Kate Howe has just taken delivery of a superb little aircraft that is decidedly special, in fact it's unique. It's the only one of four ever made to be still flying in the UK. It's a low-wing monoplane called a Dart Kitten, built in 1937 by Dart Aircraft at Dunstable in Bedfordshire. Three were made here and one was home-constructed in New Guinea in the sixties,was flying in Australia but has recently been detroyed in a crash.
Sadly the other three have all been lost in accidents but G-AEXT is still in marvellous condition. Powered by a 36hp Aeronca-J.A.P engine, it's a taildragger with fixed undercarriage and a tailskid. She cruises at 65 mph. XT's famous pilots include Alan Hartfield, Geoffrey Allington and both Geoffrey and John de Havilland. She's been rebuilt twice, once after the war and again after a crash in 1964. Now she's in Kate's care she'll be based at Breighton.
Kate says "She was an absolute delight to fly... I think my smile says it all".
You can see more pictures of this unique aircraft in the Gallery section.