Talk:Seaplane Experimental Station

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[edit] Categories

The category "defunct aircraft manuufacturers" etc is incorrect, since it was a design unit which didn't actually manufacture aircraft. Are there any objections to this category's removal? TraceyR 10:51, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

agree - no objection. MilborneOne 12:56, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

I'll check a bit further - there was a hint somewhere that some aircraft were indeed produced, I think in one of the F3 or F5 articles. Would that make the SES a bona fide manufacturer? TraceyR 13:15, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

The British Aircraft Directory here has "Felixstowe" as the manufacturer of the F.2c, whereas the F.2a was manufactured elsewhere (100 by S.E.Saunders Ltd., 25 by Aircraft Manufacturing Co Ltd (?) and 48 by May, Harden & May). So maybe the category can stand after all. TraceyR 19:55, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Looking at the history of Porte and the Felixstowe flying boats it seems that the initial Curtiss aircraft were modifed in-house by the establishment. All the later designs were built elsewhere. So probably the category should stay - just! Ephebi 12:25, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

According to an article in Flight, 23 Dec. 1955 ("The Felixstowe Flying-Boats" by J.M.Bruce, which I recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it, along with further contributions arising from it, "A Postscript by an ex-pilot" and "Further comment" by J.M.Bruce), "all prototypes were built at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe. Production was undertaken by ... contractors". I suppose that this makes the unit a 'manufacturer', but not in the commonly accepted sense of 'making something for the use of and/or sale to others'. BTW the "ex-pilot" referred to above was at the time of writing his postscript Professor of Economics at Cambridge. --TraceyR (talk) 12:39, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

In aviation terms it was a manufacturer in the same class as the Royal Aircraft Factory who only built prototypes with the main production contracted out to others. MilborneOne (talk) 12:42, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] MAEE

Just tried to edit to make it clear that the MAEE was not the same as the Seaplane Experimental Station other than being at the same location. As the MAEE had a life before Felixstowe at the Isle of Grain then to Helensburgh and return to Felixstowe the MAEE should be changed from a redirect to here and created an article in its own right. Leave this article to cover the SES and the RNAS Felixstowe before it. Any comment on my suggestion? MilborneOne (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 21:47, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment now a separate article. MilborneOne (talk) 11:47, 30 January 2008 (UTC)