The Ongoing Mystery Aircraft Thread Part Deux.

[lefty]

And a glass to Sandar for the Evangel - thought this might be a tricky one.

[sandar]

Funnily enough, I posted the Evangel as mystery aeroplane on another, now defunct, forum, thinking it was quite a poser. It was identified within 10 minutes. Now I will have to see what I can find that might stump Moses for a few minutes. I think he has hacked into my PC:costumes:

[sandar]

A nice little biplane from an earlier age. I suspect it will be identified before I have had my morning caffeine fix

[lefty]

Well it bears more than a passing resemblance to a DH6 prototype, but (a) that would be too easy and (b) I don't think it is ! (Tail very DH, but too swept-back, no exhaust stacks)

Needs more work.

[sandar]

Point A, I once saw a mock up of a DC3 with tricycle undercarriage and didn't realise at first what it was. Point B, you are right, it isn't a prototype DH6.

[lefty]

Martinsyde G.100 ??

[sandar]

Close, but no beer yet. There are links between DH, Martinsyde and the mystery.

I'm enjoying this, got one of the experts flumoxed

[sandar]

One or two clues. I believe it was designed circa 1916, but built immediately post war. It is not military. It has links with both DeHavilland and Martinsyde, but not common links. You may surmise, correctly, that it is a British aeroplane.

The company that built it built some Caudron's during the Great War, under licence.

I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'm having an early night. I will check back early in the morning.

[lefty]

Getting nowhere, Sandar. Last-ditch effort at a Sopwith of some kind ?

[sandar]

Not a Sopwith.
It is the world famous (not) London Provincial School Biplane.
Designed by the Martinsyde designer A.A. Fletcher, hence the similarity to the Martinsyde G.100. The link to DeHavilland is a bit more tenuous. Geoffrey DeHavilland leased buildings and the use of the London Provincial Flying School airfield to establish his business.
The manufacturing side of the L.P. business had workshops in Edgeware, north west London, and later moved flying operations to the airfield at Hendon. Depending on which sources you read, there were either two of the School Biplanes built, or, according to ambiguous sources, several trainers were built.

[sandar]

Try this one, slightly more modern.

[lefty]

Well you learn something every day - never heard of the L.P. operation, and it has certainly escaped all of my reference books! (So has the manufacture of Caudrons - no mention of this at all - there was a British Caudron Company - can you elaborate on this ?)

Now I've seen your next one, somewhere...............................

[sandar]

I have very litle information about the London Provincial company, other than a very brief mention in one of aviation books and some information gleaned from the web.
L.P. built Caudron trainers under licence during the Great War and used their flying school to train RFC and RNAS pilots.

I suspect the company was one of many that went bust when the demand for their products dried up when the war ended.

I have a vague memory of reading something about the flying school in either the biography of Geoffrey DeHavilland or the Putnam's, DeHavilland book.

[lefty]

I have just checked in J.M.Bruce's 'British Aeroplanes 1914-18' and the LPS biplane gets a mention. Here it is, and, unfortunately, it looks like another aeroplane altogether ! (Fin/rudder, undercarriage struts, engine, cockpit, all different)

This is a mystery indeed.

[sandar]

This is where I got the photo from.

http://www.aviastar.org/air/england/lp_school.php

The little information that I have mentions they built two trainers designed in 1916, I assumed that meant that only 2 aeroplanes were built. It goes on to say that several of Fletcher's designs were used as trainers after the war, which sounds as if another type was built. I have no idea which model of Caudron trainers L.P. built, although I suspect they were the G.3.Putnam's 'British Civil Aircract since 1919' metions that the G.3 was licence built at Cricklewood. between 1914 and 1918.


edit. I am wondering if the picture you have found is the earlier 1916 design of which just two were built and the one I posted is one of the ambiguous 'several trainers' built post war.

As you said, a mystery indead.

yet another edit, check out this site, it mention 3 L.P. biplane trainers.

http://www.airport-data.com/manuf/Lo...n_Company.html