The flight was undertaken in a modified Avro 504. It was fitted with a strengthened undercarriage designed by a young engineer, George Dowty, who went on to design undercarriages for major airliners and military aircraft.
The aircraft used to land on Helvellyn was fitted with an Avro 'Redrup Radial' engine, designed by Charles Redrup. It was 600 pounds lighter than the original Armstrong Siddeley engine and was thus well suited to a short take off and landing.