AJEP W-8 Tailwind G-BALR
AJEP W-8 Tailwind Series 1 G-BALR (msn TW4-381), at Southend Airport in October 1977. This aircraft was destroyed when it flew into Steeple, Scoat Fell, in bad weather on 29 February 1984. In the UK a company named AJEP Developments Ltd, formed by Andrew John Elliot Perkins, acquired a license for the Wittman W-8 Tailwind and marketed an improved version for the domestic homebuilt market. The UK version had a new design swept vertical tail and was available as kit or as ready-to-fly (pre-assembled) aircraft with choice of tailwheel (Series 1) or tri-gear (Series 2). The first example was a Series 1 built by AJEP and this first flew on April 24, 1972, powered by a 90 hp AJEP PC-60 engine (modified from a Rolls-Royce-Continental GPU). This aircraft, registered G-AYDU, was in 1976 used for trials by BAe as a drone and was then fitted with a somewhat crude tri-gear, but after the completion of trials the aircraft reverted to the original tailwheel undercarriage. A small number of Series 1 aircraft were completed in the UK with a Rolls-Royce-Continental O-200-A engine
