Martin-Baker's Historic Meteor jets

Welcome to this latest edition of Aerodrome and our regular look at the fascinating world of aeroplanes and the historic aviation scene around the UK.

One of the real honours of being in a position to produce our regular Aerodrome feature review postings on both the Airfix and Corgi official websites over the years has been our opportunity to keep aviation enthusiasts updated on some of the latest developments from both the UK Airshow and historic aviation scenes across the UK, including our attendance at some specially arranged photoshoot events. With the number of operational military bases in the country currently being at its lowest ever level, the search for interesting aviation venues and events to attend has never been more challenging, so when one does offer itself, you really do need to act quickly.

A recent event held at Chalgrove airfield was definitely in this 'interesting opportunity' category and despite requiring a long journey to be made at the end of a busy working week, this was an event definitely not to be missed. Awaiting those fortunate enough to secure a spot were two of the most distinguished historic aircraft still flying in Britain today and the opportunity to photograph the pairing at their home airfield which rarely allows such access, a tantalising prospect indeed.

In this latest edition of Aerodrome, please join us as we take our place amongst a fortunate gathering of photographers at the former RAF airfield at Chalgrove in Oxfordshire, home to the manufacturing, support and testing facility of the famous Martin-Baker company, the world's leading manufacturer of ejection seats. Our subjects for the event were arguably two of the most historically significant aircraft still flying in Britain today, two specially modified 'live ejection' trials Gloster Meteor jets.

An area steeped in history

Arriving early afforded me the opportunity to do a little local history discovering prior to the start of this specially arranged event.

Before we move on to the main aviation subjects of this latest review, I thought it would be a good idea to look at Chalgrove airfield and its historic surroundings first, particularly as the airfield rarely opens its doors to enthusiast visits of this kind. As you might have expected, my excitement at securing a spot for this event had me turning up in Oxfordshire well in advance of the advertised event start time and after following a delivery van through the main security gates, was advised of my over-enthusiasm and invited to come back at a more appropriate time.

Finding a safe place to park in the vicinity of the airfield, I took the opportunity for a quick reconnoitre of the area and in addition to securing a couple of fence pictures of the Martin-Baker aircraft already arranged on the airfield, I also discovered an impressive monument and some commemorative plaques, which provided more details about these historic surroundings. The more established and certainly more impressive monument was the one which stood overlooking the entrance road to the airfield, at a crossroads which clearly had a story to tell. It was erected in commemoration of local man John Hampden, a lawyer and MP in the 17th century and a Parliamentarian who was opposed to a royal decree of the day which extended the 'Ship Tax' to the ordinary people of his Chilterns home area.

This opposition would lead to conflict during the English Civil War and Hampden would be mortally wounded during the opening engagements of the Battle of Chalgrove Field on 18th June 1643, a site which the monument overlooks and is clearly right next to Chalgrove airfield.

Moving to a more recent period in history, the head of the access read itself is the site of a stone slab monument, complete with brass plaque detailing the actual history of Chalgrove airfield. Constructed during 1943 and opened as USAAF Station 465 the following year, the airfield would be used extensively during the final months of the Second World War and was home to American reconnaissance and pathfinder units, including the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, the 'Eyes of the Eighth Air Force'. Aircraft types such as reconnaissance variants of both the Lockheed P-38 Lightning and North American P-51D Mustang would be flown from Chalgrove during this period, along with the larger Douglas C-47 Skytrain.

Following the end of the war and US based units having relocated back across the Atlantic, the airfield was handed back to the RAF at the beginning of December 1945. It would be leased to the Martin-Baker Company the following year, allowing them to continue their important work in developing and testing the most effective ejection seat systems for the worlds latest aircraft, work which continues at the site to this day. Worryingly, the site was transferred from the MOD to Homes England in 2016, with plans announced to construct 3000 homes on the site being published locally and not without significant opposition. Still the source of vociferous debate, with the immediate future of this historic airfield still under some doubt, the opportunity to attend this Martin-Baker Meteor event clearly took on even greater significance.

A proud reputation for saving lives

View from the fence - you can't be this close to historic aeroplanes and not take the opportunity to grab a couple of over the fence shots.

