Air Racing!
Walter clearly regarded the Messenger as an excellent combination of
family tourer and potential racing machine, particulary for the
handicapped air racing of the 40s and 50s. It was thus on March 1st
1949 that, with my mother, he collected Messenger 2a G-AKBN
from what had by then become Handley-Page Ltd at Woodley. -KBN had
been built at the Miles factory in Newtownards a couple of years earlier.
Local flights followed, including collecting Nat Somers from Sywell having
delivered Messenger G-AKKC there. Bembridge and Portsmouth also appear in the log book.
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Miles Messenger 2a G-AKBN
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| This led on to a full years' flying. A trip
to Basle for an air rally and on to Neuchâtel where my
mother was staying, and then on through Frannce via Cannes and then
back to Elstree via Denham. This was not without incident, for on the
intended run from Le Touquet to Basle, he became "temporarily
unsure of position" due to cloud, and after climbing to 8,500ft
and finally found a hole, spiralling down to land in a field of cows.
(He must have been grateful for the Messenger's legendary short-field
ability.) The woman farmer was not impressed, but warmed to them and
looked after them until the weather cleared.
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Miles Messenger 2a G-AKBN
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