	British Aerospace Jetstream The Handley Page Jetstream is a lovely aircraft with a sad history. Intended as an 18 passenger feederliner, it was aimed at a market estimated (pretty reasonably) at over 1,000 aircraft. It first flew in August 1967, a year after the Beech 99 and well before the Embraer Bandeirante. Development costs, unfortunately, spiralled out of control, and initial performance targets were not met because the aircraft was fitted with inadequate Turbomeca Astazou turboprops of only 690shp each. During the efforts to fit a more adequate engine, Handley Page went bankrupt in February 1970, after 49 had been built. Eleven, ordered by the US Air Force as C-10s, were not completed and scrapped. The design was inherited by Scottish Aviation, later to merge into British Aerospace; they fitted the more powerful 940shp engines and completed 26 for the RAF. Then the break came with yet another engine option. With Garrett TPE331 engines of similar power, the Jetstream 31 and 41 had the necessary power and sold a further 480 before production ceased in the mid 1990s. The Jetstream is a compact aircraft, 47 feet 11 inches long and with a wing span of 52 feet. Empty weight is 8,750lb (for the T1) and maximum weight 12,550lb. The more powerful engines give a cruising speed of 285mph over a range of 1,385 miles. This Royal Navy (formerly RAF) Jetstream T1 was at Fairford in July 2005.
	The Britten-Norman BN2A Islander is another British success story. It was built as a simple, reliable, rugged utility aircraft, suitable for operation from marginal airfields in marginal conditions. It is a 10 seater, intended as a replacement for the Dragon Rapide (see below). It first flew in June 1965 and was built at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight. Apart from rugged simplicity, its main early selling point was price - only Ł17,500 in 1965. It is powered by two 210hp Lycoming piston engines, giving it cruising speed of 140kt and range of 600 miles. Empty weight is 3,600lb and maximum weight, 6,600 lb. Notable features include the fixed undercarriage and three side entry doors. Wing span is 49 feet and length 35 feet 8 inches. It is highly successful, with more than 1,200 having been built, including many under license in Romania. They are operated worldwide. This one was pictured at Southend in July 1984.
	The BN2A mark III Trislander is one of the more peculiar aircraft to take to the skies! Essentially a stretch of the Islander, the bizarre choice of location for the third engine was dictated by a desire to keep as much as possible of the Islander fuselage unchanged. Note the trolley under the tail of this one, to stop it falling over on the ground! It first flew in September 1970. Sharing the Islander's main benefits of rugged simplicity, it was pretty successful, considering: 73 had been built by the time production finished in 1982. Its three 260hp Lycoming piston engines gave it a normal cruising speed of 145kt and range of 870 nautical miles. Wing span is 53 feet, length 49 feet 3 inches, and seating capacity is for 18 people including the pilot. This one was at Le Touquet, September 2005.
	This De Havilland DH84 Dragon was pictured at Cranfield in 1996. The Dragon was built as a six seat light passenger aircraft. It was specified by Edward Hillman, who had pioneered luxury air travel in the 1920s, and designed by A.E. Hagg. The prototype first flew in November 1932. Altogether, 317 were built before production finally ceased in 1945. 87 of these were built during the second world war in Australia.
	De Havilland designed the DH89A Dragon Rapide as a streamlined, faster version of the Dragon. The sleeker airframe resulted in a 20% increase in cruising speed from 109 to 132 mph. 728 were built, including many for the Royal Air Force, making it one of the most successful British civil aircraft ever. It first flew in April 1934. Several survive, including this one (G-AHGD), seen at Yeovilton in 1978 in the colours of British European Airways.
	The De Havilland DH104 Dove was the company's first civil design after the second world war. It was intended as a successor to the Dragon Rapide. It seated eight and was much faster, cruising at up to 180mph. It was also very successful, with 528 built between 1945 and 1968. It could have been even more successful had the design been kept up to date. Downward-folding stairs for ease of access, a swept fin and updated engines and systems could have made it a fearsome competitor to the Piper Navajo and the large Cessna twins in the 1970s and 1980s. By then, though, De Havilland had been absorbed into the giant British Aerospace, who had no interest in aircraft this small. This Dove was built in the early 1960s, and is seen at Farnborough in 1998.
	The Riley company in the USA specialise in conversions of existing airframes. One of their early designs was this modification of the De Havilland Dove, with a swept fin and two 400Hp Lycoming engines in place of the original De Havilland Gipsy Queen inlines. Overall performance is not significantly different from the original, and strangely the Dove's main drawback, the sideways-opening door, was not altered. The Riley conversion was mostly used in America, but this one found its way to France and was seen at Toussus in June 1981.
	The De Havilland DH114 Heron was, in effect, a scaled-up, four engined derivative of the Dove. It was designed to be a relatively cheap and simple light transport, with up to 17 passengers, able to be operated by small businesses from small airfields. While four engines gave it good safety and a creditable 180mph top speed, the fuel consumption and maintenance costs were high, which limited the market to 150 aircraft. The prototype first flew in May 1950, and they were made until 1963. This well-maintained Heron was photographed at Norwich in July 1976.
