The Aero Commander company bought the Volaircraft design in 1960, and produced it as the Aero Commander 100. It was produced in two versions: the 150hp Darter Commander and the 180hp Lark Commander. Later versions had a swept fin, making them visually hard to tell apart from Cessna 172s, with which they were competing. They are quite similar designs. This is a four seater, 22 feet 6 inches long and with a wing span of 35 feet, and gross weight of 2,250lb. Top speed is 125mph. It was only moderately succesful, with 341 Darters and 213 Larks having been built by the time production ended in 1970.

This is a very degraded picture of a Darter Commander at Abbotsford in September 1981.

The Aero Commander 200 ranks alongside the Ryan Navion and Piaggio 149 as one of the best high performance four seat tourers of the post-war period. It derives from the 1953 Meyers 200, 46 of which were built before the design rights for which were bought by Aero Commander. It is powered by a 260hp Continental IO-470, though some versions had the 285hp IO-520. Construction standards are first class, and it is a highly sought-after machine. It cruises at 215mph and has a range of 1,100 miles. It is 24 feet 5 inches long, with a wing span of 30 feet 6 inches and gross weight of 3,000lb. Sadly, only 77 were built by aero commander before it was discontinued as they felt the cost of construction to be excessive. Their response to this was to develop the Commander 112, a very good machine (I've got one!) but scarcely in the same league as the 200.

Top: Cranfield, date uncertain

Lower: Biggin Hill, August 1975.

Not for nothing was this bizarre aeroplane known as the `flying bathtub'! Designed by the Aeronautical Company of America (AERONCA), the C3 was a tiny (20 foot long, 36 foot span) light (450Kg gross weight) and underpowered (36hp Aeronca engine) single seat aircraft dating from the early 1930s. Note the bracing post and wires providing stiffness to the wing.

This rare example is preserved at the Real Aeroplane Museum, Breighton

The Aeronca 7AC Champion was the first post-war aircraft built by the American Aeronca corporation, famous previously as the producer of simple, reliable, low cost and low-powered light aeroplances such as the C-3. The 7AC is powered by a 65hp Continental engine, and has a surprisingly spacious enclosed cabin for two seats in tandem. Cruising speed is a sedate 90mph, and gross weight 1,220lb. It is a compact aircraft, 21 feet 6 inches long, with a wing span of 35 feet. The US Army used it as a light liaison aircraft, designated L-16. It first flew in 1945. Over 10,000 were built between then and 1951.

This one was at Rush Green in June 1980.

The Aeronca 11AC Chief is essentially the same airframe as the 7AC, but fitted with a new cabin for two seats side by side, and featuring control yokes rather than sticks. Engine is the same, but the cruising speed manages to be a bit faster (100mph) despite the wider cabin. Range is 315 miles. 2,325 were built, plus 154 built under license in India as the HAL Pushpak, with a more powerful 90hp engine. It is slightly heavier (1,350lb maximum weight) and shorter (20 feet 10 inches) and with a slightly wider span (36 feet, one inch) than the 7AC.

Photograph by Ivy at Kemble, July 2005.

The Aeronca 15AC Sedan is a four seat touring development of the 7AC/11AC line. Powered by a 145hp COntinental engine, it cruises at 115mph and has a maximum gross weight of 2,050lb. At 25 feet 3 inches long and with a wing span of 37 feet 6 inches, it is only slightly bigger than its two seat forebears. First flown in 1947, 561 were made before Aeronca ceased operations in the early 1950s.

This Irish registered example was at Cranfield in July 1983.

The Alon Aircoupe, together with the Forney F-1A, represent continued post-war production of the 1937 Ercoupe 415. It was originally designed by Ed Weick, who later cooperated with Al Mooney to develop the Piper Comanche. This was a little two seat touring aircraft of quite advanced design for its day, and is instantly recognisable by its twin oval tails. Initial versions had no rudder pedals, the rudder being interlinked with the ailerons. They were meant to be impossible to stall (but do sink very fast if you get too slow!) They had a variety of Continental engines, ranging in power from 65 to 90hp. All versions have the same basic dimensions: length of 20 feet 2 inches and wing span of 30 feet, with a noticeably thick wing section and high dihedral. It will cruise at 110mph for a quite respectable range of 500 miles. Over 5,500 were built, of all versions by all makers, including a handful by Mooney after they took over Alon in the 1960s. One was evaluated during the war as the YO-55, but was not pursued for military purposes.

These very similar pictures were taken at very dissimilar times: the top one at Cranfield in July 1980, and the lower one by Ivy at Kemble in July 2005.

