all magnetometer users look here

A lot of scrapyards , automotive as well as aviation based, have had to close down due to the problem of getting rid of various noxious/dangerous products of the dismanttling process ! The old Eco issue again you see !

There used to be approx 10 auto breakers in my immediate area now there are two.none of these have proven to be usefull for building development and are just waste areas with a distinct aroma of oil, petrol and burnt rubber to set them apart!

Now you have to travel for miles for that Ford Sierra gearbox !!

I know i was being sarcastic, it was like if he was good at snooker i would have said he made “Steve Davis ” look lke a amatuer, or football ,Beckham, or invention and science i would have picked Einstien !! 🙁

i was being ironic,yes i appreciate mr Vizzard is one of the best and will allways be so,and famous others ,
if you read into it i actually named Steve Vizzard because he was/is one of the best, 😀
God your a touchy lot,any body think i had Blasphemed , next you will be shouting “STONE HIM” 😮 😮 🙁

Merkle,

Blasphemy is allowed ..Heresy isnt !!! :dev2:

old school tie thinking is very prevelent amongst some (thankfully only a few !) on this forum…all kinds of change or different thinking is bad you see !!! 😮

Nice pics, i think the chance of getting one that good if far less than 1 in 10, your best bet is get a 4×4 and borrow that one:D

i think i know who ownes it, dont let him catch you!!!

If you are looking for a really nice recovered engine bear in mind that you will get probably 10 in the sort of condition of the first pictured below (Allison ~ P-38) for one of the second (Merlin obviously ~ Hurricane). Good luck.

You would surprised what can be picked up from scrap dealers, some engines are not expensive especialy radials, I have seen several running examples for under £1000. I once imported 15 meteors from the Netherlands for under £500each.

can i still get good stuff like this Graham??
wouldnt mind a meteor too to work on exept i would keep it in its Tank specification,
they powered the churchill,Comet,and Centurian, a ww2 nice engine, would have to put short exhaust stacks on though, it wouldnt be right not too,
ive seen empire trading selling whole meteors for about £1000,:D troublee is there in australia:(

pounds yard

i went there about 2 years,mainly boat stuff and those nice 14″ guns, oh and a set of ships ww2 american 20mm pompom guns with the barrels bent,and a boxed replica 88mm gun from band of brothers,other than that,no aircraft stuff there at the time
and yes gareth a spitfire it is , 1/72 scale £4.99 at toys r us or 2 for 6 quid,:diablo: 😀

You could always try TOYS R US:D

Closed or moved? There’s some nice shots of the place in The Who’s Tommy movie. The bit where Tommy is playing the pinball surrounded by all those sea mines… which they spent about 3 days painting silver…

If I were you I’d drop by Pounds Yard in Portsmouth, it’s right by the end of the M27……

& don’t forget when they scrapped out all those old ‘Ton class minesweepers they had to do something with those Napier Deltics…..

It Shut down about 3 or 4 years ago:(

SORRY

I know i was being sarcastic, it was like if he was good at snooker i would have said he made “Steve Davis ” look lke a amatuer, or football ,Beckham, or invention and science i would have picked Einstien !! 🙁

i was being ironic,yes i appreciate mr Vizzard is one of the best and will allways be so,and famous others ,
if you read into it i actually named Steve Vizzard because he was/is one of the best, 😀
God your a touchy lot,any body think i had Blasphemed , next you will be shouting “STONE HIM” 😮 😮 🙁

Ahh now i understand,you are obviously in the united states,that says it all,
over here in the UK, there is not much left of anything (above ground)and the same with german crashsites,the are only a few yards here in the uk,
I know it would be different in the USA as there is a abundance of stuff and various yards.but honestly here in the uk there is very little in the way of ww2 stuff,or piston,

If I were you I’d drop by Pounds Yard in Portsmouth, it’s right by the end of the M27……

& don’t forget when they scrapped out all those old ‘Ton class minesweepers they had to do something with those Napier Deltics…..

Having been involved in various ways with aviation archaeology for thirty eight years I think I am well placed to distinguish between the “amateurs” and the “professionals”. Steve V and colleagues amateurs? Don’t think so, old chap. Some were doing this kind of work before some of those commenting were even born or out of their prams! 😀

I am not sure who were Steves colleagues were but describing Steve V as an amateur is like calling Barnes Wallis a dunce. The man rebuilts Spitfire’s from nothing, He’s a bloody genius. I understand he cut his teeth on recovery work.
Andy how did you record these early recoveries? Did anyone take picture’s or possibly film any of it. Would be great to see pics of some of the Battle of Britain stuff thats been recovered.

