If the height of this plane is 7'3" then that must be a giant standing next to the plane in the photograph.
Michael Ingram, e-mail, 27.02.2014 07:29
Sorry about earlier comment email typo. This is the correct one.
Michael Ingram, e-mail, 27.02.2014 07:27
I am building a flying replica using a modern engine only. Any tips?
sven, 03.07.2012 12:01
A sad day for Old Warden.Our thoughts are with the pilots family
C A Davis, e-mail, 02.07.2012 03:01
1st July 2012 The Shuttleworth Collection confirmed in a statement on its website that a DH 53 had experienced difficulties and crashed durring an airshow. The Pilot didnt suvive the crash.
Giacomo Mazzari, e-mail, 16.01.2012 23:36
I am an Italian modeler and am building this aircraft at 1/3 scale, therefore I am interested on purcase a detailed 3-view, can you help me?
Regards, Giacomo Mazzari
Robin Miller, e-mail, 12.11.2010 23:21
I worked in the Flight Test Department at Hatfield in the 1960s. The aircraft was kept in our hanger with the Comets, Sea Vixens etc. I remember it being flown by, I believe, Chris Capper one day and the 2BA bolt holding the bush that held the port main wheel on - fell off. So the main wheel did likewise, leaving the a/c airborne with only one wheel. This resulted in Air Traffic declaring a full scale emergency. The a/c had no radio so the pilot was unaware of his predicament. Every fire engine and ambulance on the site stood to to await the expected disaster. What no one thought of was that the DH 53 had bamboo hoops under the wing tips to prevent the wing tip digging in if the pilot failed to keep the wings level on landing. These were perfectly capable of keeping the wings more or less level even without one main wheel. Chris landed the aircraft and was immediately surrounded by Hatfield's huge fire engines daring the a/c to catch fire. Chris just walked away smiling.
Robert Davidson, e-mail, 03.05.2010 16:25
Have started a 1/4 scale flying model of CF-OVE. I'm the son of Ron Davidson mentioned above in Wendell's paragraph. As far as I know this Hummingbird is still in the possession of the Western Development in Moose Jaw.
Merv. Thompson, e-mail, 29.12.2009 00:47
Am trying to get as much detail as possible as I want to build an accurate (flying)replica. I will use modern avionics and engine.At this stage both Shuttleworth and Aeroplane Monthly have been of tremendous help but I still need plans or constructional info. Can anyone help?
Wendell Hughes, e-mail, 31.01.2009 19:07
CF-OVE was built by Stan Greene in Calgary in 1967. That is Gordon Friar in the cockpit. It was powered by a Continental A-40 Stan sold it to Ron Davidson, who was an instructor at CFB Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Ron's brother Neil flew it to Ron's farm south of Moosejaw in September 1968. I drove along underneath on the Trans-Canada highway, with a bedsheet tied to my door handle. This was so I could be spotted easily, for the cow pasture refueling. Great Fun it was!
Roger Allton, e-mail, 12.01.2009 20:36
12/01/2009: Shuttleworth's DH 53 is alive and well. There is another (Cherub powered ex R 33 trials)at the London Colney Mosquito museum. Sincerely, Roger
Don Goodsell, e-mail, 16.11.2006 04:30
As an apprentice at Hatfield in the late 1950s I worked on the re-construction of the Humming Bird for the Shuttleworth Trust. As many of the original drawings had gone missing one of my tasks was to design the tail-skid - laminated ash with an S96 steel end-pad if I remember rightly. The ABC Scorpion engine was a liability, apart from sounding like a pneumatic drill. I remember it failing in flight at Old Warden while over the small crowd of spectators. The pilot just managed to clear the crowd, but the undercarriage collapsed on the forced landing and the pilot was knocked unconscious.
