Biplane Pair: G-AAIN and G-ABWP - a photo on Flickriver

            The Parnall Elf  (G-AAIN, green and yellow) is a British two-seater light touring aircraft of the 1920s. Built by George Parnall & Co., it was the last aircraft designed by Harold Bolas before he left the company to go to the United States.

The type made its public debut at Olympia in July 1929. It was a biplane of wood and fabric construction with staggered wings set well forward on the fuselage as a feature to assist crew escape in an emergency. The wings were unusually braced with 'vee' interplane struts which dispensed with any flying wires and could be folded for ease of storage. The main fuel tank was fitted in the fuselage, a pump raised the fuel to a small tank in the wing centre section where it was then fed to the engine by gravity. An Elf placed fifth in the 1930 King's Cup Air Race out of a field of 88 entrants. The purchase price of the aircraft at this time was between £875 and £890.

G-AAIN is maintained and operated by the Shuttleworth Collection in Bedfordshire, England and is flown regularly throughout the summer months. 

The Spartan Arrow (G-ABWP, blue) is a British aircraft of the early 1930s, built by Spartan Aircraft Limited. A successor to the company's first design, the Simmonds Spartan, the Arrow was a two-seat biplane with a spruce and plywood fuselage. The prototype first flew in May 1930 with Cirrus Hermes II engine. The 13 production aircraft that followed used mainly the de Havilland Gipsy II engine.

One aircraft was fitted with floats and evaluated as a seaplane in 1931. It was converted back to a a conventional cofiguration and later sold in New Zealand.

A total of two prototypes and 13 production aircraft were built at Weston, Southampton, and after 20 February 1931 at East Cowes, Isle of Wight.

G-ABWP is a Cirrus Hermes II powered Arrow (constructor's number 78). It survives in flying condition and is based at Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey. 

The duo are seen here flying as a pair during the Shuttleworth Collection's 50th Anniversary Air Show.

Taken in: UK / England / Old Warden (show map)

Taken on: September 1, 2013

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Elf and Arrow

Parnall Elf II

Elf II

Elf

airplane

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1920s

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G-AAIN

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Sets appears in: • Aircraft & Equipment 2013-14

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Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, f/11.0, 1/200 sec, 250mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens:	EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length:	250mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	+2/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Shutter speed priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 11.2 (Macintosh)
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