The Martin-Baker Company has a history which spans over 80 years, originally in the production of aircraft, but later earning a proud reputation for innovation and excellence in the field of preserving the lives of airmen all over the world. One of the founding partners of the company was tragically killed in a flying accident in 1942 and from that date, the surviving partner, Sir James Martin, has dedicated his life towards improving safety standards for pilots and airmen.

The Company were pioneers in the field of ejection seat technologies, making their first historic static ejection from a tower frame structure in January 1945. The first in-flight ejection would take place from the rear cockpit of a modified Gloster Meteor F.3 fighter on 24th July 1946, the beginning of an impressive legacy which continues to this day.

The first live aviation, non-test ejection took place on 30th May 1949, when the pilot of an Armstrong Whitworth AW52 'Flying Wing' was forced to eject from his aircraft over Warwickshire in a pre-Mk.1 ejection seat variant. Since that date, the lives of more than 7,500 aircrew have been saved by the work carried out by the specialist engineers and technicians at Martin-Baker. 

Martin-Baker photoshoot event

The stars of this particular show, those in attendance couldn't wait to be allowed access to these aviation beauties.

This specially arranged event only offered the prospect of having four aircraft as our photographic subjects for the afternoon, but what a collection of aircraft it was going to be. Along with the two illustrious Gloster Meteors which were clearly going to be the main focus of our attentions, we were also treated to the rare sight of the Company's Beech Super King Air aircraft, machines which are used extensively to transport engineers and other officials around the world in support of their continuing work.

When considering that the prototype Gloster Meteor made its first flight back in early 1943, it really is quite astonishing to think that two examples are still earning their keep in a military capacity to this day and have been instrumental in the development of many a combat aircraft since that first flight. A Meteor was the aircraft used by Martin-Baker when undertaking their first airborne ejection seat trial on 24th July 1946 and since that date, this aircraft type has been used exclusively in this specialist role.

The introduction of the F.8 variant provided the ideal aerial platform for this type of work, with Martin-Baker's modified Meteors actually being hybrid T.7/F.8 airframes and carrying the unique classification Gloster Meteor T.7 and a half, or T.7 (Special), with their modified rear cockpits to allow the effective operation of aerial seat ejections to take place. The two aircraft operated by Martin-Baker have the following histories.

Gloster Meteor T.7 (Special) WA638 - (G-JWMA) 
  

With the hard working Martin-Baker Gloster Meteor WA634 having successfully completed over 700 test seat firings by 1962 and was fast approaching the end of its fatigue life, a replacement aircraft was needed to take over this important work, with WA638 being identified for the task. The aircraft had originally been delivered to the Royal Air Force in November 1949, but having been modified to hybrid T.7 (Special) standard, was taken on charge by Martin-Baker in July 1958 and became their next major trials machine.

In April 1963, another Meteor T.7 was delivered to the Martin-Baker development team, again undergoing conversion to their unique configuration standard, but not actually receiving the full seat testing upgrade for ten years or so, all the while watching on from its hangar as WA638 continued in its important work at Chalgrove airfield.

In 1977 and after already completing 552 seat firing tests, WA638 was scheduled to undergo a major service, however, the company took this opportunity to place the aircraft into storage and use their other Meteor exclusively for continuing trials work. Stored safely in its hangar at Chalgrove, it was now WA638's turn to watch on as its hangar-mate undertook all of the development flying, even donating one of its Rolls-Royce Derwent engines to the cause.

A change in company management during the late 1990s resulted in an operational question being seriously considered amongst the group - What would happen if their only currently airworthy Meteor was to suffer technical problems? The result of these discussions was to embark on a concerted attempt to return WA638 back to airworthy operational status after twenty years of inactivity, something which would pose the team some significant challenges and would take four long years to complete.

On 29th May 2001, Gloster Meteor T.7 (Special) WA638 triumphantly took to the skies of Oxfordshire once more, resplendent in a smart black and gold scheme which immediately made this one of the most distinctive airworthy historic aircraft flying in the UK. Since that date, she has continued to share test flying responsibilities with its hangar-mate WL419, in addition to attending several Airshow events over the years, not only representing her owners in an official capacity, but also serving as a fine and much loved example of Britain’s first operational jet aircraft. 

