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G-AOIM's Story

G-AOIM is the third aircraft to join the Tiger Flights fleet. She’s more commonly known as IM or Immy depending on who you talk to in the team!

A yellow and camoflage biplane flying with a pale blue sky in the background.

2022. Credit: Chips Afawke

A picture of G-AOIM taken in 1988. The biplane is red with white stripes on the wing and tail sitting in a green field with green tres in the background.

1988, Woburn Abbey. Credit Dave Welch

A close up of the biplane cockpit showing dials and stick.
A yellow and camoflage biplane with its propellor running getting ready to take off from a grass runway.

2022. Credit Chips Afawke

A yellow and camoflage biplae flying in a bright blue sky seen from below.

2022. Credit Chips Afakew

A black and white image of biplane G-AOIM taken in 1965. Here the plane has a solid colour body and a checkered tail.

1965, Elstree Airfield. Credit Jenny Gradidge Collection and Air Britain

The RAF logo as seen on the biplane's body - a red dot surrounded by a white circle which is in turn surrounded by a dark blue circle all on a yellow background.

The early days

Immy was built in 1940 and taken on charge at 38 Maintenance Unit (MU) alongside Gemsy at RAF Llandow.

 

Her first posting was in February 1941 to 19 Elementary FlightTraining School (EFTS) at RAF Sealand in North Wales. In December 1942 she was transfered to 24 EFTS which replaced 19 EFTS at Sealand allowing her to continue her flight training duties. She served with 24 EFTS at Sealand until 1945, the station saw heavy use during this period and the aircraft was used extensively.

 

RAF Sealand was the home of 30 MU who oversaw the maintenance of the Tiger Moth fleet. In 1945 Immy was transferred to 9 MU where she was put into storage and demobilized.

Post World War II

Immy stayed at 9 MU until 1952 when she was transfered to RAF Honiley. She then went to 33 MU in Lyneham in 1952 then to the Eindhoven Station Flight in 1953. In 1954 she returned to Cosford and a year later she was sold to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Farnborough. At Farnborough she was located within the RAE Structures Department which focused on structural airworthiness and associated research.

 

The RAE was a research establishment originally called the Royal Aircraft Factory whose first designer was a certain Geoffrey de Havilland. The Royal Aircraft Factory was renamed the RAE in 1918 to avoid confusion with the Royal Air Force.

Private Ownership

In 1956 Immy was briefly based at the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden on behalf of the RAE before being sold to W. S. Shackleton Ltd in 1956. She was then given the civilian registration G-AOIM and incorrectly attributed the military identification T7019 (which was written off in December 1940) instead of T7109. W.S. Shackleton Ltd was an aircraft dealing company which was directed by William Stancliffe Shackleton, an eminent aircraft engineer.

 

In 1957 Immy was sold to Barry and Neville Hamilton Birch and flew for the Warwickshire Aero Club in Elmdon. She was sold in 1961 into private ownership, having 13 owners until 2012. In 2013 she was refurbished and restored and in 2016 she was painted back into her wartime colours as T7109. In subsequent years she served with Finest Hour Experiences in Bicester and Aero Legends at Headcorn where she provided many passengers with unforgettable flight experiences. She joined the Tiger Flights fleet in late 2023 where the team is proud to be her custodian.

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