Avro Commodore - A Fake Waco?

[@Robutube1]

Your passing reference to Lady Drummond-Hay intrigued me so I found out more about her. It is, of course, possible she was gold-digging with her marriage but she was a genuinely courageous and highly respected journalist, unafraid of placing herself in danger and who died young following incarceration in a WWII Japanese POW camp. I'm sure that Nick already knows these details and I'm really posting them here in case others are as curious as I was about her colourful life.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

@@Robutube1 I don’t believe Lady Drummond-Hay was a gold digger per se; more that she saw a way to get ahead in life. It’s quite likely her husband enjoyed the company of his much younger bride and was content to pass her his fortune, rather than leave it to the inevitable family feud that so often follows? She was certainly a courageous, brave woman.

[@Robutube1]

@@FlyingForFunTrecanair To be clear, I don't think she was gold-digging either, having read her bio and learned that she came from a very comfortable background; her Dad was the MD of Spratts, the dog food people - a significant business at the time.

[@wingmanjim6]

It is always heartbreaking to read of all the fascinating ( or sometimes not ! ) aircraft that were simply ignored, scrapped, or quietly disappeared. Good folks like you,keep their memory alive - thank you !

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

My pleasure, I enjoy making these short films 🙂

[@47stampe]

That is interesting , I rather like the Waco and this design . It’s plus 10 deg and sunny here in Ontario. I just had to fly the cub

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

It's a handsome machine. +10 in Cornwall and 100 metres in drizzle!

[@mothmagic1]

Thank you for this video. I wasn't aware that Roy Chadwick's designs went ack that far. If it's ugly it's French, if it looks like it's flying a 100mph when it's on the ground it's Italian, if it's overengineered it's British seems to apply here.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Definitely over engineered. It was probably quite a good machine but there appears to have been no market for it.

[@johndell3642]

In his book "What Were They Like to Fly?" Sqdn Ldr DH "Nobby" Clarke wrote about encountering one of the Egyptian Avro Commodores being flown by a rogue freelance flyer called Pedro, alongside a Westland Widgeon fitted out with downward-firing guns for an "assassination" mission! He ran across the same Avro Commodore years later when it was in the hands of the Free French. Earlier in the book he describes his first solo flight (at age 16), in an Avro Club Cadet.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

That's brilliant, I must find a copy of the book.

[@johndell3642]

@@FlyingForFunTrecanair It was published by Ian Allen Publishing in 1964. Each of its 36 chapters describes some aspect of flying in the different aircraft the author flew in. Some of the chapters are VERY short, only a couple of paragraphs. The descriptions are not technical - it's more of a series of short anecdotes. Some of the chapters are truncated versions of articles the author wrote for the "RAF Flying Review" magazine in the late 50s and early 60s. I think it's worth getting if you can find a cheap copy, but don't pay over the odds for it!

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

@@johndell3642 Thanks for the info, I’ll try to find a cheap copy.

[@wesleycardinal8869]

Fascinating! Lady Grace - what an interesting life. I'm surprised her husband lasted five years!

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Maybe the cardio exercise did him good?!

[@normanbott]

The Waco YOC - 6 is one of my favourite biplanes. Some nice examples still flying. Always wondered if the Commodore was a knock-off !

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

It must be a knock-off, coincidence is never so coincident!

[@loomisgruntfuttock]

@@FlyingForFunTrecanair Occam's Razor!

[@drstevenrey]

Oh my God. What a pretty aircraft. I am amazed.

[@mikepowell2776]

Straightforward, carefully researched, appropriately illustrated and clearly narrated on interesting subjects. Excellent videos in your series from which some other presenters could learn a great deal. Many thanks.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Thank you. I’m trying to keep a similar theme and keep finding more subject matter. Lots more films on the way 👍

[@5695q]

Too bad the last one was scrapped by the parent company, I guess saving it for museum display was not thought of and it was not a sought-after item by collectors at that time but just an old airplane design taking up space.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Yes, of minimal value in post-war Britain.

[@wellbraehome9896]

Thanks as ever Nick. Brilliant research and such a shame there are no survivors! I look forward to more in the series. R

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

More soon👍

[@Volksplane1]

Fascinating. Lovely record to have for all. Top work.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Thank you 👍

[@ralphjohnson4041]

Seems that anything impressed into the war effort was doomed.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Yes, very little sentiment attached to the war effort.

[@kenphillips5221]

Fascinating. Thank you.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

My pleasure🙂

[@malcolmgibson6288]

A very good and interesting video.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Thank you🙂

[@stratcat3216]

Did you gather all of this information and collate it yourself? Bravo

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Inspired by an ancient Air-Britain article but much expanded. Avro enthusiasts don't like to acknowledge the plagiarism of the Waco. However, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

[@thamesmud]

A fake Waco would be a Faco.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Googling ‘Fake Waco’ or similar is quite entertaining. Lots about the Waco siege in 1993, David Koresh etc. Conspiracy loonies!

[@loomisgruntfuttock]

Take a bow!

[@Paladin1873]

My first thought was it was a WACO.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Exactly