Gloster Meteor T.7 (Special) WL419 - (G-JSMA)

First delivered to the Royal Air Force in August 1952, Gloster Meteor T.7 WL419 was acquired by Martin-Baker in April 1963 and whilst undergoing modification to their unique T.7 (Special) standard, would not be fully configured for aerial seat firing work for a further ten years or so. From the early 1970s, the two Meteors would share the load when it came to seat firing duties, however, things were about to change.

With the other Meteor (WA638) having already been used successfully in 552 seat firing tests, she was due to undergo a major service, during which time, the company decided to keep the aircraft in storage, permanently passing the development testing baton to WL419. She would subsequently even donate one of her engines to her flying stablemate, as the company reverted to just single Meteor test operations.

With spares and potential donor aircraft now being such a rare and expensive commodity, Martin-Baker's Meteors may still be flown regularly, however, it does have to be said they they actually spend relatively little time in the air these days. Between them, the aircraft now only spend between 10 and 15 hours in the air each year, with WL419 only being flown every three months or so as a rule, by virtue of the limited remaining fatigue life on her airframe. The distinctively presented WA638 is now regarded as the principle test airframe, however, from the flight time figures mentioned above, even she is not overly taxed when it comes to spending time in the air.

Ownership of these aircraft over their service life is a story in itself and something worth discovering more fully in a future edition of Aerodrome. Initially, the aircraft were supplied on an annually recurring loan basis from the Ministry of Aviation, but went on to come under the responsibility of several different agencies and organisations over the years. After previously failed in their attempts to do so, both Meteors are now successfully on the UK civilian register as G-JWMA (WA638) and G-JSMA (WL419).

The majority of current ejection seat air test firing operations actually take place in France and it's interesting to note that these first generation jet aircraft have and continue to be used to help develop and maintain the effectiveness of the seats used in the very latest combat aircraft, most notably the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Current seat firing statistics for each aircraft are thought to be around 582 for Meteor WA638 and 253 for the younger and less used WL419.

As two of the oldest military jet aircraft still flying in Britain, aircraft which continue to have a significant influence on the state of world aviation, Martin-Baker's Meteors really are something special and its no wonder that their appearance at any event is always guaranteed to draw aviation enthusiasts in their droves. As both the future of the Chalgrove airfield site and the continued operation of these classic aeroplanes must now be placed into some doubt, we have to take every available opportunity to get close to these historic aircraft as we can, because we are quite literally spending time in the company of the nation's aviation heritage when we do.

A truly memorable occasion, I would like to thank everyone at Martin-Baker Chalgrove for allowing this fantastic event to take place and particularly those who lovingly care for these precious icons of British aviation heritage. Like parents watching over their children in a busy playground, they never took their eyes of their charges for the entire time we were on the airfield and clearly could only relax once we had all left and their Meteors were back safely in their hangar. 

Thank you for allowing us all to get close to your magnificent aeroplanes. Sometimes, its not the latest, fastest or most capable aircraft which turn out to be the most appealing!

A final selection of images which also feature Martin-Baker's two Beechcraft 200/250 Super King Air communications aircraft which were also present during this extremely enjoyable visit.

I’m afraid that’s all we have for you in this latest edition of Aerodrome, but please keep checking back throughout the year as we endeavour to bring you a series of topical aviation related reviews and features from around the country. As always, if you would like to comment on anything blog related or to suggest a subject you would like to see covered in a future edition, please do drop us a line at aerodrome@airfix.com, where we would be only too pleased to hear your views.

Should you wish to continue the aviation discussions between editions, you will always find something of interest over on the Airfix Aerodrome Forum and if social media is more your thing, please use the respective official social media icon links at the foot of the main Airfix and Corgi website homepages to access our official sites.

The next edition of Aerodrome is scheduled to be published on Friday 13th October, when we will have more aviation features to bring you.

Thank you so much for your continued support of our Aerodrome blog.

Michael

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