The Currie Wot (pronounced as ''"what"'') was a 1930s
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
single-seat
aerobatic biplane aircraft. Plans were sold for
home building of the aircraft.
Design and development
The Wot was designed by J R (Joe) Currie, and two examples were built by
Cinque Port
The Confederation of Cinque Ports () is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier ( Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to t ...
s Aviation Limited at
Lympne Aerodrome
Lympne Airport , was a military and later civil airfield , at Lympne, Kent, United Kingdom, which operated from 1916 to 1984. During the First World War RFC Lympne was originally an acceptance point for aircraft being delivered to, and returni ...
in 1937. They were both powered by a single 40 hp
Aeronca-JAP J-99 two-cylinder engines, but had minor differences in design. They were designated the Wot 1 and Wot 2; the name came about whilst Currie was building the first aircraft and being tired with being asked what he would call it, replied: "Call it Wot you blooming well like". Currie built two aircraft (G-AFCG and G-AFDS), that he offered for sale at £250.
[Severne (2007), p.76] Both were destroyed in 1940 during a
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
German
air raid on Lympne.
After the war, at the request of Viv Bellamy, then Chief Flying Instructor at the Hampshire Aeroplane Club (HAC) at
Eastleigh
Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census.
The town lies on the River Itchen, ...
, Currie used the same drawings to enable the HAC to build two more examples under the supervision of J O Isaacs. The first aircraft, registered G-APNT, first flew on 11 September 1958. G-APNT was soon re-engined with a four-cylinder 60 hp
Walter Mikron
The Walter Mikron is a four-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted straight engine for aircraft.
Development
Developed in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s, the engine saw limited use in late 1930s and early 1950s. In the 1980s an initial batch of engi ...
II engine and was also trialled using floats. With the more powerful Mikron engine it was known as the Hot Wot and later, with the floats, as the Wet Wot. The
floatplane version was not a success and they were soon removed.
With the original Aeronca-JAP engine fitted it was delivered on 29 May 1959 as the personal aircraft of
Westland Aircraft
Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil, Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Limited just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915. D ...
test pilot
H J Penrose, who christened the aeroplane 'Airymouse' and wrote a book of the same name about his experiences flying the aircraft.
[Severne (2007), p.77] The second aircraft, registered G-APWT had a number of different engines fitted for trials, including a 60 hp
Rover
Rover may refer to:
People
* Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian
* Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer
* Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist
Places
* Rover, Arkansas, US
* Rover, Missouri, US
...
TP60/1 industrial
gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...
engine,
before being delivered to
Elstree
Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of t ...
Aerodrome in 1962. G-APWT was later sold to Robert Rust Sr. and relocated to Fayetteville, Georgia in the United States. The aircraft was restored to flying condition and flew again for the first time in 2008 with an original Walter Mikron engine. At the time it carried the registration N67247, but the registration was allowed to lapse in 2013.
![RAF SE](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/RAF_SE.5A_EI-ARI_A4850_Baldnl_29.07.67_edited-3.jpg)
Aircraft plans were sold to amateur builders and soon examples were being constructed, the first homebuilt aircraft flying in 1963. The aircraft featured all-wood construction with fabric covering.
The most unusual Wots were built in 1967 by
Slingsby Sailplanes Limited. Slingsby built six aircraft modified to represent the
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5A for film work. They were powered by 115 hp
Lycoming O-235
The Lycoming O-235 is a family of four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed piston aircraft engines that produce , derived from the earlier O-233 engine.Textron Lycoming: ''Operator's Manual, Textron Lycoming Aircraft Engines, Series O-23 ...
engines with dummy exhausts and other modifications as 0.83 scale replicas. They were delivered to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and fitted with dummy guns for the film ''
Darling Lili
''Darling Lili'' is a 1970 American romantic-musical spy film, written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, the latter also directing the film. It stars Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp, with music by Henry Mancini and lyrics by ...
''. Some of the aircraft were also used in the films ''
I Shot Down Richthofen, I Think'', and ''
Dubious Patriot''.
The Currie Super Wot is a clipped-wing variant with X-bracing between the undercarriage V-struts instead of a through axle. Other refinements in the Super Wot include rounding out the fuselage with formers and stringers and doing away with the upper wing centre-section, replacing the cabane struts with inverted V tubular struts in a similar style to the Pitts Special. These refinements result in a faster cruise and enhanced climb rate and a quicker roll rate. A Super Wot fitted with a 90hp Continental will fly a quarter-vertical roll, which is probably outside the capability of the standard Wot. Nick Bloom wrote a series of articles about his Super Wot which appeared in ''
Pilot Magazine'' under the title 'Diary of a Homebuilder'. His Currie Super Wot is one of only two on the G-register, and has the registration G-BGES.
The design rights for the Currie Wot were first sold to Dr J H B Urmston (trading as Botley Aircraft), who sold the designs to
Phoenix Aircraft
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), ...
Limited.
Specifications (Currie Wot - Walter Mikron III)
References
Bibliography
*
External links
{{Commons category
"CURRIE WOT in the Air"a 1959 ''Flight'' article
1930s British civil utility aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Wot
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aerobatic aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1937