Hawker Sea Fury FB11 SOLD!


One of the fastest single engine piston aircraft ever produced, the Sea Fury is considered to be the "Rolls Royce" of piston fighters.

This Fury is 'uncut', and apart from being fitted with a modern cockpit layout and radios, a superior 5 point British harness, and American "Cleveland" disc brakes, it is an original/totally stock FB11, setting the standard as one of the finest maintained warbirds in the world today.

Professionally painted, its dark metallic blue represents the colours of the Royal Australian Navy Aerobatic team of the 1950's, and it is certificated with the CAA as fully air show ready. It is also unique in that it is the only fully operational Centaurus powered Fury FB11 in Europe.

Manufacturer's Serial No. 37539
Date of manufacture 1953
CAA Registration G-CBEL
Former FAA Reg'n N36SF
Country Great Britain
Airframe Hawker - Total time since new 762 hr
Engine Bristol Centaurus Mk. XVIII 2480HP - Total time since new 271 hr
Propeller Rotol 5 blade - Time since complete overhaul 21 hr
Avionics VHF Com, VOR, LOC, ADF, TPX, MKR, and Loran C
AD's None

Known as the 'Rolls Royce' of piston fighters, the FB11 is a pure pilot's aeroplane , being feather light in all axes, and requiring only two finger pressure to fly a complete loop entered at a speed of 320 kts.

Unlike many warbirds, the Fury has no AD's (Airworthiness Directives) or CAA MPD's (Mandatory Permit Directives) applicable to either the airframe, engine or propeller. It also has no fatigue life limitation.

The Bristol Centaurus has been known to go as long as 3,000 hrs TBO in commercial service. However, today most warbird experts accept 1200 hr TBO as being the non-official standard for vintage radial engines.

The Rotol propeller has flown only 21 hrs since a complete overhaul. All the blade root bearings were reground to new specification by British Timken, and the blades themselves were reground and polished to a mirror finish. All the internal seals were renewed, and specially manufactured tab washers used for final assembly , as per original spec. The entire propeller was statically balanced to within 1 in.oz, giving extremely smooth performance.

Due to the removal of most of the armour plate, all of the armament, and other non essential military equipment, the ETW is approximately 9,500 lb. This is well under the military design MTOW of 15,100 lb, and the aircraft performs accordingly. The currently agreed CAA MTOW is 12,400 lb., which still gives a wide margin with full fuel on board plus a 200 lb pilot.

The current owner is a qualified aircraft engineer, former RAF 'top gun' and British King's Cup Air Racing winner, who has flown a range of aircraft from Spitfire to Concorde. He holds CAA Design Authority under A8-20 M3, and CAA Maintenance Authority under A8-20 M5, for the Hawker Fury. At the start of his career in aviation, he served two engineering apprenticeships, which included the overhaul of both RR Merlin and Bristol Centaurus engines, and he has overseen all maintenance on this Fury since its purchase in 1990.

Meticulously maintained and extensively checked, the aircraft has been fitted with a new Lucas starter motor of original spec., a new ignition harness and new low voltage booster coil to give the Centaurus excellent starting. A new Hobson fuel injector unit has also been fitted, and set up in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications, and in a joint collaboration with RR Bristol, new engine mounts have been designed, manufactured and fitted, thus eliminating the 'engine sag' sometimes associated with the original installation. The famously robust Centaurus engine has performed flawlessly throughout the present owner's stewardship, with the oil consumption and compression checks remaining well within the new engine specifications. It has been operated throughout this time on Shell oils with added preservative.

The sale includes all manuals and Fury specific tooling, a quantity of spares which includes a (used) canopy, new windscreen, two 45 gal. drop tanks with fairings, u/c jack. tailwheel jack, exhaust pipes, injector, magneto, cylinder head, propeller parts, brake spares, wheels, tires and tubes, and towbars (2) if desired.

No British tax would apply to the sale.

General Characteristics
*Courtesy Wikipedia.com*

Performance
*Courtesy Wikipedia.com*

Armament
*Courtesy Wikipedia.com*