The CAA has a picture!

http://www.caa.co.uk/applicationmodules/ginfo/ginfo_photo.aspx?regmark=G-PMNF&imgname=G-PMNF001&imgtype=jpg

Hey, that looks like a familiar shot 😉 I bet the photographer was standing on a fuel bowser or a tractor :p I’ts a real shame none of the Duxford photo mafia were there today….It was very lonely standing on the Tank bank as it hurtled off the grass runway straight towards my zoom lens, oh and did I mention that the sun was shining nicely! I’d post up some pictures but I’m still on the “old” technology, you remember that stuff called film! Yep it sure did look nice in the air at last. A nice authentic colour scheme if I’m not mistaken, 234Sqn at RAF Bentwaters 1945 I believe. 😀

The B25 was in quite a reasonable state at Southend in the late 1970’s as were all the aircraft. As the Museums owners lost more and more money, the funding became non-existant and the workforce dwindled to a few. There was no money or manpower to maintain the aircraft which is why they got into the really ropey state they were presented in at the auction in 1983. The Mitchell was fitted with a genuine top turret complete with all the innards until it was loaned to LWT to provide a mould for the turret for Sally B for the series “We’ll Meet Again”. Sally B got her top turret in fibreglass, but the genuine example mysteriously never made it back to Southend, so an alloy plate was pop-rivetted on to keep the weather out. My guess is that someone made some money and it’s probably doing the rounds on as US based B17 today.

[QUOTE=Mark12]

Shorts – still a bit tight under the arm, are they?

Mark

I don’t know which is longer, the distance to Malta in a vintage warbird, the length of Howards shorts or even his socks 😮 😀

Nice colour scheme (though the blue JM-R was a very good reproduction of the original) and glad to see they got the roundel colour right and moved it forward to the correct position…….seems familiar! 🙂

The ARC Lizzy is certainly NOT “on hold” at the moment, and anyone poking their head into the open doors of Building 66 at Duxford will see the extremely time consuming nature of the rebuild. The wings are the most visual aspect currently on the go, and the workmanship being expended on them is stunning, and I do not use that word lightly! This is a complex rebuild by the nature of its construction and it is not going to “be at Legends” for some considerable time, but when it is I am sure everyone will be suitably impressed. However the best time to get a grasp of the nature of why an aeroplane takes a long time to rebuild and what goes into that process (apart from lots and lots of time, effort and cash), is to visit it and view it as it is being restored and even better visit it several times. Then when it appears on the flightline you will be in a better position to understand what went into getting it there in the first place. If the double doors are not open then try peering in through the dusty windows-oh and don’t worry about people thinking you’re a bit odd doing that……it’s quite normal and has been going on for years! Just ask some of the others on this forum…… 😉 😀

Very nicely done – including the correctly placed fuselage roundel (further forward compared with a high back Spitfire) which results in the first letter of the squadron code being painted across the cockpit door.

Well spotted and thank you Mark V, when I researched the scheme for the owners it became apparent that the old scheme position was incorrect and I duly moved the roundel forward by the requisite 22″, I don’t know whether CD just put it to the high back measurements or placed it there to balance out the scheme. He did however do RW386 to the high back dimensions as well and placed the wing lower roundels in the position for having underwing serials, ie well outboard :confused: You are only the second person to notice that the roundel sits forward, consider yourself a “roundel spotting ace” 🙂 The nose art should be in place for Shoreham, and I am sure you will be suitably impressed with it’s authenticity-nothing tacky!

Dammit, Roobarb, you’re such a tease! :p

Okay. I’ll let you in on some hot gen………It’s NOT silver 😀 😀

Maybe an early question but: Will HFL continue to operate TD248 for this new owner? Or is Spitfire LTD going to be both owner and operator?

Stieglitz

Spitfire Ltd will operate TD248. It is hoped to continue to be based at Duxford and will continue to be maintained by ARC, who have looked after it for the last 5 years or so. HFL only do their own projects and not third party maintenance.