Percival Prentice

Designed by the Percival Aircraft Company at Luton Airport, the Percival Prentice was an all-metal low wing monoplane, on which the most characteristic feature of the design was the unusually large, glazed cockpit enclosure. The Prentice required several modifications during its development to achieve predictable spinning characteristics. These included an increase in rudder area, a large cut-out in the elevator, anti-spinning strakes ahead of the tailplane and turned-up wing tips.

 

 

The first prototype Prentice (TV163) was flown for the first time by Leonard Carruthers at Luton on 31st March 1946, the type being designed against RAF specification T.23/43 to replace the de Havilland DH82 Tiger Moth in Flying Training Command. By comparison to the much simpler Tiger Moth, the Prentice had a variable-pitch propeller, significantly more power, flaps and a radio. In all, five prototypes were built.

 

Full scale production followed the end of service trials with six pre-production aircraft (VN684, 687, 691, 701 and 702). Percival Aircraft built 124 aircraft with serials between VR189 and VR324. Since the Percival  factory was concentrating on production of the Percival Proctor and the Merganser light transport aircraft, production was sub-contracted to the Blackburn Aircraft Company who were tasked with building 225 aircraft at Brough, in two batches.

 

The Blackburn Aircraft Company orders were later cut back to just 125 aircraft in batch one (from an original order for 180) and 100 aircraft in batch two (from an original order for 140). Total production for the RAF was therefore 349 aircraft, plus eleven prototypes and pre-production aircraft.

 

The type was also sold to Argentina (100 aircraft) and three ex-RAF aircraft were operated in the Lebanon. Additionally, 42 of the more powerful Prentice T.3 variant were built under licence by Hindustan Aircraft Ltd in India for the Indian Air Force.

 

 

As the type was withdrawn from RAF service in 1956, Aviation Traders Ltd acquired 252 Percival Prentices for conversion to a five-seat civil aircraft. Twenty-eight of these were eventually sold and were added the UK civil register.