Auster mix and match – the J5R Alpine
By: shortfinals
Tags: Abingdon, Aiglet Trainer, Auster, Auster Alpine, Autocrat, Fairey Reed, Gipsy Major engine, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, GVFWE, J5R, Kenya, nose art, propeller, rhino, rhinoceros, Richard Webber, tail art
Category: aircraft, Aviation, Great Vintage Flying Weekend
| Aperture: | f/4 |
|---|---|
| Focal Length: | 7mm |
| ISO: | 100 |
| Shutter: | 1/0 sec |
| Camera: | MVC-CD500 |
Tail art on Auster J5R Alpine
We have seen that nose art has a long and distinguished history on military (and sometimes civil) aircraft. Here is a splendid example of artwork at the opposite end of an aircraft – tail art, no less. This painting of a rhinoceros adorns a smartly turned-out example of the rare Auster J5R Alpine, owned by Richard Webber. During the 1950s a whole multitude of Auster varients were produced almost by a process of ‘mix and match’. In this case, you took the fuselage of an Auster Aiglet Trainer, the wings from a J-1 Autocrat, added a De Havilland Gipsy Major 10 engine (130hp) driving a Fairey Reed propeller, stirred it all about and, voila~ a J5R Alpine. Only ten of this variant were built, so this makes the survival from 1953 of G-ANXC something of a minor miracle. The aircraft has, at one time been on the Kenyan registry as 5Y-UBD – hence the rhino!
This was taken early one morning at GVFWE, Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
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Useful links
- Courtesy Aircraft Courtesy Aircraft are a purveyor of fine, used warbirds and other aircraft
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- Passiondesavions Excellent blog from a pilot and Air Traffic Controller (en francais). The photography is exceptional. C’est magnifique!
- The Mighty Jingles A truly amazing wargaming channel; aircraft (War Thunder) as well as tanks (World of Tanks)
- The People's Mosquito Ltd Help to launch a de Havilland Mosquito into British skies! An aviation charity with just one aim….
- TPM Fund Help us build a Mosqutio for Britain!
- Travelforaircraft An excellent aircraft miscellany!
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