This promises to be an interesting documentary – being shown for the first time tonight (and repeated tomorrow morning at 10.00am).

Thanks for the HU Mark.

I did set the Sky+ to record it and will watch it later! 🙂

Cheers

Paul

A few of thoughts come to mind here:-

Arco is a commercial operation very much wrapped up with restoration and maintenance of historic aircraft types; I seem to remember a heavy involvement with the DH Chipmunk.

All the warbird operators at Duxford are to some degree or other commercial operators, unless they have all suddenly attained charitable status!

That’s what puzzles me too!

From the Grace Spitfire website:

“We have set up our maintenance organisation at Bentwaters due to the limitations placed on the hangarage of aircaraft and maintenance at Duxford. One of the Duxford policies is that you may not run a commercial operation on site. Because it is a working museum and the aeroplanes based there are historic a commerical maintenance organisation would not meet with Duxford’s impressive conservation ethos”.

Whilst I can understand the space and hangarage issue, maybe I’m being a bit stupid in my understanding of what a ‘commercial maintenance organisation’ is, and I’m hoping someone can clarify the differences between the smaller Grace Spitfire maintenance organisation (which I’d never thought of as being a commercial one) and the various other (notably larger) companies & operators who could be termed and seen to be this also! :confused:

As to the future of airworthy historic aircraft at Duxford, I read in one of the mags a while back (I can’t lay my hands on it at the moment to get the full details!), but it said that there might have to be changes and a shuffle round of the private machines that share hanger space with IWM exhibits in the future, due to certain criteria the museum will have to meet if they apply for type of funding or status, or something along those lines.

Basically, it seems all the hangers that house IWM exhibits will need to be properly conditioned and set up for them, but this of course creates a conflict with the private airworthy machines, hence the mentioned shuffle.

Maybe someone can clarify this as well?

Cheers

Paul

One af the biggest visible differences is that the MkXVI had the Packard Merlin 266. I think this had an integrated intercooler/header tank that required a slight bulge in the top engine cowl.

Speedy,

You are correct about the intergrated intercooler header tank, but I think you’ll find later MKIX’s had the bulged top cowling also. You’ll notice this type appears to be used on all of the airworthy MKIX’s today, even if they didn’t have it originally, like MH434 for example. 😉

Here’s some scans from the A.P showing the intercooler installation on the Packard 266:

http://www.spitfireperformance.com/packard266-intercooling-system.jpg

http://www.spitfireperformance.com/packard266-engine-installation.jpg

I’m pretty sure this subject was talked about here before, although I can’t recall if there was a mention of what time period the later type top cowl was introduced.

Cheers

Paul

I only have the VHS versions, but assuming the DVD’s are the same, they are both worth having!

The Hurricane one is a little less polished compared to the Spitfire one, and edited in house by the DUKE team IIRC from the original footage shot a few years earlier by the Battlebase team. One minor gripe for me is they spoilt the aerobatic sequence flown by Stephen Grey with music – I would have much prefered the sound of the Merlin and maybe Stephen talking through the sequence.

But other than that, I say get them!

Cheers

Paul

Very nice!

Thanks for posting.

Hopefully she’ll (dare I say it) be booked for FL! :diablo:

Cheers

Paul

At about 2PM a Griffon powered Spitfire was playing and circling round over my work (a garden centre near Sevenoaks in Kent). It hung around for a good ten minutes before going in the direction of Biggin Hill. At about 3 ish it returned heading in the opposite direction and from where I was standing it looked like it went back around London. Can anyone confirm was it BBMF? Either way it was definately a Griffon.

Maybe it had something to do with this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7391142.stm

Cheers

Paul