Having been involved in various ways with aviation archaeology for thirty eight years I think I am well placed to distinguish between the “amateurs” and the “professionals”. Steve V and colleagues amateurs? Don’t think so, old chap. Some were doing this kind of work before some of those commenting were even born or out of their prams! 😀

Well could’nt not agree more andy,still chuck my toys out of the pram now and again:D , the old school certainly have seen more that their fare share of digs, and certainly the most historic BOB sites.

Should do a old school re-union and get the shovel out once again. Mine is polished ready to go:D , should all group together and do worth while exersize and find williams’s hurricane.

Sorry

Having been involved in various ways with aviation archaeology for thirty eight years I think I am well placed to distinguish between the “amateurs” and the “professionals”. Steve V and colleagues amateurs? Don’t think so, old chap. Some were doing this kind of work before some of those commenting were even born or out of their prams! 😀

it wasnt meant as a insult,yes the old diggers were a special breed,
and well respected,
but this guy is very good,and considering the eyewitnesses arent around like they were in the 70s ,he isnt doing bad, please ,it was just a light hearted comment

yep, i agree graham,
its his “wont take No for a answer” aptitude,
Ive seen him in action,bloody boy wonder,lol:D
makes steve vizzard and the famous mob look like amatuers ,
and he is SOOOO secretive on the ways of the Forster,
the Forster is STRONG in this one Master skywalker”LOL;)

Looks like ive got my engine anyways ,might go and be certain on satday
A Wright Cyclone just need a set of props a hub from a DC3/C47 now
oh and push rods ,and dials etc etc ,
cant wait to get it a one day be at duxford with the others with me B17 engine ,
well from a chopper actually,but its still same engine as a 17,only thing is i am hoping it is the same crank etc so i can fit a nice 3 blader on it 😮

Having been involved in various ways with aviation archaeology for thirty eight years I think I am well placed to distinguish between the “amateurs” and the “professionals”. Steve V and colleagues amateurs? Don’t think so, old chap. Some were doing this kind of work before some of those commenting were even born or out of their prams! 😀

One of the ‘problems’ in the UK is the dwindling number of scrapyards – many, many have been cleared & closed. The land they occupy is classed as ‘brown land’ and, cleaned up properly, is worth a fortune as housing land – such is the demand for/rising value of new houses. Many is the scrapyard owner who must have sold out to property developers.

Roger Smith.

Magnetometers and buried dumps

Going back to the original topic !!! 😮

I own two Forsters (+ one in bits! just greedy I guess!!:D ). Also a Fisher Gemini 3 & a Whites TM808 – may sound excessive but has I have become experienced in operating them, I find each gives a different insight as to what may be buried.

I have heard of various dumps etc. and have been asked to help out with a couple such projects, which I am not averse to – my only condition is to be involved in the project – not that I want a share of the finds or anything (I have more than enough aircraft bits cluttering up the place! :rolleyes: ) But I just simply love this hobby and being involved in recoveries.

This brings me to my point! and the reason I have not been instrumental in the unearthing of any lost caches of crated Spitfires etc. In my experience those hunting for such material seem to be VERY secretive and more than a little profit motivated? (IMO of course!).

My assistance has been turned down flat on more than one occasion because I made this condition – and I was the one who had been asked to help !!! 😡 I don’t think I am unreasonable in, at the very least, not wanting let this hard to replace and easily damaged equipment out of my sight – but it transpired that the individuals asking did actually want to just borrow my equipment – without an operator – presumably to maintain secrecy? Those who have used such machines will know that they are not just like modern “switch on and go” metal detectors and interpretation of the readings you get can only come with experience – so this attitude seems a bit daft to me :confused:

Just to put the importation of engines into some perspective, I very nearly bought a Griffon from the states,the cost of freight was less than £500- (about 5 years ago) ; there are a suprisingly large amount of griffons over there,(the one I was after was £1500-!) and even more merlins, and of course they may have the odd Wright cyclone or Pratt and Whitney (Houston) as well (all above ground)

If it helps, there was a seemingly complete and no doubt runnable Hirth inverted inline piston engine for sale at the Beaulieu autojumble last weekend. Think Bücker and Klemm, etc.

Yours for £4,500 o.n.o.

One of the few bits of aeroplane I saw all weekend! 🙁

Place near me has at least 6 9cyl radials laying in the weeds, some with mounts etc still attached… & a complete, but chopped up, S2(?) Tracker filling a hole in his fence.
Another place across town has a complete R4360 stuck in a ditch at the side of the road.. & just up the road from that is a pub with half a Cessna embedded in the roof…& about 15 miles away is a B25 wedged into a canyon…& the engines are just laying there….

.

Not in the UK Mate!

Pete