Fatal Spitfire crash restorations

Originally posted by Willow
Does anyone else feel that there is something slightly immoral in rebuilding an aeroplane that has been in a recent fatal crash?

It just doesn’t feel right to me.

Willow

When I was in the navy we had A-7’s eat people and they would bring them to our engine shop and we would just hose them out and rebuild them. I agree with that concept. It is sad that people die but life goes on.

Hat hate hate…
I posted this – I thought – last nigh and then the system went down.
Still the info isn’t repeated from above so here goes:-

Visually PV202, the Tr9 that crashed at Goodwood 8/4/2000, was not to badly damaged – you could see what it was and that is always a big start.
I said to friends and a local newspaper reporter at the time that I thought it would be rebuilt because, if nothing else, there is a lot of money invested in the wreckage.
RM689 is being rebuilt after its fatal accident on 27/6/92. It has recently had its registration restored – as G-ALGT. The information at-
http://www.angelfire.com/hi5/spitfiremk2a/a-i-b-rm689.html
says it will be restored using ‘as many as possible of the original components with the fuselage and wings being restored elsewhere’.
Good of Rolls Royce to wait 10 years for mourning?
TP298 apparently crashed and was destroyed after striking a mountain near Geyser MT, 19/5/94.

Since it seems commonplace for Mustangs in the States to stop and swap identities when accidents happen (off the top of my head I seem to recall the famous Red Baron crashed and got reincarnated as a stock P51D using an ex Indonesian AF airframe whilst the hulk itself was going to be rebuilt for racing) why should a recently deceased airframe here not get resurrected using odds and sods gathered from everywhere?

Flood

So does anyone know anything about the Mk1 P9374? IT’s a little off-topic, but I felt it was a bit relevant.

I’m sure I read somewhere that the project had stalled due to “lack of interest”, but not sure where.

So he’d like you to believe :rolleyes:

Ah! Rudy’s man.

Now why did you have to bring that up…

I worked with him for 18 months on TP280 – everyone else wanted to kill him! Patience of a saint me….

Glenn, I know you have some other stories!

But yes, still good days!!

Bruce

Originally posted by gdenney

I was there for the manic few days when TE566 and TP280 had their first flights and flew into the Classic Fighter show at Duxford too.

They were good days…

Glenn

Anyone remember Geoff Hughes????

Do you still think they were good days???

Excellent, LOL

Thanks Mark 12 – I have a copy of that somewhere. (For those who wonder, I am closest to the camera!!)

It was bloody cold – late January? and with that bloody great motor throwing air back we could hardly breathe!

Those were the days!

Glenn – yes, I remember you being around in the evenings – some people worked 60 hours on the trot to get those things finished! Can’t remember if your dad was one of them (I wasn’t!!), but the week before the first flight usually meant long days. We were often there until gone midnight putting panels on!

As you say, good days. I have many fond memories of Audley End!

Cheers

Bruce

This just came through in the mail from my supplier.
Looks bl…y cold!

I didn’t actually make it to any first flights as i was usually stuck at school when they took place.

School let us out early when RW382 first flew (as it was the first one)but we missed it. She was back on the runway when we arrived. We did see the second flight later the same day.

I was there for the manic few days when TE566 and TP280 had their first flights and flew into the Classic Fighter show at Duxford too.

They were good days…

Glenn

MK959

SL611 is little more than an indentity contained in about 4 tea chests of very broken parts. If Mark can do anything with that (other than start again), then good luck to him!

Cheers

Bruce

Ha

Yes, indeed – Bob Young and I had to ride shotgun ‘cos it was so wet – John A wanted 2 heavyweights!!

Its a while ago now Glenn – were you there for that one? It was a late afternoon flight as I remember and there were problems with the brakes – that was the first time it had taxied let alone flown!!

Cheers

Bruce

Supermarine Aero Engineering is also reported to rebuild SL611 which crashed in the late 40’s killing its pilot, Donald J.O.Loudon
Correct me if I’m wrong.

I guess you had just jumped off the tail at this point then Bruce.

NH799 first flight (photo by Peter Arnold)

From the Vintage Fabrics website.

Glenn

Yes, thats the one I saw!

I recently got a couple of the rebuild of the more seriously damaged of the wings – well on the way to completion. I don’t know if they ever solved the engine problem; the crankcase was quite badly damaged in the accident.

Somewhere you should have the picture of me riding on the tail just prior to the first flight!

Cheers

Bruce

Here is a shot of NH799 taken in May 2000 at Rotorua NZ.
It has gone a bit quiet since then.

Photo credit:- ‘Avspecs’.

I remember it well

We started it in August 1993, and finished it at the end of January 1994; that was some going I can tell you! (Thats ten years ago; where does the time go – seems like yesterday!!)

I recently saw some pictures of the rebuild in New Zealand; pleased to see they were re-using all of the systems parts and pipework we put in. The first wing and fuselage were completed some time ago, and the second wing is now well on the way to completion.

In this case, I believe they used a lot of new parts in the forward fuselage, and kept most of the original structure from the rear.

Bruce

Tim Wallis’ Spitfire XIV…

…was NH799, restored by Historic Flying (I think).

Funnily enough, a French Spitfire website lists this aircraft as being “destroyed”, yet all other accounts I’ve read say she was “badly damaged” in the take-off accident in ’96.

………TP298

“RM689 and RW382 utterly destroyed”

Gosh Ant you and I are having a bad week! RM689 and and RW382 utterly destroyed – well not quite so. Write offs in airforce terms certainly, who could challenge that. However talking RM689 specifically – as the remains have been stripped down to the last rivet, it is quite amazing just how much of the structure and fittings can be recovered and or repaired for the rebuild. You don’t have to do that and it is probably more economic to make or buy all new, but boy does it give you a nice feeling to see just how much trouble is being taken to incorporate every last vestige of the original. RW382 is currently in the same workshop.

TP298 came to grief at Great Falls, Montana in May 1994. It was flown into a hill in bad weather!!