The Little World

The third partner in the Training Trio.

My BCATP airfield: RCAF WET DOG – has struggled on for years with an Anson, a Harvard, and a Crane – all good trainers. Of course there is a Tiger Moth and a Grumman Gosling as well, but up until now the Airspeed Oxford has eluded me. Now a legacy sale has completed the Training Trio.

The Oxford is the close cousin to the Airspeed Envoy – one of which features in my Chinese Nationalist Air Force collection. This model is of much humbler origin – a Soviet Novo re-mould of a very old FROG kit. The humble status is underlined by the prices paid for the kit.

Originally it was purchased somewhere in the UK for 35p – the equivalent of 70¢ Australian. This is the sticker price on the box end. Inside the box I have also discovered a tram ticket for 30p. I suspect it was the price paid by the previous owner to go down to the hobby shop to buy it. 60¢ Australian. The journey and purchase would be in the 1980’s before the USSR collapsed. The kit would have been sold in the UK to gather foreign currency for the failing regime.

Well I paid $ 1.00 to the son of the chap who owned it, so altogether $ 2.30 has changed hands over the decades. I can only record my delight that it eventually fell to me to build it at this price and frankly I would have paid more for the chance. It has proved to be a lovely little aircraft.

Never despise a stash sale, nor a legacy one. Someone before you had a vision, and it is your honour to realise it.