I’m surprised at you Mark 12! Those heels are quite out of keeping in the context of authenticity. They are clearly “Black” and you really should know that the colour used with Spitfires is “Night”… Mark V will be along to give you further advice on this I am sure, and Moggy will be having a cold shower…:D

Oh and who cares about the crowbar!

Yes it is having extra work done as requested by the MOD project management team. It with the Aircraft Restoration Company and not HFL, though the use of their jigs has been handy…:)

Wasn’t it at Dunsfold and not Brooklands? Perhaps new pastures beckon…;)

Is that Sky on the underside…:D

Its a richer, slightly darker and glossier hue of Sky. Roobarb had some made when BBMF’s Hurricane LF363 was re-painted a few years ago and its still in that scheme now.

Yes you are correct Mark V. I worked out from the time date that LF363 was to be painted to represent that air ministry spec “sky” had not reached the squadron level and therefore the aircraft was most likely to be in Eau de Nil. There was a lot more research involved by me to be honest, and I obtained a period sample chip of Eau De Nil (1930) which is nothing like the colour in the current BS381c range. I couldn’t use the sample to give to the paint company for matching as it was very fragile and had to be returned to its owner but I mixed 10 samples of BS381c range Sky with varying amounts of dark green added in 10cc shots from a syringe. I then sprayed them onto the primer coat chips we were using on the aircraft. Once dry I compared them to the original sample and then sent my chosen sample to the paint company who I am pleased to say matched it perfectly. I later compared the original chip from 60+ years ago to the completed aircraft and other than the glossier sheen on LF363 it was a perfect match. 🙂 P7350 of BBMF is now being painted in BS381c range “sky” so in a couple of months time you will be able to do a direct comparison when they are flying together. Very much looking forward to seeing two B of B period aircraft schemes that I have been directly involved with in the sky together.:)

Excellent pictures as usual Brian. I thought the inside displays at Aeroventure were excellent when I visited a few years ago and the whole place is obviously brimming with enthusiasm. Unfortunately sights like the smashed canopy on the Gannet (left open to the weather) and the Bulldog fuselage below the F3 Lightning just make me think of Newark in “the bad old days” when it looked not unlike the average RAF station fire dump. If only money could have been used to help small enthusiast museums like this to house their exhibits under cover rather than fund an unsustainable project like the Vulcan, the future of these valuable exhibits would have been vastly improved. I’m not criticising the aims or achievements of the Aeroventure guys at all. As I said earlier their hangar exhibition is excellent and demonstrates how well the smaller museum can do and they could certainly teach the East Fortune Museum a few things…
I’m sure that given some national funding like the Vulcan was given would improve things massively. I don’t envy the guys trying to repaint Lightning XS897 outside and it would be a cheap shot to criticise its condition as we are lucky for it to have survived both Binbrooks scrap line and the Rossington fiasco. I wish these guys the very best of luck with their efforts. It just seems that such a small gesture as a handout for hangarage could do so much but it is so difficult to obtain from the heritage lottery yet all that money for a “Cold war education facility” (the white elephant Vulcan) has been chucked down the drain making it harder for everyone now. 😡

it’s a pity ARCo are so private, it would have been a great idea to have a photo-opportunity Friday, drag out a couple of Spits, put the two two seaters together, 🙂

Actually that is exactly what we did do. The Thruxton aircraft was due to visit in the hands of David Ratcliffe (ARC pilot) and its current operator Peter Tuplin and the idea was to put both together for a one-off photo opportunity for both those of us inside the fence and those outside to see. There was nothing secret or private about it at all. Believe it or not we are enthusiasts ourselves and do our best to share an opportunity. At the same time it is a business and the area is on the live side of Duxford and therefore has no public admission. The event took place in full view of the gate that everyone usually congregates at by the 24 Alpha hold point and most of you have long lenses. It would have been much easier to leave the resident T9 in the T2 hangar where it normally resides wouldn’t it? Hopefully the majority will have enjoyed seeing the sight and the pictures that have been posted. I would think a lot of our friends in the Netherlands would have loved to witness such a sight, even from the public side of the fence. Imagine how I feel, I couldn’t be there due to an illness so I have only seen the pictures (plus a distant view of it from my garden as it departed) and I work there every day!!! 🙁