Flying the Mighty Beagle Pup

Go to any airfield in Britain, or indeed, much of the world, then you will likely encounter a slew of Cessna and Piper light aircraft – these venerable, reliable and largely forgiving types being a popular choice for flying clubs and schools. When offered the opportunity to go up for a jaunt in something a bit different, namely a Beagle Pup, I could hardly say no! Soon, a date was set in the diary for a Sunday afternoon in autumn when I would head to Gamston Airfield in Nottinghamshire for a joyride up to North Yorkshire and back. 

If you search Beagle Pup on Google, you will be presented with a smorgasbord of cute puppies! However, in the general aviation world, the Beagle Pup is more commonly associated with a comparatively powerful light aircraft developed by British manufacturer Beagle Aircraft in the 1960s. Taking to the skies for the first time in 1967, this single-engine piston aircraft was marketed as a training and touring aircraft that was marketed as a replacement for the ageing types used for these purposes, and to provide some competition to those popular American aircraft such as Cessnas and Pipers that were becoming increasingly common in the skies of Britain. However, ultimately, the type failed to gain any notable success and was plagued by a number of technical issues, whilst also being a rather expensive aircraft to purchase when compared to those offered by competitors. Following a production run of just three years, manufacture of the Beagle Pup came to a halt by which time only 175 had taken to the skies. This did however serve as the basis of the much more successful Bulldog, which went into service as a trainer aircraft with militaries across the world. 

Whilst I was absorbed in the flying and did not have time to write a full report, you can find all the photos of my experience below.