	The Edgar Percival EP9 Prospector was a very odd looking aircraft. The one pictured looks even odder because it is half dismantled. It was designed by the Australian designer Edgar W. Percival (of Gull and Proctor fame), after he had sold his main business to the Hunting group in 1944. It's simple, rugged construction made it suitable for operating out of short, unprepared strips with up to 1,500lb of freight or agricultural chemicals for crop-spraying. It first flew from Stapleford in December 1955, with the designer at the controls. It was a very versatile aircraft, the `pod' being able to carry five passengers, three stretchers or up to a ton of freight. It was powered by one 270hp Lycoming piston engine, though later aircraft built by Lancashire Aircraft at Samlesbury had a 295hp engine. Wing span was 43 feet 6 inches, and length was 29 feet 6 inches. Maximum weight was 4,320lb (with the 295hp engine), with empty weight of 2,070lb. It cruised at 145mph over a range of 580 miles. Though very capable, it was not very popular and only 28 were built between 1955 and 1960. It was evaluated by the Army as a possible light liaison aircraft, but the role was eventually filled by the Canadian Beaver instead. This one was for many years the company demonstrator, and was seen at Shoreham in the late 1970s. Four aircraft remain, two in the USA, one in New Zealand and one in the Museum of Army Flying at Middle Wallop.
	The Edgeley Optica is an even odder aircraft than the Prospector! It was designed as a specialised, low speed, low cost observation aircraft for use by agencies like the police or coastguard. The cockpit is derived from the Allouette 3 helicopter. The shrouded propeller is known as a `ducted fan', and gives good engine performance. Its main advantage over helicopters, more usual for this type of role, is cost. The prototype first flew in the mid 1980s. This example is seen at Farnborough in 1986.
	The Hawker Siddeley HS125 was originally designed as the De Havilland 125, and is probably the last aircraft to retain a DH type number. Designed in 1961 to meet the new market for executive jets, it was immediately successful. One key to its success has been constant development and updating, which has kept it attractive to performance-conscious business customers. With almost 1,000 built, this is one of the most successful British civil aircraft ever. The design continued to be developed by British Aerospace after it was formed from the merger of Hawker Siddeley and BAC, and was eventually sold by them to Raytheon in the USA in the late 1990s. This one was pictured at Luton in May 1978.
	The Lockspeiser LDA01 (Land Development Aircraft) was a bizarre design, featuring a canard layout (wing at the back, tailpane at the front), three tailfins and a single pusher engine. It was intended to be a rugged flying truck, similar to but smaller and cheaper than the Short Skyvan (see below). Only the prototype was ever built, and first flew in August 1971. Everyone who might have bought one would either have gone up to an Islander (above) or used an established design such as the Swiss Pilatus Porter or American Cessna 207. It is seen flying at Farnborough in September 1976.
	The Norman Fieldmaster was a bold venture by Desmond Norman (of Britten-Norman fame) to develop a high capacity (gross weight was 3,850Kg), high capability, tough agricultural aircraft. Its size is apparent in this picture. Only seven were built before it fell victim to economics: the Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop engine was superbly reliable but thirsty, and the competition decisively shifted to tractors as application cost and spray drift became more important in the 1980s. And the airframe was too expensive to compete with the simpler Eastern European designs in the prairie fields of America and Central Europe. Sadly, none remain. This one was at Farnborough, September 1984
	The Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer was designed primarily to be able to operate from very short airstrips. It first flew from Prestwick, in Scotland, in June 1955. It was superb at its intended task, and was able to operate in conditions at which most other aircraft would take one look and give up. 87 were built, and many exported to parts of the world without much aviation infrastructure such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Iran. This one was pictured at Duxford in 1996.
	The Short Skyvan was developed from the original Miles Aerovan of the 1940s and '50s, but with a new (Hurel-Dubois designed) wing, turboprop engines, and a new, box-like fuselage, there is nothing left in common with the original. Strangely, it has never been popular in Britain despite being built in Belfast, but it has sold very well for export, carrying 15 passengers or 3,000 lb freight. This one was photographed at Farnborough in September 1976.
	The Short SD330 was a development of the Skyvan as a light commuter airliner. It first flew in August 1974. It carries up to 30 passengers. A miltary version was built for the US Army as the C-23A Sherpa. It was effectively superseded by the Short 360 in the 1980s. This one was seen at Farnborough in September 1976.
	The Short 360, which first flew in July 1981, was an evolutionary development of the 330, designed to seat 36 people. 165 were built for the burgeoning commuter airliner market in the 1980s. It is powered by two 1,150hp Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprops, which give it a cruising speed of 245mph and range of just over 1,000 miles. Though out of production for some years, many remain in service. This one was at Coventry, April 2006.
	The Vickers Vimy is eternally famous as the aircraft flown by Alcock and Brown in the first ever crossing of the Atlantic ocean by an aeroplane, on 14 June 1919. Vimys were used for other long-range record attempts, including the first ever flight from England to Australia. 43 were built, plus two replicas, of which this is one, built for the 75th anniversary of the Atlantic flight and seen at Cranfield in 1996. It was entirely faithful to the original except for its more modern engines.