Is mr blair intending to keep half his fleet over at DX once the hangar at Kissimee is fully functional or will all of them return to the US? Be nice if he wanted to bring his P38 over….:diablo:

It is unlikely that “all of them will return to the US” being as only PL344 has been there in the first place!

Glad you got some last shots of JG Brian, you’ll need your passport for the next time she goes flying 😉

It actually made “another” final flight in the afternoon in the hands of John Romain. It was Cliff Spink flying her in the morning.

Nice to see Percy spruced up at last. I used to look after it as engineer for the previous owner and it was always a battle against the elements to try to keep it looking tidy when it was living outside most of the time and there was no prospect of a repaint. The white was so old it had reverted to a powdery like state and just fell off when you tried to clean it up, and the bright red on the roundels had become more like anti-flash pink!

Might it be a case of her coming to the UK for a bit of an overhaul…TB has done that in the past….

TT

Wake up TT she’s been at DX since last January and is now fully overhauled and repainted. She will be spending some time over here as part of Spitfire Ltd’s collection so you should all be able to catch her in the summer. “Will it be at………..?” 🙂

seeing the film on the big screen was bloody amazing!

Erm, some of us remember seeing it on the big screen the first time
around……:D

I was talking, last week, with one of the guys who worked on it at the time.
He said that everybody that has owned it has died under the age of 50:eek:

The original owner that recovered all of the Indian Tempests (including this one) was Doug Arnold, and he was certainly a considerable distance past 50 when he died in 1992.

Right now I’m (still) working on a model kit of “MI-T” …
Question: Judging by the picture, only the upper sides were RAF-camouflaged but the undersides kept their Luftwaffe-blue-colour, didn’t they?

Quoting from “Control Column” December 1968, which I just happen to have to hand 🙂

“Bovingdon, visited on Oct 16th by roving reporter Bill Brookes, produced six Me109’s plus three with RAF roundels and most of the upper surfaces oversprayed dark earth in camouflage pattern, pale blue undersides, black spinners and a red band on the leading edge of the wing inboard of the cannons. These 3 aircraft were coded MI-V,T and S. They are identified respectively as G-AWHJ, L and O, c/ns 171, 186 and 199. The other Messerschmitts bore c/ns 166, 187, 190, 193, 208, 228, ‘WHI,M,D,N,P and S respectively, identified by the following marks -,7,9,>>,3 and ->> and the two seater 40/2 ‘WHC 11. Both “He111’s” ‘WHA and ‘WHB, B2-177 and B2-137 respectively were coded 6J PR and also present was one of the Stuka-Proctor conversions, still coded W8+AR, but unidentified. Shuttleworth’s Spitfire AR501-‘WII, N3311 and AI-B and Mahaddie’s ‘SJV, N3314 coded AI-E, ‘VDJ (MH415) N3321 coded AI-M and ‘WGB, Spitfire trainer coded DO-H, also the ex-Canadian Hurricane llc, G-ANLW, coded MI-A and serialled H3418. Also present was the photographic Mitchell.”

See those musty old aircraft magazines ARE useful !!! 😉

Any idea how things are progressing with a permit for this bird to take to the skies?

Currently in “Area 51” and stripped down for engineering and design survey. Progressing……. but no it won’t be at legends 😉