Percival P.40 Prentice   VR741

                              

                                   The Prentice was a rather innocuous post war ab initio trainer with three seats.  Pupil and instructor
                                   occupied the front side by side and a jump seat was provided behind for a pilot observer. (Actually
                                   not a bad idea). Over 300 were built, 66 of those by Hindustani in India.    Aviation Traders (Engin-
                                   eering) Ltd of Southend, UK, purchased most of the ex-RAF machines after their useful service life
                                   was done, but, oddly, very few of them actually made it to the civilian registers of the world.    One,
                                   registered N1041P, (ex VS385, civilianized as G-AOLP) used to reside at Camarillo Airport when
                                   I lived in Southern California in the early 2000s prior to retiring to North Carolina.  It was owned by
                                   the American Aeronautical Foundation Inc, and all dolled up in fake camouflaged RAF livery and as
                                   the prototype (I have no idea why the Foundation decided to do that, since it certainly wasn't one of
                                   the prototypes).  Even in those days it was in pretty bad shape, as my shot below attests.  Whether it
                                   is still there or not I am not sure. 

                                

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