The American Aviation AA1 Yankee was designed by Jim Bede as a low-cost light two seat private aeroplane. It first flew in 1963 and has been moderately popular, with good operating economics outweighing the slightly cheap feel of the construction (which, in fairness, was the whole point really). Powered by a 108hp Lycoming engine, it cruises at a nippy 135mph over a range of 450 miles. At 19 feet 3 inches long and with a wing span of 24 feet 5 inches, it is also quite a small aeroplane: definitely not for the obese. American Aviation was taken over by Grumman, who rebranded the aircraft as the Trainer. About 1,770 were built.

This one was at Kemble in July 2005. Photograph by Ivy

This heavily deteriorated picture is the only one I have of a Bellanca Cruisair. A sleek four seater of rather antique appearance, it was in fact a 1945 update of a pre-war design by Giuseppi Bellanca. It was originally fitted with a 150hp Franklin engine, which gave a cruising speed of 150mph (one mph per hp was a particualr selling point). This is at the expense of a slightly narrow cabin. Later updates, including the Cruisemaster and Downer 260, had more powerful engines, up to 260hp engine which gave it a very good cruising speed of 185mph. It is largely made of wood, which gives great strength and lightness but means they shouldn't be kept outside, especially in extremes of heat, cold or humidity: this accounts for there being fewer about than their metal contemporaries. Empty weight is only 1,240lb, and maximum weight is 2,700lb. Length is 22 feet 11 inches and wing span 34 feet 2 inches. A particularly odd feature is the undercarriage, which is retracted by the pilot winding a crank handle! Simple and effective, but tiring. The triple tail is very distinctive.

This one was at Chilliwack in Canada in September 1981.

The Bellanca Decthalon is a re-working of the Champion Citabria (see below) for the aerobatic training market. The lineage is impressive, the original airframe concepts dating back to the 1930s Aeroncas, and it is very strong.

This 8KCAB Dethalon was built in 1980, and is powered by a fuel-injected Lycoming AEIO-320 engine. It was at Tatenhill in November 2007.

The Bellanca Viking is simply an update of the Cruisair, with nosewheel undercarriage, a more powerful 300hp Continental engine, and a single swept tail. Like the Cruisair it is a four seater, built of metal tube covered in fabric, and the same lovely smooth wing whose surface is plywood covered with fabric - very low drag! It cruises at up to 200mph, and has a 4 to 5 hour endurance. Gross weight is a useful 3,325lb. Over 1,500 were built from 1967; it is still available to order. It is a bit longer than the Cruisair, at 21 feet 3 inches.

This smart Viking was at Old Sarum in February 2006.

The Cassutt Racer was designed by American designer Tom Cassutt, and first flew in 1954. It is designed specifically for `Formula One' air racing, so conforms to the standards. It is a single seater, very small (16 feet long and with a highly loaded wing of only 15 feet span), light (maximum weight is 820lb) and fast (top speed is 195 mph on a mere 90hp). Many have been home-built by amateur builders.

This one was competing in a race at Teesside in the 1970s, exact date unknown.

The Champion 7KCAB Citabria is descended directly from the Aeronca series, via the Champion company who bought the rights after Aeronca ceased trading. The design was strengthened and updated, equipped with a much more powerful engine (150hp Lycoming IO-320), and was marketed as the Citabria - which is `Airbatic' spelt backwards. It retains the primarily fabric construction of the earlier design, over a steel tube framework, which gives a good combination of lightness (maximum weight is only 1,650lb) and strength. It also retains the two seat tandem seating arrangement. It has a full inverted fuel and oil system. Wing span is 33 feet 5 inches; length, 22 feet 8 inches; top speed is 125mph and range 565 miles.

These pictures were taken by David's father at Headcorn in July 1977, with a teenage David in the back seat about to be taken into the air by his father's cousin Harry. This included David's first introduction to a manoeuvre called a `rolling circle' - the aircraft flown in a circle over the ground, but rolling about its axis the whole way round. This was a dimension he never knew existed before!

The Champion 7FC Tri-Traveller is essentially a nosewheel version of the Aeronca 7AC. Powered by a slightly more powerful Continental C-90 engine, it first flew in 1957. It is a tandem two seater, which cruises at 110mph and has a range of 500 miles. It is 21 feet 8 inches long, with wing span of 33 feet 5 inches, and gross weight of 1,450lb

Cranfield, July 1988

The Cirrus SR20 is one of a new breed of composite light aircraft developed in the 1990s. It includes advanced avionics and numerous safety features, including a unique parachute recovery system. The SR20 is powered by a 200hp Continental IO-360 flat six engine, giving it a top speed of 175mph and range of 880 miles. Seating four, its gross weight is 3,000lb. It is 26 feet 3 inches long, with a wing span of 35 feet 7 inches. The SR22 is similar, but powered by a 310hp engine which makes it heavier and faster and go further.

Cirrus now claim to be the world's second largest producer of light single engined aircraft. The SR range is still in production as of October 2005, with over 1,000 having been made since its introduction in March 1995.