Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Utility transport for civil or military use

Power Plant:

(Series I)

Two 418 kw (560 hp) Alvis Leonides 514/8A seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engines

Specifications:

History:

The Twin Pioneer was a twin-engine, light, general purpose transport monoplane designed for both civil and military applications, although the majority of those built were operated by the Royal Air Force and the Malayan Air Force.  With a crew of two, the type was able to carry 16 passengers, or, as a freighter, 1,542 kg (3,400 lb) of cargo.  The Twin Pioneer could also be used for photographic survey work, and camera hatches were provided with sliding doors that were operated from the cockpit.

The Twin Pioneer was developed from the single-engined Prestwick Pioneer, the prototype (G-ANTP) flying for the first time on 25 June 1955.  The Certificate of Airworthiness was issued in November 1956 and the first three production aircraft were delivered to de Kroonduif NV, a subsidiary of KLM, and were operated in Dutch New Guinea.  One of these (JZ-PAX) was lost when both wings separated from the aircraft on 26 June 1957 near Biak Island.  On 7 December 1957 the port wing of another (G-AOEO) separated from the aircraft and it crashed in the Libyan Desert near Tripoli.

Subsequently the wing attachments were re-designed, leading to the Series 2 fitted with 448 kw (600 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-S1H1-G engines, and five were built, all being delivered to Philippine Airways.  However, this model did not sell well as the heavier engines had a marked effect on the aircraft’s performance.  The RAF placed an initial order for 20 examples of the Series I, but to increase performance the Series 3 was released with 477 kw (640 hp) Alvis Leonides engines.

The RAF order was later increased to 39.  Negotiations also took place with Portugal, Chile and Peru but no orders were forthcoming.  On 10 March 1960 G-ANTP, one of the prototypes, was being demonstrated to Indian Airlines at Jorhat when it made a heavy landing, fire breaking out and the aircraft being destroyed.  When production ceased in 1962, 87 examples had been completed, 39 going to the RAF, 15 to the Royal Malayan Air Force, and 33 to civil operators.

Two examples of the type were initially imported to Australia as new aircraft.  The Australian agent for the type was Aviation & Engineering Supplies Pty Ltd of South Melbourne, VIC. An aircraft was imported and demonstrated in Australia and New Guinea in May 1957, later going to Consolidated Zinc.  As VH-BHJ this aircraft (c/n 564 – ex G-AOEP), first flown on 27 December 1956, was first registered in 1957 to Australian Iron and Steel Ltd.  It was used to survey the bauxite field on Cape York Peninsula and later iron ore deposits in the Hamersley Ranges.  However, it was written off in Western Australia in 1961 after being wrecked in a storm.

The second aircraft, VH-AIS (Yampi Pioneer – c/n 540 – ex G-APPH), was first flown on 6 November 1958, and delivered to Iraq Petroleum before coming to Australia.  It was also registered to Australian Iron and Steel, arrived in 1961 and, after later having several more owners, was eventually acquired by Aerial Agriculture Pty Ltd of Bankstown, NSW, and used for some years as a freighter.

When the Twin Pioneer was retired from service with the Malayan Air Force, four were purchased by Aerial Agriculture of Bankstown and were flown to Australia in 1972 with the registrations 9M-ARS, 9M-ARU, 9M-ART and 9M-ASB for ferrying purposes.  Two were eventually restored and registered as VH-EVA (c/n 582 – ex-9M-ARS, FM1107) and VH-EVB (c/n 586 – ex 9M-ART, FM1066).  The former operated in the USA for a period as N48207.  The other two (9M-ARU and 9M-ASB) were parked in the open for some years and were never registered in this region, being used for spares.

One of the unregistered examples was damaged by a storm at Bankstown on 15 November 1979 when it was blown into VH-AIS.  Another of the unregistered aircraft was blown some distance into a large drainage ditch where it suffered extensive damage.  These latter two aircraft had registrations allotted which were never taken up. VH-EVC was reserved for c/n 578 (ex-9M-ARU, FM1061). It was placed on display at Australia’s Wonderland, west of Sydney, in a crash scene but after the demise of that centre it was taken to, and placed in storage, at Hoxton Park, NSW.  It has since been moved.  VH-EVD was reserved for c/n 590 (ex 9M-ASB, FM1070).  It was stored at Bankstown for some years until delivered to the Australian Aviation Museum at Bankstown and is awaiting restoration.  However, following the demise of the museum its future is not known.

In the late 1990s two, VH-AIS and VH-EVB, were extensively overhauled, being fitted with 11 passenger seats, air conditioning and a bar service, and operated on Queensland’s Gold Coast on tourist flights, initially with Capricorn Air and later with Twin PionAir.  However, in 2006 they were retired and stored, later being auctioned but were not sold at that stage.  VH-EVB was obtained by a Sydney operator, Sy Allsep, a Harley Davidson motor-bike distributor at Campbelltown, and flown to Sydney where work commenced to restore it for further service at the Sports Aircraft Association field at Wedderburn, NSW.  It was later flown to many aviation events in the Sydney area, operating from a hangar at Wedderburn, by its owner.  9M-ARU was obtained for spares and placed in Mr Allsep’s hangar.

Following Mr Allsep’s demise after a short illness work continued on the Twin Pioneer to keep it flying as a memorial to its owner.  In March 2017 the registration of the aircraft was changed to VH-SYS (c/n 586) to Richard Thompson of East Ryde, NSW, the aircraft resuming flying at that time. However, late in 2021 Mr Thompson passed away and subsequently the aircraft, along with a large collection of spares, was presented to the Historical Aircraft collection (HARS) at Albion Park, NSW, where it is expected to be kept in an airworthy condition.

One example is airworthy in the United Kingdom (G-APRS – ex XT610 – c/n 561) with Air Atlantique and is flown in RAF markings; one CC2 (XL993 – c/n 528) is part of the National Cold War Exhibition at Cosford; and G-BBVF is at the Museum of Flight at East Fortune.  The former VH-EVA is undergoing restoration to airworthiness in Canada.  Three have been registered in Canada, being C-GSTX (c/n 508), C-FSTX (c/n 516) and C-GNIS (c/n 582).