As many of you don’t have the privilege of getting Classic Wings magazine you may not have read the article in December 04’s issue about the Westland Wallace replica currently under construction in the UK at Hawker Restorations Ltd.
The hope is to fly the replica from Britain across Europe and Asia to Nepal or India, from where they hope to make an attempt to recreate the first flight over the world’s highest mountain. And the plane would be filmed for a documentary. That isn’t specified. They then think they’ll fly it onto New Zealand and base it here.
All the details of this ambitious project, which is exciting as the HP42 replica, can befound on their website here
http://www.wingsovereverest.com/main.html
By: Dave Homewood - 3rd January 2005 at 00:41
Maybe Skysport did begin this project, but the website states:
“The Westland will be completed by Tony Ditheridge of Hawker Restorations, a leading supplier of high-quality Hurricanes to the world’s collectors of fine aircraft.”
There is no mention of this becoming a dramatic film. The story is totally wrong for a cinematic film, it’d never be funded. It will, I’m certain, be a documentary that’ll be sold to help fund the project.
As for the age of the airframe, the site also states:
“The club’s new Westland fuselage can now be seen at the Shuttleworth
Collection at Old Warden, Bedfordshire.”
This indicates to me that it is either a fairly new build, or this is a different group who have bought the aircraft. So hold off on the typically British pessimism for a while because something might just actually be happening here.
DaveM2, are there collectors involved in this from NZ? I just wondered because of the possibility it may come to NZ.
By: trumper - 2nd January 2005 at 23:23
The wing in the background has similar markings to the LVG that went to Hendon.
By: DaveM2 - 2nd January 2005 at 23:11
Last time I spoke with the Wallace project president was two weeks ago after consulting him several times over the article. The project is still underway and prospects for a documentary type film are still good, so lets just wait and see and wish them luck, instead of dumping on them in the usual FP manner 🙁
Dave
By: Veltro - 2nd January 2005 at 23:03
What is the oddly painted wing in the background? Is there an engine attached to fuselage?
Veltro
By: jeepman - 2nd January 2005 at 22:54
Shame…..
..they didn’t do the wings first – could have gone to the RAFM for their Wallace 🙂
By: LAHARVE - 2nd January 2005 at 19:50
Whilst looking through some boxes of pics this afternoon I discovered this photo is this the ac you are refering to.
By: David Burke - 2nd January 2005 at 18:20
I think the idea of the film is wonderful – however the likelyhood is that instead of it being someone like Colin Firth , it would be passed over to someone like DeCaprio in the lead role and it would be typically Americanised
i.e a 450HP Stearman with a couple of oxygen bottles in the cockpit.
The Wallace and indeed PV.27 is a great idea but I guess film makers
think twice at film props that are going to cost the best part of a million !
By: Hairyplane - 2nd January 2005 at 17:37
Wallace
Hi Dave H,
‘As exciting as the HP 42’……..
I quite agree but bet that it is just as unlikley.
Skysport Engineering did indeed commence the manufacture of a (the?) replica for a film but, as understand it, like so many films, the funding wasn’t there so the project (ahem….) stalled. The fuselage structure seems to be all there but thats about as far as it got.
It moved to Shuttleworth as an exhibit a few months back – an unlikely move if it was going to be resurrected(?).
If you look at the website inception date, the ‘news’ is a year old.
Anyway, it doesn’t need me to pour cold water on what has always promised to be an exciting project. It wasn’t any fault of Skysport that the client pulled out all those years back.
Maybe the contractor was indeed Hawker Restorations – they simply subbed the job out to Skysport? If so, I believe it wouldn’t be the first time that another company has got the credit for Skysports exquisite work.
HP
By: David Burke - 2nd January 2005 at 15:13
If it’s the same machine the fuselage was constructed by Skysport Engineering during the 1980’s for the film. It quite often rears it’s head as ‘going to me finished’ but it requires a serious investment of cash.
By: trumper - 2nd January 2005 at 15:04
I thought it was in one of the Shuttleworth Hangars at Old Warden.There certainly was a fusalage with the write up about it the last time i went in there.
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January 2, 2005 at 2:29 pm