John Penney brings the propeller, which we fitted and take a moment to enjoy our work.
Soon, the aeroplane was growing in the back garden shed, but space was running out. There was a replica Demoiselle at Brooklands Museum, but rather different to the original as it was made of steel tubing. After contacting Julian Temple, former Curator of the museum, it was agreed for Edwardian aviation expert Mike Beach to assess my project prior to Brooklands’ acceptance.
Faithful design
Meeting Mike in April 1996 was fascinating. My wife was heavily pregnant by then (Constance was born in May), but she helped me to assemble the fuselage section of the plane at Brooklands for Mike to inspect. Mike was very pleased to see how it was being built and he complimented the construction of the tail because it was faithful to the original
design. On that basis, the project was accepted by Brooklands, which meant that I would have a bit of space to continue with the construction in the former annex of the Wellington Hangar, which flooded from time to time.
Mike and I developed a sound
relationship and he became a formidable mentor. Often I would go to Mike’s house to show bits made and he would send me back to re-do them with lighter material or a slightly different shape. In the end, there were probably more than two Demoiselles built if we consider the number of parts that were remade. Mind you, Mike was very knowledgeable and his advice was invaluable. Eventually, we had to do the fabric work on the plane, so I asked Brooklands’ volunteers for help and they suggested Gerry Winter, who was the former team
leader for the construction of the SE5 replica at Brooklands among other roles. By then Gerry had stopped being a volunteer but I managed to persuade him to work on the Demoiselle. Gerry and his daughter, Caroline, were very happy to meet up at Brooklands in the evenings to work on the fabric. It was challenging during the winter, requiring many tea breaks. My wife Kareen and daughter Constance were also part of the working team at weekends. The subsequent challenge was the engine, originally built in 1909. Only a handful were ever made, making it almost impossible to source. A compromise had to be achieved but it had to look right. Mike suggested a Douglas or the ABC Scorpion engine from the 1920s. After searching for a long time, I came across a DAF 44 (Variomatic) that has an interesting flat twin air-cooled engine. Having spoken to Mike about it, he mentioned that a friend of his, John Penney, had modified a DAF to fit into a plane and that I should contact John with a view to finding out the modifications he made. Following a visit to John in South Wales, I realised the complexity of the modifications and decided to advertise in the PFA magazine for a flat twin engine. John saw the advert and kindly offered the engine to me, all I had to do was to pick it up. He loved the Demoiselle project and not only did he give me the engine but also made the propeller currently fitted to the plane. In March 1999, we carried out the first engine run on the Demoiselle, meaning the project was completed in three years and three months. It is thanks to Brooklands’ support, its volunteers and passionate aviators that my dream was accomplished.
First engine run, March 1999. Tony holding the wing, Gerry the tail, Kareen and I enjoying the propeller wash and Caroline is the photographer.
26 BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | MARCH - APRIL 2020
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
