G-ATEL  Aviation Traders ATL.41 Accountant               (c/n  ATL.90)

                               

                                  This aircraft was registered out of sequence in August of 1957 to reflect its 'Aviation Traders &
                                  (Engineering) Ltd" designers.   Specialized registrations were not issued at the time so the fact
                                  that this registration was allotted some ten years ahead of its time is remarkable.  The Accountant
                                  was one of several aircraft produced in the 1950s as potential "DC-3" replacements, and was to
                                  have been powered by reliable Rolls Royce Dart 514 turboprops.    Although a promising design,
                                  Aviation Traders were unable to finance the high costs associated with certifying such a machine for
                                  airline use and the Avro 748, backed by a much larger concern, captured the market.   Only one
                                  prototype (of three laid down) was completed and Jennifer Gradidge took the above shot of  the
                                  only one at the SBAC Show at Farnborough in 1957.  Aviation Traders went on to make a name
                                  for themselves by converting DC-4s into Carvair freighter versions.  G-ATEL was broken up in
                                  February, 1960.