When Alan Shipp retired from a thirty-year career as an officer with the Humberside Fire Brigade in 1993, he wasn’t short of ideas for filling his well-earned hours of retirement. In 1988, he had qualified as a microlight pilot, flying from Doncaster (now closed, unfortunately) and expected to find more time to enjoy his hobby and improve his flying skills.
Over the years he had also used his leisure time on many hands-on projects which involved using different materials, building up experience and a lot of expertise along the way. He had no doubt that he would be able to undertake many other projects to fill the increased time available to him in retirement. However, despite enjoying microlight flying and satisfying though this was, Alan was quietly looking for something more physically comfortable and challenging enough to develop his flying skills to another level.
Over the years he had also used his leisure time on many hands-on projects which involved using different materials, building up experience and a lot of expertise along the way. He had no doubt that he would be able to undertake many other projects to fill the increased time available to him in retirement. However, despite enjoying microlight flying and satisfying though this was, Alan was quietly looking for something more physically comfortable and challenging enough to develop his flying skills to another level.
In 1989, out of the blue, his brother Ron, had bought a two-seat Piel CP-30 Emeraude as an insurance write-off, a project that required major repairs if it was to become airworthy once again. Ron asked Alan if he felt confident enough to undertake the work, pretty much knowing that Alan had the skills that would be required.
Whilst Alan was confident that he had the time available and the necessary skills and seeing the project as a worthwhile challenge, he had to ensure that he had sufficient space to carry out the repairs. He therefore increased the size of his garage and equipped it as his workshop. The aircraft, when stripped down and taken into the new workshop, was found to require a complete new spar and wing, together with major fuselage repairs.
Alan with the new Emeraude wing
The D.150 fuselage taking shape ......
...... and the finished item.
Using original French plans, Alan built a new wooden wing from scratch and carried out the repair to the fuselage over a period of eighteen months and finally had the satisfaction of seeing it fly again, making its maiden flight from Breighton in 1992. It would be fair to say that this project gave Alan the ‘bug’ - his thinking being, “If I can do it for Ron, I can do it for myself.”
After much thought and considering various options he decided, in late 1992, on building a Jodel D.150 Mascaret. This aeroplane is a traditional timber construction and fabric design and is a robust aircraft, often considered to be the “Rolls Royce” of two-seaters, with the distinctive “bent wing” that is typical of Jodel design. Accordingly, Alan sent for a set of plans from the Société des Avions Jodel of Beaune in France.
The plans are of course denoted in French and use metric measurements, some of which had to be converted to Imperial, since the only place he could obtain parts was in America. So when they arrived, it became not only necessary for Alan to work in metric scale, but also to learn sufficient of the French language to understand the specification and the complexities involved in construction.
Finding the correct timber for the airframe was made somewhat easier by living close to Hull, where many of the major timber importers are based.
After much thought and considering various options he decided, in late 1992, on building a Jodel D.150 Mascaret. This aeroplane is a traditional timber construction and fabric design and is a robust aircraft, often considered to be the “Rolls Royce” of two-seaters, with the distinctive “bent wing” that is typical of Jodel design. Accordingly, Alan sent for a set of plans from the Société des Avions Jodel of Beaune in France.
The plans are of course denoted in French and use metric measurements, some of which had to be converted to Imperial, since the only place he could obtain parts was in America. So when they arrived, it became not only necessary for Alan to work in metric scale, but also to learn sufficient of the French language to understand the specification and the complexities involved in construction.
Finding the correct timber for the airframe was made somewhat easier by living close to Hull, where many of the major timber importers are based.
There is a range of quality materials and expert help is available for advice, but as Alan says, “.. it has to be looked for ...”. He machined the timber in his workshop to the finished sizes required for the wooden airframe, fabricating all of the wooden parts himself. The steel tube was imported from Aircraft Spruce and Speciality Co. of Corona, California and their catalogue became his main reference in sourcing many of the parts required.
Hours and hours were devoted to the project and it became more a labour of love than a hobby, completely taking over Alan’s life. He spent many hours in his workshop, with time completely suspended, whilst he studied the plans, pondered over problems, worked on parts and components, fitted various equipment and strived to complete the aircraft. He reckons his best assistant during the whole project was a one-inch roll of masking tape, which acted as a third hand transplant.
As the aircraft became more complete, Alan had to extend the workshop again to facilitate construction and to store completed parts. As he said at the time, it had become “a bit like making a shoe in a shoe box”. His inspector throughout the project was Chris Turner from Breighton. After around 8,000 hours during four-and-a-half years of effort, it was ready to fly and Alistair Newall took it up for the first time in May 1996.
Hours and hours were devoted to the project and it became more a labour of love than a hobby, completely taking over Alan’s life. He spent many hours in his workshop, with time completely suspended, whilst he studied the plans, pondered over problems, worked on parts and components, fitted various equipment and strived to complete the aircraft. He reckons his best assistant during the whole project was a one-inch roll of masking tape, which acted as a third hand transplant.
As the aircraft became more complete, Alan had to extend the workshop again to facilitate construction and to store completed parts. As he said at the time, it had become “a bit like making a shoe in a shoe box”. His inspector throughout the project was Chris Turner from Breighton. After around 8,000 hours during four-and-a-half years of effort, it was ready to fly and Alistair Newall took it up for the first time in May 1996.
Alan with the Wilkinson Sword and the Epinal Trophy
Alan's superb craftsmanship was self evident; the Mascaret is an excellent example of its type and of aircraft construction. Competition judges also thought so and Alan was awarded two major trophies in 1996. Here in England, he took the Wilkinson Sword for ‘Best Jodel' at the PFA Rally at Wroughton.
In France, home of the Jodel, Alan won the Premier Award for a homebuilt aircraft at the RSA's 49th annual rally at Epinal. This was a significant achievement - an Englishman beating the French at their own game, with one their own aeroplanes, at one of their most prestigious air shows!
Since then Alan has spent many happy hours flying the Mascaret around Europe, maintaining and improving his flying skills ..... but something was missing ......... click the D.140 link at the top ......
A wider range of photographs of the construction process can be seen on the Gallery pages - click the link at the top.
