Percival Prentice
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The Percival Prentice was a basic trainer of the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
in the early postwar period. It is a low-wing
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
with a fixed
tailwheel Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...
undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...
. Front seating was in a side-by-side configuration with a rear seat provided.


Design and development

Designed to meet Air Ministry Specification T.23/43, the Prentice was the first all-metal aircraft to be produced by the Percival Aircraft Company. The first (of 5) prototype Prentice TV163 first flew from Percival's factory at
Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...
, Bedfordshire on 31 March 1946. Early trials revealed lateral instability with inadequate rudder control and poor spin recovery, which required extensive tests with revised tail configurations. These resulted in modifications to the fin, rudder, elevators and upturned wingtips. An unusual design feature was the provision for three seats. While the instructor and pupil were equipped with dual controls in a side-by-side arrangement in the front, a second pupil sat in the rear seat without controls to receive "air experience". Both pupils could communicate with the instructor. Night flying training was to be carried out in daylight by means of amber screens incorporated into the canopy and the use of special goggles. The amber screens were folded back when not in use.Marsh, Jeff
"Percival "Prentice" T1".
''Air Atlantique Classic Flight Project,'' 20 September 2005. Retrieved: 14 May 2009.
The RAF ordered a total of 455 Prentices (95 subsequently cancelled) as well as a limited number of export sales. When the Percival factory was concentrating on production of the
Percival Proctor The Percival Proctor is a British radio trainer and communications aircraft of the Second World War. The Proctor is a single-engined, low-wing monoplane with seating for three or four, depending on the model. Design and development The Proctor ...
and development of the
Merganser ''Mergus'' is the genus of the typical mergansers , fish-eating ducks in the subfamily Anatinae. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny the Elder and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird. The common merganser (''Merg ...
as the
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
light transport aircraft, production of 125 aircraft was sub-contracted to the
Blackburn Aircraft Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north- ...
works at Brough.


Operational service

After the above modifications, the Prentice was passed into RAF service, initially with the regular Flying Training Schools (FTS) including the RAF College, Cranwell where they replaced the remaining
de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...
s. Later deliveries went to the Reserve Flying Schools (RFS). The type was used as a pilot trainer until 1952 at the RAF College where it was replaced by the de Havilland (Canada) Chipmunk and in late 1953 at the other schools, when it was replaced by the
Percival Provost The Percival P.56 Provost is a basic trainer aircraft that was designed and manufactured by British aviation company Percival. During the 1950s, the Provost was developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a replacement for the Percival Prentice ...
. Two Air Signals Schools also operated the type to train air signallers, until the last were withdrawn from No.1 ASS at
RAF Swanton Morley The former Royal Air Force Swanton Morley, more commonly known as RAF Swanton Morley, was a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, England, located near to the village of Swanton Morley. The site, now known as Robertson Barracks, is occupied by t ...
, Norfolk, in mid 1956.


Civilian operations

252 redundant RAF Prentices were later bought in 1956 by
Aviation Traders Aviation Traders Limited (ATL) was a war-surplus aircraft and spares trader formed in 1947. In 1949, it began maintaining aircraft used by some of Britain's contemporary independent airlines on the Berlin Airlift. In the early 1950s, it branched ...
Ltd, a company owned by
Freddie Laker Sir Frederick Alfred Laker (6 August 1922 – 9 February 2006) was an English airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982. Known as Freddie Laker, he was one of the first airline owners to ...
. and were stored at
Stansted London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...
and
Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
. Most were eventually scrapped but 28 were converted for civil use with two seats and two jumpseats behind the two pilots' seats, separated by a structure which housed the original 4-channel radio. This conversion had quite poor performance with four passengers. One aircraft (G-AOKL) was based at Stansted Aerodrome near London around 1963 and used by the Parachute Club for parachuting with at least three jumpers. One aircraft was converted to a seven-seat layout for pleasure flights. One (G-AOPL) was acquired from Shackleton Aviation at Sywell by Captain Jon Cousens, a Desert Intelligence Officer in the Trucial Oman Scouts and flown to Sharjah in 1967; later being flown on to South Africa where it remained until it ceased flying. Forty-two aircraft were built under licence by Hindustan Aircraft for the
Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
. Three fictional civilian Percival Prentice are featured in ''
The Black Island ''The Black Island'' (french: link=no, L'Île noire) is the seventh volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper for its children's supplement , it ...
'' (French: ''L'Île noire''), the 7th volume of ''
The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...
'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist
Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...
. The planes are used by money forgers, flying over
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.


Variants

;Prentice T.1 :Standard three-seat trainer for Royal Air Force and export.
de Havilland Gipsy Queen The de Havilland Gipsy Queen is a British six-cylinder aero engine of capacity that was developed in 1936 by the de Havilland Engine Company. It was developed from the de Havilland Gipsy Six for military aircraft use. Produced between 1936 a ...
32 engine. 463 built.Birtles ''Aircraft Illustrated'' December 1975, p. 487. ;Prentice T.2 :Fitted with supercharged Gipsy Queen 51. One built. ;Prentice T.3 :Fitted with Gipsy Queen 70-2. 62 built.


