Reims Cessna (1 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Good. An early Royal Saudi Air Force manual with 2 original b/w photos laid in. Undated, but 1966 and 1967. MANUAL: Original blue grained binder black-titled to the front 14x20cm, containing approx (43)pp unnumbered, one of which folding, including printed tabbed card dividers. Covers good, rubbed and lightly creased with some rusting to the binding mechanism. Interiors generally very good with Part III's tab worn away. An ms inscription to the title states "Amended March 1970. RM King CFI", with several corresponding ms annotations, corrections and redactions made in Part III, and notes and calculations about apparently unrelated craft (G-BFZU and G-BGEA) to the final blank. This would have been used to train pilots in the very first years of the Royal Saudi Air Force's King Faisal Air Academy (KFAA) in Riyadh. Launched with US and UK support, KFAA began training on 5 January 1968. Its first intake included 25 students from 8 Squadron. Training involved military flying, and academic study supported by state of the art ground training aids. The initial flying was done in 8 Cessna 172Gs. Successful students transferred to 9 or 11 Squadron for further basic training in 25 BAC Mk 80 Strikemasters. All 25 students graduated successfully in May 1970 in the presence of King Faisal, with all Saudi Squadrons laying on an air display. Based on his note to the title, RM King was probably therefore a Certified Flight Instructor involved in training the first intake at KFAA. CONTENTS: Title page; Introduction (1)pp; Contents (3)pp; Part I. Description and Management of Systems with full-page Fuel System diagram (11)pp; Part II. Limitations (2)pp; Part III. Handling (13)pp; Part IV. Emergency Handling (4)pp; Part V. Operating data (2)pp with page stating "To be issued"; Part VI. Illustrations (5)pp including folding sheet with a b/w side on drawing of the Cessna in RSAF livery, full-page rear view of engine, full-page instrument panels diagram and related legend; Amendments table (1)pp. PHOTOS: These show RSAF liveried Reims-Cessna F172Gs parked outside hangars. Production started in France in 1966. They are uncaptioned, but were probably taken at Roborough or Hurn on their way to the RSAF in 1967. (1) RSAF 623, 104x68mm / (2) RSAF 617, 622 and 623 parked side by side in an unusually proportioned landscape image, 157x53mm. About very good. (Ref: Stuart-Paul (2001), The Royal Saudi Air Force - A Legacy of His Majesty King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, pp74-79; Air Britain Photographic Images Collection, Picture ID: 1134662; Flickr: Chris England).…