Air Transport Auxiliary Pilot's Notes

Feathering instructions in ATA Pilot's Notes

What Was the Air Transport Auxiliary?

The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was formed in 1939, just before the outbreak of

World War II, to ferry aircraft between factories, maintenance units, and front-line

airfields across Britain.

While the RAF’s combat pilots were engaged in battle, the ATA took over the critical

but dangerous task of delivering new, repaired, and damaged aircraft wherever they

were needed. This freed up military pilots for combat missions.

ATA pilots flew:

• Fighters like the Spitfire, Hurricane, and Tempest

• Bombers such as the Lancaster, Wellington, and Mosquito

• Trainers, transports, and flying boats

In total, they delivered over 309,000 aircraft of 147 different types — a staggering

achievement under wartime conditions.

The Pilots Behind the ATA

ATA pilots came from diverse backgrounds — airline pilots, flying club enthusiasts,

farmers, teachers, and even racing drivers. Many were international volunteers from

the U.S., Canada, Poland, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Perhaps most remarkably, the ATA became one of the first organizations in history to

employ women pilots on equal pay to men — a groundbreaking decision in 1943.

Women such as Pauline Gower, Amy Johnson, Diana Barnato Walker, and Maureen

Dunlop became aviation icons, proving that skill, not gender, determined a pilot’s

worth. One of the Women aviators who had flown with the ATA, flew with us at

Spitfires.com. Her name was Mary Ellis who delivered 14 different Spitfires into our

home airfield of Goodwood during 1944/45. She was based at Hamble and ferried

over 1000 aircraft to different airfields, racking up 76 different aircraft types including

heavy bombers as well as the Spitfire.

Flying Without Radios — The Role of Pilot’s Notes

ATA pilots often flew solo, in aircraft they had never flown before, and frequently

without radios or advanced navigational aids.

Each day, a pilot might fly several different aircraft types — from a nimble Spitfire in the morning to a heavy Wellington bomber in the afternoon. So how did they manage

this?

The answer lies in their Pilot’s Notes.

What Were Pilot’s Notes?

Accident procedure for pilots in ATA Pilot's Notes

Pilot’s Notes were concise, essential guides that summarized the key information

needed to operate each aircraft safely.

Unlike full operating manuals, which could be dozens of pages long, the ATA Pilot’s

Notes distilled everything a pilot needed to know into just one or two pages,

including:

• Engine start-up procedures

• Take-off and landing speeds

• Fuel and oil system operation

• Undercarriage and flap controls

• Emergency procedures

• Trim and power settings

Since there was no time for lengthy briefings or training on every type, these notes

were literally lifesavers.

ATA pilots carried a small, well-worn folder — sometimes called the “Ferry Pilot’s

Bible” — containing hundreds of such notes for the wide variety of aircraft they could

be assigned to fly.

A Day in the Life of an ATA Pilot

Imagine being handed a sealed envelope early in the morning. Inside: your

destination, the aircraft type, and its location.

You might catch a train to an aircraft factory, climb into a brand-new Spitfire you’ve

never flown, check the Pilot’s Notes, and take off. After delivering it to an RAF base,

you’d grab another set of notes for a different aircraft — perhaps a twin-engine

Oxford — and continue your journey.

Every flight was a test of adaptability, airmanship, and nerves. ATA pilots flew in poor

weather, without armament or instruments, and often under the threat of enemy

aircraft.

The Legacy of the ATA

By the end of the war, the ATA had proven itself indispensable.

It ferried:

• 309,011 aircraft

• Over 120 million miles flown

• At a cost of 173 lives lost in service

The ATA disbanded in 1945, but its influence lived on. It demonstrated the value of

civilian aviation in wartime logistics and helped pave the way for the post-war

inclusion of women in professional aviation roles.

Conclusion

The Air Transport Auxiliary may not have fought dogfights over the Channel, but its

pilots were every bit as brave. Armed with nothing more than their skill, courage, and

a few pages of Pilot’s Notes, they ensured that Britain’s fighting squadrons were

always supplied with the aircraft they needed.

Their story is one of quiet heroism — of ordinary men and women who, through

sheer determination, kept the engines of freedom running.