Luton Spitfire Project?

Slipstream: My Latin is rusty. What does your signature mean?

Janie
(Ego sum pulcra; ego sum doctra)

It is supposed to mean ‘unusual old man that fly’ although literally it is something like Strange old men with wings. I think.

Thanks Mark 12 for the update on the Seafire

Cheers

Cees

Slipstream: My Latin is rusty. What does your signature mean?

Janie
(Ego sum pulcra; ego sum doctra)

I heard about barry’s Spitfire in 1990, I believe It was vandalised beyond repair in the mid 90’s (though I wonder if it would ever have been allowed to fly anyway) and was donated to a museum at Tangmere.

Walter Mitty?

And that was only the parts of that interview that were printed. We were also told he had already completed at least one rebuild to airworthy condition of a Mark IX, but he couldn’t remember the serial!

A very wierd experience visiting him. He was doing it all with not much more than hand tools and a workmate as I remember. He was talking about bending wing skins over his knee. He had done way more than many people that attempt ‘projects’ but I am not sure he really knew what he wanted to do with it, it had sort of run away with him. He saw me notice the kink in the fuselage behind the cockpit and told me “The prototype was like that”.

He talked a good project for most of the time.

MH

🙂 The Spitfire fraternity does attract the occasional eccentric. :rolleyes:

I seem to remember filing his statement to me at the time, that he had started production in the Midlands and already the first proto was airworthy in the middle-east, in the ‘B-17 lands on the moon’ category.

Attached is a photograph of the static NON FLYING replica of the protoype K5054 commissioned by the Spitfire Society. The structure was built by Aerofab at Thruxton and currently resides at the Tangmere museum.

Mark

Photo taken at Eastliegh 5 March 1996

Speaking of Spits, I just got the latest copy of FlyPast and the Seafire 46 (LA564 or LA546, I cannot keep those apart) is still quoted to belong to a Newport Pagnell address, I thought that Peter Arnold sold both his projects last year?

Cees (confused)

Cees,

I am sure the data referred to in Flypast is directly connected to the latest database update in the just published Wrecks and Relics 19 by Ken Ellis. In this database privacy of private owners/locations of individual historic aircraft is respected if appropriate.

In the case of the MK XII EN224 and Seafire 46 LA564, Peter Arnold passed these two aircraft on to a new owner in April 2002 under a confidentiality agreement. The new owner will play his cards in due course I am sure. The W&R last entry therefore reads – Newport Pagnell etc.

The similar serialled Seafire 46 LA546, much confused and substituted on internet databases, was also owned by Peter Arnold. It was traded to Craig Charleston about 15 years ago and comprises a front fuselage and firewall section with data plate provenance. It is located in the Colchester area.

Trust this clears up your confusion. 😉

Mark

There was also an article in Ae*** (eehm, the other magazine) showing the fuselage in the drive. It was stated at the time that this person had started a new production run of Spitfire I’s and one had been supposedly been sold to a wealthy arab.

And that was only the parts of that interview that were printed. We were also told he had already completed at least one rebuild to airworthy condition of a Mark IX, but he couldn’t remember the serial!

A very wierd experience visiting him. He was doing it all with not much more than hand tools and a workmate as I remember. He was talking about bending wing skins over his knee. He had done way more than many people that attempt ‘projects’ but I am not sure he really knew what he wanted to do with it, it had sort of run away with him. He saw me notice the kink in the fuselage behind the cockpit and told me “The prototype was like that”.

He talked a good project for most of the time.

MH

Cees

That article is full of errors – that is just one of them!

Bruce

There was also an article in Ae*** (eehm, the other magazine) showing the fuselage in the drive. It was stated at the time that this person had started a new production run of Spitfire I’s and one had been supposedly been sold to a wealthy arab.

Speaking of Spits, I just got the latest copy of FlyPast and the Seafire 46 (LA564 or LA546, I cannot keep those apart) is still quoted to belong to a Newport Pagnell address, I thought that Peter Arnold sold both his projects last year?

Cees (confused)

It moved to the Hawkinge museum some years ago.

It was with Britannia at Luton airport for a while, and they were going to do some work on it. He was a little, ah, eccentric shall we say, and did a number of interviews with the likes of Terry Wogan and Gloria Hunniford at the time, trying to raise cash to complete it. IIRC, it was built entirely from commercial material, which may go some way to explain some of the wrinkles. There was also a little remembered article in Flight, where it was featured as being the second aircraft that had been built.

For something built in a garage though – it is quite creditable – I wonder what has happened to it since!

Bruce

Blimey! He seems to have done a helluva lot to it, hasn’t he?

Wonder where it is now? I thought for a moment maybe it was the Spitfire Society one, but I gues it’s not (as far as I can see, the Spitfire Society replica has a nice smooth skin!).

Speaking of which, who built that replica of K5054? I read in Clive Du Cros’ book that they started off on something (a cockpit section) but nothing ever came of it – and there’s no mention of a replica other than Clive’s in the rest of the book. :confused:

Aha!Cheers Mark12,that’s the one.I don’t remember it having wings,so that shot must be slightly later than the ones I saw.Is there any recent news on the project?

Ah yes I remember that photo now. Looks like he even purchased a Charles Church house to go with the Spitfire 😀

Wouldnt mind being his neighbour when he does some engine runs…. 😮

Barrie Genard – Luton – July 1990

…

My Flypast issues only go back as far as ’94. I’m guessing it was before that?

There was mention in one of the periodicals of a taxiable Mosquito replica recently, and this was also UK-based.