Years ago, while
writing Sorrel in Scarlet, I joked to Janet that if I ever got
published, I should get an author photo taken with a triplane.
As the book
progressed, I bought myself a Revell plastic kit of a Sopwith
Triplane, and a Poser CGI triplane which was also a Sopwith. These
two fixed the image in my mind that Sorrel's aeroplane was of that
form.
So, as I prepared to
release the book upon an unsuspecting world, I decided to get myself
a photo with a Sopwith Tripe. A few moments with Google confirmed
that the Shuttleworth Collection, less than an hour's drive away,
owned a beautiful example (a replica, but still a perfect specimen).
And so, this morning, we had the first free day for us to have a
family trip to Shuttleworth.
To my surprise, as
we neared the aerodrome, it became clear that today was an Air Day,
and that the aeroplanes would be flying. I hadn't looked at the
Shuttleworth webpage carefully, and hadn't expected this. Worse
still, as we arrived, I saw the Triplane itself being wheeled away
into the distance.
I eventually found
that it had been parked at the far end of the aerodrome, well away
from anywhere that mere mortals could get to. My chances of getting
photographed with it had just become approximately nil.
All right, so the
compensation was to see the aeroplane flying, but that wasn't the
objective.
On the other hand,
the aeroplane in the book is simply a triplane. Not expressly a
Sopwith one, notwithstanding my mental image. And the Shuttleworth
Collection has
two triplanes.
The
second is an Avro Triplane, originally built in 1911 - again,
Shuttleworth's version is a replica, built for the film Those
Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. It was still in its hangar,
almost in solitary state as the other 'planes were being wheeled out
- we jumped at the opportunity, and gained a photograph of yours
truly.
As
we waited for the airshow, Janet spotted a young woman in modern
green coveralls... with a badge describing her as a pilot. I managed
to snatch a few words with her. She was Clare Tector, and she
confirmed she would be flying the Shuttleworth DH60 Moth, in full
period pilot garb. The chance of a photograph of a female pilot so
attired was too good to miss - she generously agreed to pose for a
photo after she had flown.
Her
flying was impressive, the aeroplane handling magnificently.The Moth is the predecessor to the Tiger Moth, a two seat trainer still commonly flying and in use - Clare confirmed that the Moth, despite being an older airframe, actually flies better than its descendant.
Afterwards,
she kindly let us photograph her, even holding a copy of my book. I
think she was rather shocked that the novel begins with an aeroplane
crash - she said she was glad she hadn't known that before she flew.
I hope I haven't traumatised her, and I am extremely grateful to her
for her generosity and willingness to be photographed.
Expect
to see more about Shuttleworth, triplanes and pilots in future posts.
