70 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world. The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell developed the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing with innovative sunken rivets (designed by Beverley Shenstone) to have the thinnest possible cross-section, achieving a potential top speed greater than that of several contemporary figh ...
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Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft began in 1940, although work on the engines had been under way since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF. The Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter. Gloster's 1946 civil Meteor F.4 demonstrator ''G-AIDC'' was the first Aircraft registration, civilian-registered jet aircraft in the world. Several major variants of the Meteor incorporated technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces and remained in use for several decade ...
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