July 2007
Congratulations Adrian - the youngest-ever Luton Minor flyer??
BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Adrian Parsons, who just a month after qualifying for his PPL, yesterday got his Luton Minor off the ground for his first solo on type (not much alternative in a single seater!).
At just 19 years old, surely he's got to be the youngest owner/flyer of a vintage-type aeroplane in the UK?
Adrian bought the Luton Minor a couple of months ago, but it not having flown for over a year it needed some TLC and work on its engine before it could fly again. Now she's going like good 'un and teaching Adrian more about old aeroplane maintenance than he ever imagined!
Great to see G-ASXJ in the air once again Adrian!
G-ASXJ is a 55hp Lycoming-engined Minor, well known to anyone who has built one of the wonderful Aerographic flying models - it was based on this aeroplane. Among its former owners can be named Air Vice-Marshal Sir John Allison, who owned it when he was head of RAF Strike Command! Now Sir John is regularly seen perched on the Shuttleworth Trust's Bristol Boxkite - that's what owning a Luton leads to!
Anyway, from the archive, a couple of earlier shots of the aeroplane. The first of course, is in her well-known keynote blue and white livery at North Weald in 2003, but does anyone know the story behind the stealthy black paint job?
