Percival Provost T1 was a British ab initio trainer that was developed for the Royal Air Force in the 1950s
The Percival Provost was a British ab initio trainer that was developed for the Royal Air Force in the 1950s as a replacement for the Percival Prentice. It was a low-wing monoplane with a fixed, tailwheel undercarriage and like the Prentice had a side-by-side seating arrangement. The Provost has the distinction of being the last piston-engine basic trainer aircraft to be operated by the RAF. The Provost was later adapted to make use of a turbojet engine, producing the BAC Jet Provost. The type was withdrawn in the 1960s, in favour of its jet-powered successor. The Provost entered service with the RAF in 1953 with the first batch of aircraft delivered to the Central Flying School (CFS) at RAF South Cerney. The CFS carried out intensive flight trials in May and June 1953 before instructor training commenced. The Provost was more capable than the Prentice it replaced which allowed the students to move straight on to the De Havilland Vampire jet after training on the Provost. From 1956 the Provost was issued to some University Air Squadrons, with the first being the Queen's University Air Squadron, Belfast in January 1956. The last RAF production aircraft was delivered in April 1956. The aircraft served with the RAF until the early 1960s, when it was replaced by the Jet Provost. A few Provosts continued in service during the 1960s with the Central Navigation & Control School (later Central Air Traffic Control School) at RAF Shawbury until the last example was retired in 1969. At least five Percival Provost have survived as civilian aircraft. Provost G-MOOS with CAA permission to fly as XF690 is owned by a private operator in Somerset, Henry Cooke, and is here being flown by Simon Wilson at the Abingdon Air & Country Show
Size: 6159px × 4080px
Location: Abingdon, Oxon, UK
Photo credit: © Avpics / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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