Abbott-Baynes Sailplanes Ltd. was a 1930s glider manufacturing company based at

Wrecclesham Wrecclesham is a village on the southern outskirts of the large town of Farnham in Surrey, England. Its local government district is the Borough of Waverley. History It was once in the estate of Henry of Westminster and Blois the powerful 13th ...

, near Farnham, Surrey. It was founded as a subsidiary of

E. D. Abbott Ltd Abbott of Farnham, E D Abbott Limited was a British coachbuilding business based in Farnham, Surrey, trading under that name from 1929. A major part of their output was under sub-contract to motor vehicle manufacturers. The business closed in 197 ...

in 1931 by L. E. Baynes and E. D. Abbott to build the Scud, a glider designed by Baynes in 1930, the prototype of which was built by Brant Aircraft Limited at Croydon Airport. The Scud was popular, and in 1932 a development of it, the Scud II model was launched. In 1935, a Scud II flown by Mungo Buxton took the British Height Record for a glider to 8,750 ft (2,666 m). Also in 1935, the Scud 3 was rolled out, though only one was built.

Sir John Carden Sir John Valentine Carden, 6th Baronet MBE (6 February 1892 – 10 December 1935) was an English tank and vehicle designer. He was the sixth baronet of Templemore, County Tipperary, from 1931. Work Born in London, Carden was a talented, self ...

requested a sailplane that could be launched unaided, and suggested a retractable engine. When fitted with such an engine, the glider was called the ''Auxiliary''. Baynes later went into partnership with Carden as Carden-Baynes Aircraft Ltd of

Heston Aerodrome Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Ne ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

to build the Carden-Baynes Auxiliary and the Carden-Baynes Bee.Ellison (1971) In 1935, Abbott-Baynes Sailplanes took part in the

Flying Flea The Flying Flea (french: Pou du Ciel, lit=Louse of the Sky) is a large family of light homebuilt aircraft first flown in 1933. The odd name comes from the French nickname for the Ford Model T automobile: ''Pou de la Route'', or "Louse of the Ro ...

craze by launching the ''Baynes Cantilever Pou'', which Baynes designed to address some of the aerodynamic problems of the original Mignet HM.14 ''Pou du Ciel''. A series of fatal accidents led to restrictions on aircraft of this tandem wing type, ending the company's interest.Ellis & Jones (1990) A Scud II built in 1935 (''ex-BGA 231/G-ALOT'') is still airworthy, and is believed to be the oldest flying glider in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In December 2009, it became part of the

Shuttleworth Collection The Shuttleworth Collection is a working aeronautical and automotive collection located at the Old Warden Aerodrome, Old Warden in Bedfordshire, England. It is the oldest in the world and one of the most prestigious, due to the variety of old a ...

.Ellis (2010)

Aircraft

Source: Ellison * Abbott Farnham sailplane * Abbott-Baynes Scud 1 *

Abbott-Baynes Scud 2 The Abbott-Baynes Scud 2 was a 1930s high-performance sailplane, built in the UK. It was a development of the intermediate-level Scud 1 with a new, high aspect ratio wing. Design and development The Scud 2 was a development of the si ...

Abbott-Baynes Scud 3 The Carden-Baynes Auxiliary was the first motor glider with a retractable engine and propeller; it is known as the Abbott-Baynes Scud 3 when engineless. Both aircraft, built in the mid-1930s, were still flying in 2010 as pure sailplanes. Deve ...

* Carden-Baynes Auxiliary * Baynes Cantilever Pou

Notes

Bibliography

*Ellis, Ken (2010). ''Wrecks & Relics'' (22 ed.). Crecy. p. 10. *Ellis, Ken; Jones, Geoff (1990). ''Henri Mignet and his Flying Fleas''. Haynes Publishing *Ellison, Norman (1971). ''British Gliders and Sailplanes''. A & C Black Ltd. pp. 31–32, 73–75, 241. *Ord-Hume, Arthur W.J.G. ''Britain's Flea craze'', Aeroplane Monthly, May 1973

External sources

The SCUD Sailplanes

2009-10-24) {{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom British companies established in 1931 Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom Glider manufacturers History of the London Borough of Croydon Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1931 1931 establishments in England