my non-Porsche picture of the day

[Mike]

Hi Steve, with the help of the Shuttleworth archivist, managed to track it down!

It's a Spartan 7W Executive, one of the most beautiful and collectable classic American aeroplanes of the 30's. Only 34 were built
by an oil magnate who sold them to the likes of Paul Getty, Howard Hughes and the odd middle eastern King. It was so far ahead
of it's time in looks and performance, it could do 250mph while we were still bumbling around in tiger moths!

The one you pictured is owned by Nigel Pickard, based at Little Gransden airfield in Bedfordshire. It was the only one in Europe but
he's recently acquired another one to keep it company. Already working out when I may be passing that way, maybe he needs help
with the polishing.........

Here it is at Silverstone in 2010, just look at the shape of those wings in silhouette, remind you of anything?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vng_OQ7IZ74

some great pictures of it here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29126266@N ... otostream/

[911hillclimber]

I swear you can actually HEAR that Bentley!?

[Jasper]

Even if I sold house, my cars, dog etc I would need a lotto win for one of these. Lovely !

[middlefour1]

Hi Steve, with the help of the Shuttleworth archivist, managed to track it down!

It's a Spartan 7W Executive, one of the most beautiful and collectable classic American aeroplanes of the 30's. Only 34 were built by an oil magnate who sold them to the likes of Paul Getty, Howard Hughes and the odd middle eastern King. It was so far ahead of it's time in looks and performance, it could do 250mph while we were still bumbling around in tiger moths!
The one you pictured is owned by Nigel Pickard, based at Little Gransden airfield in Bedfordshire. It was the only one in Europe but he's recently acquired another one to keep it company. Already working out when I may be passing that way, maybe he needs help with the polishing.........
Here it is at Silverstone in 2010, just look at the shape of those wings in silhouette, remind you of anything?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vng_OQ7IZ74
some great pictures of it here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29126266@N ... otostream/

Hi Mike or should that be Sherlock!! Well done for that, I clearly misheard what the commentator said it was called. It is a beautiful aircraft, and that wing profile........lovely. I think you deserve 10 out of 10 and a gold star and take the rest of the day off!!!

[smallspeed]

i really like that plane, i have a bit of a thing for shiny silver ones (as you can tell i'm a complete aeroplane heathen ). even though i know bugger all about them, one of my ambitions is to go to the reno air races. probably something to do with living under the flight path of a local airfield when i was a kid!

i'll add this picture to the thread, from reno air races (no idea what the plane is but its shiny ), and lay down a gauntlet to you "fly-boys"..

when i was a kid tom walkinshaw (of TWR fame) used to fly over the house and land at kidlington airport just up the road in a weird aeroplane. Was a lear-jet shape, but with forward sweeping wings and a propellor at the back! (might have had one at the front also, can't remember). seem to remember it being quite rare and exclusive, was an article in the local paper about it at the time.. what was the plane?!

first to get the right answer wins their choice of a pot of winkles or a pickled egg (its lunch time, all i can think about is food)

[KS]

I'm guessing it was a Rutan Long-EZE



Or maybe, knowing TW, a Piaggio Avanti:

[smallspeed]

woo.. looked more like the second one to be honest, wasn't as small as the first one
i only ever saw it from the ground looking up!

think at the time the papers said there were only like 10-20 of them in existance

edit:

just googled it, and came back with the following.. Avanti N220TW. not sure if N220TW was the reg number or a specific model? I can only find reference to the Avanti P-180 which sounds pretty flash if wikipedia is to be believed

[Mike]

it was the Avanti N220TW he flew like the one pictured here:



Commonly called a 'pusher' type of aircraft, they feature the 'canard' front winglets.

[smallspeed]

hmm.. i obviously made it too easy
cool plane; it was the cause of much intrigue with local boys, and much complaints with local moaning minnies!

[Mitch]

http://www.classicandperformancecar.com ... picup.html

[KS]

Holy Moses! BMW meets Alfa Montreal meets, er, drugs. Lots of 'em.

[Mitch]

Holy Moses! BMW meets Alfa Montreal meets, er, drugs. Lots of 'em.

But somehow I love it. And that interior wouldn't look out of place in a 2012 concept car

[911hillclimber]

[Jasper]

Thinking about an F430 spider

[cubist]

Me too...