Rollason Condor?

[David Hardaker]

Thanks Brian !
I have been called worse.
By the way, my first Condor lesson was £4-5-0 in the proper money we used to have then. The instructor was an extra £1.

[WBerry]

Thanks for all your replies. It does sound like a wonderful a/c.

[Ian Melville]

Thanks Brian !
I have been called worse.
By the way, my first Condor lesson was £4-5-0 in the proper money we used to have then. The instructor was an extra £1.

So being from Yorkshire, you passed on the instructor

[David Hardaker]

Ian
No, I had to pay my £1 extra I'm afraid (you could make a gallon of glow fuel for a quid then !)
It's just as well as on my first takeoff I almost demolished a hangar after I got airborne some 30 degrees off runway heading, after CFI Frank Morgan let me stew in my own juice to make sure I knew what to expect next time !
You're right. The war cry of a true Yorkshireman - - "how much !!"

[Goldblock]

Is it as good as it looks? Whats the catch, I'm wondering. Is it tricky to get parts for, I've not heard of the type till recently?

All thoughts appreciated.

I am currently in a Condor group at Compton Abbas (G-AXGS which is mentioned earlier in this thread). I am currently selling my share as I am moving on to a different A/C.

Nice plane the only downsides that I can think of are:-
1.It is Is "squirrely" (read twitchy) on the ground and as with all tail draggers the flight ain't over until you are parked. Nothing too horrific just be quick with those pedals on the roll out.
2. The other issue I had was headroom (I am just on 6 feet tall). With the headset on, my head just touched the canopy which was really irritating and I would fly without the seat squab - which is hard on the derriere after an hour or so.
3. The U/C mains have a distinct toe-out (or is it toe-in?) - basically the mains are not parallel and this can be a problem when manoeuvring it around by hand (particularly single handed). One of our members made up a tail wheel dolly to pull it around with which was a great help.

Pluses are:-
1. Cheap to buy and run (on Permit and mogas)
2. Simple construction (wood and fabric)
3. Quite a roomy cockpit (except headroom)
4. Handles beautifully

Performance is not great and climb rate can be a struggle, particularly on warm days with full load.

Great little a/c, great fun to fly. Go for it.

[John Ferguson]

I also learnt to fly at Rochester in the early seventies. I had more time in G-AVEX but also flew G-ATAU and G-AWSN.
These were great little trainers and I have always thought I would like to fly one again.

Alan, I think it was you that Carol Cooper was telling me about recently, I left Rochester in 1975 and I see from my log book
that G-ATAU was my last flight from there in October 1975.

As for your questions I cant help with the parts issue seems others have already answered that, but I do remember that as
with most tail wheels its moving it around on the ground that causes most problems. We had several prop strikes
(two in one day I remember) due to over enthusiastic use of throttle and brakes.
But like everything once your use to it I remember it as a lot of fun to fly.

Just my two pence worth.

[Alan Cooper]

One of the interesting points about the Condor is that virtually every one is different.The earlier ones are very different from the final builds.One of the changes over the years was the gradual shortening of the undercarriage legs and moving the legs forward on the wings.Early condors like the Tiger Moths they were built to replace in the Universal Flying Services various club fleets were quite prone to standing on their noses with incorrect use of the (parking) brake or excessive use of power in inexpert hands.The later undercarriage layouts made this very unlikely and the (parking) brake could be used whist underway.I don,t think I,ve heard of one of the late builds going up on its nose but the earlier ones were much more prone.The process of evolution!!!.Amusingly when they first replaced the Tigers the fitters thought they would not last long..how wrong they were. The attrition rate proved extremely low over the years and they have proven to be very robust under the arduous usage they endured as trainers.VBR Alan

[Frank Parker]

This is very nostalgic for me. In 1972 I was able to borrow Norman Jones' personal Condor from the Tiger Club, and flew it to the RSA rally at Cambrai, with Dave Faulkner Bryant in the right hand seat. The late Harold Devereaux was there, and introduced me to Mme. Druine, the widow of the designer Roger Druine. She had never flown in the Condor, so I had the priviledge of taking her for her first ride in the type.

I remember that the aircraft had a sleeping bag built into the back, as Norman was planning to take part in some long distance event, but that never happened. But I used it to stay with the aircraft while Dave lived it up in the fleahpots of Cambrai!

Frank Parker

[WBerry]

This may be sacrilige to all you nostalgia-philes, however I've seen a picture of a beautiful Condor complete with a sliding canopy mod.

I beleive this was the owners own design, but does anyone know who did it and if its a straightforward mod?

I was very impressed (it goes half-way to looking as good as an Emeraude ).

[Brian Hope]

That's G-AYFC and an excellent rebuild and mod carried out by Andy Chadwick. There's a nice picture of it on G-INFO. I had a look at it when Andy was putting the finishing touches to it at Netherthorpe; the canopy sliding arrangement was really clever. I believe he said he molded the canopy himself but can't be sure.

[WBerry]

Eeek..moulded his own canopy! Sounds beyond my elementary skills. Still it'd be interesting to chat with him about it sometime.

[gasax]

A friend of mine owned AXGS for a while - during which it was recovered and generally spruced up. I recall it did not climb that well. He fitted also an oil cooler which certainly helped the oil pressure though *it was needed after the fuel tank)!

Norman Jones (I think) prepared the aircraft for the London Sydney air race but for some reason it never went or the race did not occur. The aircraft still had the bunk supports but nothing more.

My friend did however locate and fit the enormous /slipper fuel tank which sat under the fuselage. I have a feeling this added another 4 hours to the endurance. But fitting it meant some cooling problems hence the above!

He sold it about 6 ro 8 years ago and I heard it had been crashed. As with most of these aircraft more lives than a cat!

Pete Morris

[Bill McCarthy]

Nice to hear of past aircraft I've flown. The only Jodel 1050 I've flown was G-AYMT and if I had to choose between a Condor and a Jodel, I'd go for the Jodel as it was a real joy to fly. The only thing I recall was that you had to beware of ground loops with the Jodel when the rudder lost authority on landing. Wander what happened to AYMT.

[Nigel Hitchman]

What happened to the two Condors stored in an old hangar at Gatwick? Several of us spent a fair bit of time tracking down the owner to ensure he got them out before the building was demolished. However no one saw them leave and it is thought they maybe were still inside when it was demolished. Hopefully this isnt correct and they are being restored somewhere?

[Nigel Hitchman]

What happened to the two Condors stored in an old hangar at Gatwick? Several of us spent a fair bit of time tracking down the owner to ensure he got them out before the building was demolished. However no one saw them leave and it is thought they maybe were still inside when it was demolished. Hopefully this isnt correct and they are being restored somewhere?