N1041P - 1949 PERCIVAL PRENTICE

1949

PERCIVAL

PRENTICE

N1041P

P-40

VFR

Used

1758.0

4

The Percival P.40 Prentice primary trainer was the Royal Air Force's first post-World War Two military trainer, its first British primary trainer with enclosed cockpit and the first all-metal aircraft manufactured by Edgar Percival's Percival Aircraft, Ltd. The prototype Prentice first flew in 1946, and production models were manufactured from 1947-1953. The above production example, N1041P, manufactured in 1949, is the ONLY Percival P.40 Prentice registered in the United States. A fixed gear low wing monoplane, it was unusual in being a three-place trainer aircraft. Supposedly, the extra student could accompany the training flight and learn by monitoring the instructor and the student's responses. The aircraft was fully equipped for instrument flight. The brakes and split flaps were pneumatically operated. The design requirement of the aircraft was for a replacement for the venerable Tiger Moth tube and fabric-covered biplane tandem seating two-place RAF trainer. Please see my photos of N675LF for an beautifully restored and regularly flown DH.82 Tiger Moth. The prototype Prentice design was powered by a single de Havilland Gipsy Queen 32 six cylinder inverted in-line air-cooled engine of 250 hp. Production models used either a de Havilland Gipsy Queen 30 Mk2 of 251 Hp or a GQ 32 of 250 Hp. The Prentice T.1 was the RAF's standard basic trainer during the post-war period, with over 300 constructed. The aircraft were additionally supplied to Argentina, India and Lebanon. Companies in Argentina and India acquired licenses for production in-country. The Prentice T.3 model used by the Indian Air Force had a substantially larger de Havilland Gipsy Queen 71 engine of 345 Hp. The Prentice T.1 aircraft was found to be heavy for its horsepower and powerplant, which incidentally was also heavy at 400 kg (882 lb). Flight qualities were described as cumbersome but stable, and as such it was thought to be a good instrument training platform. It was slow in roll (46 foot wingspan) and exhibited poor spin recovery. If a turn was not made with coordinated controls and continued, it could savagely snap-roll inverted. Clearly, as an ab initio primary trainer it needed to be tamed of these tendencies. The unusual anti-spin strakes added on the top of the fuselage just forward of the vertical stabilizer helped with the spin recovery, but it would go into a flat spin after three turns if not stopped before. The snap roll tendency was solved by the upturned wing tip additions. Spin recovery in the Percival Prentice required skill to avoid a wild ride, somewhat tamed by the addition of more area to the rudder and elevator. The lower picture shows another view of the added anti-spin strakes just forward of the vertical stabilizer. A contemporary military tandem two-seat primary trainer with far more pleasant flying qualities was the Canadian de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk with a Bristol-Siddeley (D.H.) Gipsy Major 8 four cylinder air-cooled engine of 145 Hp, also first flying in 1946 and which was a much better aerobatic platform. (Chipmunk versions were also produced in Great Britain and 1,014 models made it more produced there than the Prentice, but that is another story, and the Chipmunk is not so rare). Please see N754RB for a beautiful DHC-1 Chipmunk example. After retirement from RAF service in 1953, most remaining Prentices were gathered up by Sir Freddy Laker to be converted for civilian use by private owners, with five or seven(!) passenger seating and added wing fuel. This venture was not successful however, as American production light aircraft began appearing in Great Britain with the relaxation of import controls. As stated, N1041P is the only FAA registered Percival P.40 Prentice in the US. My search of the web found one Prentice example in New Zealand, one Prentice example in Belgium and in the UK, G-APJB (VR259) also pictured here on the Airport-Data.com site-enter G-APJB, G-APPL, enter G-APPL (no photo as yet), VR192 (ex G-APIT-enter G-APIT, no photo as yet), VR227 and VS623. Current airworthiness of some of these few aircraft is unknown. Several photos of N1041P taken by me over an 8 month interval suggest it has not been moved nor flown from its outdoor tiedown location at CMA. Note the gust-lock on N1041P's unbalanced rudder. I encourage any reports of an airworthy flying Percival P.40 Prentice with registration and base of operation. Certainly, they are among the rarest of remaing warbirds.

1949 British trainer.

392

STOH

DeHavilland Gypsi Queen inverted six cylinder. 251 hp