Tiger Moth G-ANZZ
G-ANZZ was built by Morris Motors at Cowley just outside of Oxford in 1944. It went into RAF service as DE974 and having survived as a training aircraft throughout the war it was sold at auction and ended up with Rollason Aircraft at Croydon. They had it registered G-ANZZ in March 1955.
Rollason’s lent it to the Tiger Club when the Club first opened at Croydon in 1957. It appeared at the first air shows the Club flew in at Sandown in September 1956, being flown by Margo McKellar. In March 1957 it was flown in the Fairoaks display by the Club CFI C A Nepean "Bish" Bishop in a Tiger Moth formation and also took part in several air races.
Later in 1957 the first Open British Aerobatics Competition was held by the Royal Aero Club at White Waltham and Peter Phillips won in ’NZZ. In the late 1950s, Tiger Moths were one of the few aircraft available in Britain to fly aerobatics but they were really not up to the job. De Havillands had modified a Tiger Moth G-ANSH, which was also an early Tiger Club aircraft, with a fuel system which would allow limited inverted flight and Rollason’s improved upon this and then set about modifying the airframe as well. They moved the fuel tank down into the front cockpit and covered it with a detachable plywood decking. This gave a marked improvement to the aerodynamics of the upper wing and fillets were inserted between the lower wing and the fuselage. The engine was up rated to a Gipsy Major 1C engine developing 145 hp. These changes also resulted in the empty weight of the aircraft being reduced to 1126lbs instead of the normal 1210lbs.
The first aircraft Rollason’s modified was G-APDZ in 1958 and this was named "The Bishop" after the Club’s CFI. The second aircraft converted in 1959 was G-ANZZ which was nicknamed "The Archbishop" and was then flown inverted from Lympne, Kent to Le Touquet, France by Elwyn McAully on 27 June 1959 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Blériot’s Channel crossing. This also remembered Geoffrey Tyson’s crossing in 1932 on the 25th anniversary in DH.82 G-ABUL.
G-ANZZ continued with air racing and then in 1963 someone had the idea of formation aerobatics. The three remaining Super Tigers were selected for the job.
The history since then is opaque when searching on the interweb. However, it is seen above coming in to land in an RAF colour scheme at Duxford on completion of a display during a 2013 air show.
Tiger Moth G-ANZZ
G-ANZZ was built by Morris Motors at Cowley just outside of Oxford in 1944. It went into RAF service as DE974 and having survived as a training aircraft throughout the war it was sold at auction and ended up with Rollason Aircraft at Croydon. They had it registered G-ANZZ in March 1955.
Rollason’s lent it to the Tiger Club when the Club first opened at Croydon in 1957. It appeared at the first air shows the Club flew in at Sandown in September 1956, being flown by Margo McKellar. In March 1957 it was flown in the Fairoaks display by the Club CFI C A Nepean "Bish" Bishop in a Tiger Moth formation and also took part in several air races.
Later in 1957 the first Open British Aerobatics Competition was held by the Royal Aero Club at White Waltham and Peter Phillips won in ’NZZ. In the late 1950s, Tiger Moths were one of the few aircraft available in Britain to fly aerobatics but they were really not up to the job. De Havillands had modified a Tiger Moth G-ANSH, which was also an early Tiger Club aircraft, with a fuel system which would allow limited inverted flight and Rollason’s improved upon this and then set about modifying the airframe as well. They moved the fuel tank down into the front cockpit and covered it with a detachable plywood decking. This gave a marked improvement to the aerodynamics of the upper wing and fillets were inserted between the lower wing and the fuselage. The engine was up rated to a Gipsy Major 1C engine developing 145 hp. These changes also resulted in the empty weight of the aircraft being reduced to 1126lbs instead of the normal 1210lbs.
The first aircraft Rollason’s modified was G-APDZ in 1958 and this was named "The Bishop" after the Club’s CFI. The second aircraft converted in 1959 was G-ANZZ which was nicknamed "The Archbishop" and was then flown inverted from Lympne, Kent to Le Touquet, France by Elwyn McAully on 27 June 1959 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Blériot’s Channel crossing. This also remembered Geoffrey Tyson’s crossing in 1932 on the 25th anniversary in DH.82 G-ABUL.
G-ANZZ continued with air racing and then in 1963 someone had the idea of formation aerobatics. The three remaining Super Tigers were selected for the job.
The history since then is opaque when searching on the interweb. However, it is seen above coming in to land in an RAF colour scheme at Duxford on completion of a display during a 2013 air show.