Chrislea
Chrislea Aircraft Company Ltd
Contents
History
Richard Constantine Christoforides (b. 14 April 1915 in Streatham, London – d. February 1967 in Kingston upon Thames) formed The Chrislea Aircraft Co in conjunction with George H. Olley on 2 October 1936. The company set up facilities at the Crescent Works, Mornington Terrace, Camden and hired the services of designer Bernard Victor Leak (b. 27 May 1907 in Gorleston, Norfolk – d. 18 October 1947 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk), whose name, in conjunction with Christoforides', formed that of the company.
The first product was the Airguard which was built at Heston and first flew in 1938. This was aimed at the newly created Civil Air Guard, but its use of a foreign powerplant precluded its acceptance. Leak left the company in December 1939 to join the fledgling Folland Aircraft Company, his place at Chrislea being taken by ex-Miles engineer Ralph F. Marshall. Throughout the war, Chrislea was involved in manufacturing components for various military aircraft, but soon after work was in progress on a new four seat light aircraft. This, the C.H.3 Ace, made its first flight from Heston in September 1946 and featured an extremely unusual 'steering wheel' control system aimed at mimicking that of an automobile.
With the closure of Heston, Chrislea relocated to Exeter Airport in Devon in summer 1947. The unusual control system proved unpopular and Chrislea were forced to adopt more conventional controls. Although high volume production had been anticipated, demand proved low forcing cutbacks in the Exeter workforce and the eventual resignation of Richard Christoforides. By1950 the company was experiencing serious financial problems and in October of that year was acquired by the C.E. Harper Aircraft Co. Ltd. No further aircraft production took place under the new owners and remaining unfinished airframes were scrapped.
Company References
- British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2, A.J. Jackson (Putnam, 2nd Ed., 1973)
- Aviation Historian No 8
Project Data
| Project No | Type No | Name | Alternative Name(s) | Year | Spec (Requirement) | Status | Qty | Description | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L.C.1 | Airguard | 1938 | Proto | 1 | 2S, 1E low wing monoplane | 1, 2, 301, 305, 308 | |||
| CH.3 | Ace | 1946 | Proto | 1 | 4S, 1E high wing monoplane | 1, 3, 300, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 309, 310, 800 | |||
| CH.3 Srs.2 | Super Ace | 1948 | Prdn | 18 | 4S, 1E high wing monoplane | See Ace | |||
| CH.3 Srs.3 | AOP | 1948 | Proj | 0 | 2/3S AOP, Ambulance and Liason variant. | See Ace | |||
| CH.3 Srs.4 | Skyjeep | 1949 | Prdn | 3 | 4S, 1E high wing monoplane | See Ace |
Project References
| Books & Booklets | |
| 1. | British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2, A.J. Jackson (Putnam, 2nd Ed., 1973) |
| 2. | British Light Aeroplanes 1920-1940, Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume (GMS Enterprises, 2000) |
| 3. | British Private Aircraft 1946-1970 Volume 2, Arthur W.J.G. Ord-Hume (Mushroom Model Publications, 2013) |
| Magazines & Periodicals | |
| 300. | Aeroplane Monthly Feb and Mar 1987 |
| 301. | Aeroplane Monthly Aug 1988 |
| 302. | Air Britain Aviation World 2012/1 |
| 303. | Air Britain Digest 1992/3 (Air-Britain Publications) |
| 304. | Air Britain Digest 1992/4 (Air-Britain Publications) |
| 305. | Aviation Historian No 8 |
| 306. | The Aeroplane 15 Oct 1948 |
| 307. | The Aeroplane 02 Dec 1949 |
| 308. | Flight 15 Sep 1938 |
| 309. | Flight 15 Aug 1946 |
| 310. | Flight 27 May 1948 |
Production Summary
Select the button to go to the appropriate listings page.
Note: In the Production Summary, conversions are only listed where they result in a change from one Type to another. Changes to sub-type or Mark Number are not shown in the summary.
For details of these, see the individual listings.
| Type No | Name | Qty (New) |
Qty (Conv) |
Canc'd | |
| L.C.1 | Airguard | 1 | |||
| CH.3 | Ace | 1 | |||
| CH.3 | CH.3 Srs. 2 Super Ace | 18 | 9 | ||
| CH.3 | CH.3 Srs. 4 SkyJeep | 3 | 2 |
| Total Chrislea Production | 23 |
| Total Chrislea Cancelled Orders | 11 |