Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi just got this from the NEC
Plane sailing for Morris
Just when you thought our Morris Centenary celebration couldn’t get any bigger, the Morris clubs are bringing a plane!

The fantastic display by around 15 Morris clubs will now feature a ¼ scale Tiger Moth airplane. Morris made around 4000 of these between 1930- 1940. Many were used for training purposes but quite a few saw military action in the Second World War.

They were made and assembled at the Cowley plant at Oxford and made a significant impact. Many are still flying, this particular plane is a replica of one made for the Netherlands Air force and later the Belgian military. It was built in 1939.

So its not just classic cars anymore at the show. Now its plane sailing!

For my 60th birthday I had the pleasure of an hours flight in a Tiger Moth variant called the Stampe SV4C built in 1948 so the plane was the same age as me as I was born in 1948. I was piloted by Tizi Hodson who is one of the most experienced women pilots in the world. After we got airborne I was allowed to take the controls and flew from Gloucester Staverton over the Cotswolds and above the Prescott speed hill climb course where I and my Morris had competed in 1972. We turned round for home over the village where I used to live and with Tizi at the controls went on to complete a loop and barrel roll over my brother in laws house; she then handed back the controls to me. It was not until we were about to land did I hand back the controls to Tizi. All this was caught on DVD. I had previously done some glider training but being in the Stampe was a most wonderful time and experience so another completion for the bucket list.
For details of the Stampe see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stampe_et_Vertongen
I was also given one of the definitive books on the Tiger Moth 'The Tiger Moth Story' by author Alan Bramson and on page 124 there is a picture of Tiger Moth production at the the Morris Cowley Works; Tiger Moths are seen on the 'Flow Line' where Morris cars had previously been built. Chapter 6 has a whole section relating to the production of Tiger Moths at the Cowley Works with definitive production numbers for the RAF at 3,443 registrations. An additional 75 Tiger Moths were built for overseas orders. There is strong evidence that Morris motors produced 3,508 Tiger Moths. All details taken from Alan Bramson's book.