The Hangar Rat

A potted history of the most versatile flying machine 

The means of recognising different aircraft types, their role and who operate and build them.

The story of Westland Aircraft .
Typical of companies at the time, licence building, designing their own, merging with others and totally reinventing themselves in a different area. Westland did that by diversifying into solely producing helicopters

History of possibly the most famous of British Aircraft manufacturers Avro.
Makers of the Lancaster and Vulcan bombers

The Famous Bristol Aircraft Company, that created designs such as the Blenheim, Beaufort, and Beaufighter, made cars, and engines that would go on and power Concorde.
They designed and made aircraft used in the testing of characteristics for high speed/supersonic flight - crucial for Concorde's development

One of Britian's biggest engineering companies that moved into aviation at the start. Continued and developed many famous aircraft including the world's first turbo prop- the Vickers Viscount and the fastest Sub Sonic airliner of its day - the Vickers VC10.

Possible the most innovative, but certainly designer of he most graceful aircraft and the iconic aircraft like the Mosquito - 'The Wooden Wonder',  and the World's first jet powered airliner, the Comet

History of one the most famous and successful names in aviation

First Episode in the history of British Aircraft Companies - starting with Sopwith Aviation. A successful but short lived company around the time of the First World War

What to expect when able to fly a plane - check list, walk round etc. What to do when airborne and when returning to or going to a different one