Two of the Spitfire IXs were imported from Israel, a third from Belgium. They were rebuilt here, stayed a while, and then moved on. Likewise the Corsairs (I count 6), all being imported from the US, gracing us with their presence for a while, then moving on to new owners elsewhere.
Where do you lot get off with this whining? I’m old enough to remember when we had no Mustangs in Europe, a few years ago at Legends we had NINE. All were imported from elsewhere. And then there are B-17s, B-25s, Grumman cats, P-47s, Cobras, P-40s, P-38s, all of which, by their nature as imports, had to be exported from somewhere else. We’ve also had imports of Fireflies (from Australia and Sweden), Sea Furies (Germany, the USA and Australia), Tempests and Spitfires (India), Bolingbrokes, Lysanders, Hurricanes and a Lancaster from Canada, recoveries from Russia……..I could go on, but there’s really little point.
The exports that you all moan about were generally offered freely for sale, nobody here was interested. They are private possessions, and who are we to complain if they are bought and sold on an open market. Just be thankful for what we’ve got, far more than when I started becoming involved in the scene in the late-70s, when you were lucky to see a Harvard and a couple of Spitfires at a show.
Hi Mike
I think it’s generation thing.
I was at college before I saw a Mustang fly–1981 I think.
I never ceased to be amazed at what there is today.
We’re lucky, very lucky, both in the sense that these aircraft exist and still fly and that the owners are willing to fly them for our entertainment.
Later
A…
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