ur most recent restoration is this rare gem. The Proctor is a development of the Vega Gull, the outstanding between-wars aircraft chosen by aviation pioneers like the great Alex Henshaw. We're proud of the result, and it shows how these fragile beauties can be returned to their original condition.

The restoration was completed in 2012, and it was an emotional moment when we saw her return to her native element.

Our Proctor was built at Percival’s Luton plant in early 1948 as AE129 but was immediately registered to Rolls-Royce Ltd in Derby as G-AKIU on February 20. Rolls-Royce used the aeroplane as a communications aircraft and company ‘hack’ at its Hucknall factory near Nottingham until 1962.

On February 20 1962 (exactly 24 years after they had taken delivery of the machine) Rolls-Royce deemed India Uniform surplus to requirements and she was sold to Peter Bayliss of Cleobury Mortimer in Worcestershire. In turn he sold her to Matthew Deen of Ealing, West London on May 9 and she was moved to her new base at Denham.

She flew for another three years but her Certificate of Airworthiness expired on January 24, 1965 and the aircraft was listed as being ‘permanently withdrawn from use.’ At this point the aircraft was moved to the garden of Partridge Cottage in Edenbridge, Kent for storage before being moved to Southend airport in 1978.

G-AKIU was reported as being acquired by Graham Kilsby in Bristol in 1979 but she never left Southend and was subsequently purchased by well-known aircraft restorer Sandy Topen. Sandy lent the aircraft to the North Weald Restoration Flight - who operated from the Essex airfield &- in August 1983 but it returned to his care five years later.

On March 30, 1989 G -AKIU was registered again (the first time since she was cancelled in 1965) and the new owner was listed as J N Sharman. She was stored for rebuild at Houghton-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire and later Little Staughton airfield in Bedfordshire but no work was done prior to the CAA cancelling the registration again on December 22, 1995.

Just a week later – on December 29 – G-AKIU was registered yet again, this time to well-known light aircraft builder Nigel Reddish. Nigel moved the airframe to Mansfield for restoration – from where it was acquired by Classic Flight Chairman Mike Collett in 1999. Mike dispatched the aircraft to Hornet Aviation where Dave and Tricia Fenton began the task of returning it to the skies.
The colour scheme represents an aircraft used by the British Embassy in Washington DC.