High-wing light monoplane with welded tubular steel frame fuselage. The wings have internal wooden spars and aluminium cross-members.
G-AFTN was the third plane ever produced by Taylorcraft "England" Ltd (later to become Auster Aircraft Ltd) and is the earliest surviving example of this model. It is also designated as a "benchmark machine" by the British Aviation Preservation Council (BAPC).
It was purchased by the Wiltshire School of Aviation in 1939 for around �500.
Taylorcraft continued to build models of this kind until the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 when all civilian aircraft were grounded and their manufacture ceased.
The Plus C models were then impressed by the Army for use as Air Observation Posts. In 1941 G-AFTN was adapted for military use and was flown by 651 and 652 Squadrons and the 43 OTU (Operational Training Unit).
After the war, it was sold to a private owner in Exeter and by 1980 it had fallen into disrepair and was acquired by Leicestershire Museums Service in a dismantled state.
