Hurricane R4118 website launched

Thats a very good looking and professional site , just what the gorgeous R4118 deserves . I saw her at Dunsfold & Shoreham last year and at Shoreham she was stunning flying as a pair with Z5140.

…..& long may she continue to grace the skies of South Oxfordshire.

Colin

Here, Here Colin!

Blue Skies

WF

Nice web site and well made:D

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments. Actually the New zealand Hurricane is a Mark II, painted to represent P3351. Unless anyone can point me in a different direction, I believe that R4118 is indeed the only Hurricane that truly survives flying from the Battle. Together with the BBMF’s Mk II Spit, these are the only aircraft still airworthy from the Battle. R4118 is now kept in Oxfordshire but not at Kidlington.

…..& long may she continue to grace the skies of South Oxfordshire.
Nice website for a lovely aeroplane

Colin

One of the many!

Having been lucky enough to photograph ‘R4118’ at its current home, I can attest to the standard of restoration, regarding her credentials as a Battle of Britain Veteran, given the constraints the restorer works to when the restoration is to flying condition, ‘R4118’ is as original a MkI as you are going to get, including I might say a Merlin 3 engine. A rather nice touch is the alloy wrap round from the original stirrup which now adorns the replacement, how about that for a link with the past!

As a Battle of Britain veteran she is most certainly top of the list for me!

Blue Skies

WF and Massive Hurricane Fan

It’s a gorgeous looking, well-built website, much like the aircraft it’s about! I’d like to see a lot more pictures of the restoration process though- something I felt was also quite lacking from the book, too. (It was all India and little in the way of nuts and bolts, I thought!)

When an aircraft is rebuilt so well, so exactly as was R4118, you really want to see more of that process, you know?

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments. Actually the New zealand Hurricane is a Mark II, painted to represent P3351.

It may be restored to its latter war Mk IIA configuration but Sir Tim Wallis’s Hurricane was P3351 originally, and so wears its own colour scheme that this aircraft wore in the Battle of France. It’s not any old Hurricane masquerading as P3351, as your statement may imply.

It was built in early 1940, and in September 1941 after a small accident it was repaired, and at the same time modified to Mk IIA Series I standard. The major part of that was an engine change to a Merlin XX. Due to this mod it was renumbered DR393. But essentially it was and is the same aircraft.

This airframe did fly in France, Britain and Russia in combat. Of course a lot of it is new build, but then the same can be said for most Hurricanes restored lately by Hawker Restorations, including R4118 judging by the restoration photos.

R4118 certainly has more Battle of Britain history, as P3351 spent a lot of the battle in the repair depot. It appears to have been crashed and rebuilt about the same number of times too. But I don’t think either should detract from the other, both are worthy as being recognised as veterans of the Battle, in my opinion. And most of all, I think it’s fantastic that both are flyable and are at opposite ends of the earth so people can see them in the air.

Edited:
Welcome to the forum, Sir Henry, and I agree, it’s a lovely website about a great, important and significant aircraft. Thanks for doing the work.

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments. Actually the New zealand Hurricane is a Mark II, painted to represent P3351.

Not so, and a moment’s research results in: http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/article.asp?id=mkii

One of the perennial problems (as an aviation journalist) is the overstating of people’s projects’ achievements – quite rightly, journalists are regularly pilloried for being ‘economical with the truth’ or just inaccurate, but statements as above are, IMHO, as bad, and more misleading, as in an ‘official’ position you’d be expected to get that research right.

Your Hurricane, as JonL said, is certainly more original than the New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum aircraft, and is configured in its Mk.I rather than a Mk.II guise, but that does not invalidate P3351s ‘battle honours’.

Its true claims to fame are enough without gilding the lily with hyperbole, a temptation all too many openers and operators fall into; you can do better, I’m sure.

Regards,

Battle of Britain Hurricanes

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments. Actually the New zealand Hurricane is a Mark II, painted to represent P3351. Unless anyone can point me in a different direction, I believe that R4118 is indeed the only Hurricane that truly survives flying from the Battle. Together with the BBMF’s Mk II Spit, these are the only aircraft still airworthy from the Battle. R4118 is now kept in Oxfordshire but not at Kidlington.

Except for P3351, which flies in New Zealand. It served during the Battle of Britain with 73 Squadron and 32 Squadron.

– and the battle of France!
I guess R4118 is still in it’s Mk1 guise though, which makes it more original?

Hurricane R4118, the only Hurricane still surviving in flying condition from the Battle of Britain.

Except for P3351, which flies in New Zealand. It served during the Battle of Britain with 73 Squadron and 32 Squadron.

Nice website though. Congratulations to Mr Vacher.

R4118

For anyone who fails to remember what this beautiful aeroplane looks like!

Is she ever going to make it to Kidlington (aka Oxford airport?), or is that plan long dead?

Adrian

Great lookiing website there. 😎

Very nice, will there be any more pictures of the restoration added to the site at all?