Operators

; *
Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falklan ...
– Purchased 100 T.1s, with delivery from September 1948.Birtles ''Aircraft Illustrated'' December 1975, p. 489. ; *
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
– One aircraft was evaluated and tested by the RCAF in 1948. ; *
Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
– Received 20 Percival-built T.3s plus 42 built under licence by Hindustan Aircraft.Birtles ''Aircraft Illustrated'' December 1975, p. 492. ; *
Lebanese Air Force The Lebanese Air Force (LAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية اللبنانية, Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnaniyya) is the aerial warfare branch of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The seal of the air force is a Roundel with two wings and a Lebanese ...
– Received 3 T.1s. ; *
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
**
Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at R ...
**No.1 FTS **No.2 FTS **No.3 FTS **No.6 FTS **No.7 FTS **No.22 FTS **No.16 RFS **No.22 RFS **No.23 RFS **No.24 RFS **No.25 RFS


Surviving aircraft

;Argentina * E-390 – Prentice T.1 on static display at the
Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina The National Aeronautics Museum "Brigadier Edmundo Civati Bernasconi" ( es, Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica) is an Argentine museum located in the city of Morón, Buenos Aires. Established in 1960, the museum is dedicated to the history of aviati ...
in
Morón, Buenos Aires Morón () is a city in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires, capital of the Morón ''partido'', located in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, at . Located 20 km (13 mi) west of Downtown Buenos Aires, Morón is easily reac ...
.Cater & Caballero (IPMS Magazine May 2013) ;India * IV336 – Prentice T.1 on static display at the
Indian Air Force Museum, Palam The Indian Air Force Museum, Palam, is the museum of the Indian Air Force, and is located at the Palam Air Force Station in Delhi, India. The museum was the only one of its kind in India until the opening of the Naval Aviation Museum in Goa in ...
in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
. ;New Zealand * VS316 – Prentice T.1 on static display at the National Transport and Toy Museum in Wanaka, Otago. ;United Kingdom * VR189 – Prentice T.1 airworthy with private owner at Biggin Hill Airport in London. * VR192 – Prentice T.1 on display at the Brenzett Aeronautical Museum in Brenzett, Kent. * VR249 – Prentice T.1 on static display at the
Newark Air Museum Newark Air Museum is an air museum located on a former Royal Air Force station at Winthorpe, near Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire, England. The museum contains a variety of aircraft. History The airfield was known as RAF Winthorpe during ...
in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinhamshire. * VR259 – Prentice T.1 airworthy with Aero Legends in
Headcorn, Kent Headcorn is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is on the floodplain of the River Beult south east of Maidstone. The village is 8 mi (13 km) southeast of Maidstone, on the A274 road to T ...
. It was previously owned by the
Classic Air Force Classic Air Force was a charitably-based aircraft preservation organisation sited in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands. Specialising in classic aircraft from the period between the end of the World War II, Second World War and the ...
. * VS610 – Prentice T.1 under restoration with Neil James Butler of Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire. It was previously owned by 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 ...
. * VS618 – Prentice T.1 on static display at the
Royal Air Force Museum London The Royal Air Force Museum London (also commonly known as the RAF Museum) is located on the former Hendon Aerodrome. It includes five buildings and hangars showing the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force. It is part of the Royal Air Forc ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. * VS621 – Prentice T.1 on static display at the
South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum (SYAM) is a Volunteer led museum located at Lakeside in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It occupies the former site of the Royal Air Force Station, RAF Doncaster. The museum occupies the last remaining o ...
in
Doncaster, South Yorkshire Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
. * VS623 – Prentice T.1 on static display at the
Midland Air Museum The Midland Air Museum (MAM) is situated just outside the village of Baginton in Warwickshire, England, and is adjacent to Coventry Airport. The museum includes the ''Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre'' (named after the local aviation pione ...
in
Baginton, Warwickshire Baginton is a village and civil parish in the Warwick district of Warwickshire, England, and has a common border with the City of Coventry / West Midlands county. With a population of 801 ( 2001 Census), Baginton village is 4 miles (6.5 km) south ...
. ;United States * VS385 – Prentice T.1 in storage with Gabriel A. Lopez of
El Monte, California } El Monte (Spanish for "The Mountain") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles. El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and is historically ...
.


Specifications (T.1 - Gipsy Queen 51)


See also


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Birtles, Philip J. "The Percival Prentice". ''Aircraft Illustrated'', Vol. 8, No. 12, December 1975. pp. 487–493. * Bridgman, Leonard. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd., 1951. * Ellison, Norman H. ''Percivals Aircraft (The Archive Photographs Series)''. Chalford, Stroud, UK: Chalford Publishing Company, 1997. . * Halley, J.J. ''Royal Air Force Aircraft SA100-VZ999''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. 1985. . * Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919, Volume 3''. London: Putnam, 1988. . * Silvester, John. ''Percival Aircraft 1933–1954 (Parts 1–4).'' ''Aeroplane Monthly'', Vol. 11, No. 1–4, January–April 1983. * Silvester, John. ''Percival and Hunting Aircraft''. Leicester: Midland Counties Publications 1987. . * Sturtivant, Ray. ''Royal Air Force Flying Training and Support Units''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, 1997. . * Thetford, Owen. ''Aircraft of the Royal Air Force''. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1976. .


External links


"Prentice in the Air"
a 1948 ''Flight'' article {{Hunting Percival aircraft Prentice 1940s British military trainer aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1946