Ray Middleton, the founder of Q.G.Aviation, served an apprenticeship at Personal Plane Services, based at Booker Aerodrome, near High Wycombe in England. P.P .S. was noted for the construction of WWII replica aircraft for the film industry, in addition to having a reputation for restoring and maintaining rare and unusual types of aircraft.
Under the tuition of Bert Allin, the Chief Inspector, Ray became proficient at working on Rolls Royce Merlin engines and various other WWII engines and aircraft.
It was during the preparation of a DeHavilland Mosquito (which is now in the Wright Patterson Museum at Dayton) for a trip across the Atlantic, that Ray became acquainted with an American who introduced him to a private collector in Canada.
In 1973 Ray moved to Canada to maintain this Collection, which consisted of an ex-Irish Air Force Mk IX Spitfire, a P-51, a P-40N and a Beech T-34A. In early 1974 the collector and two partners acquired six Guatamalan P-51's and these remained in Texas.