OOOOOOHHHHH steady on…you’ll have lots of forumites complaining that you have neglected to put the aircraft type in the heading:eek:

That’s if they haven’t started complaining that its had it’s flying surfaces cut off or other some such opinion which they’ll be only too pleased to share with you:rolleyes:

Anyways, good effort and I shall be popping along for a visit when I get out of the filth that is this desert:D

The ’47 looks fantastic, but it’ll need some ailerons! Well done TFC, I’m very envious of your work.

Nice pics, thanks for sharing. It looks a great place to visit and very light….British Museums to note:diablo:

Judging from the scorching of the undercarriage doors on the P-47 I assume it’s not running its turbosupercharger?
Is that the ex Doug Champlin Fw190D? If, so is the intention to fly it?

Tony,

I have to disagree with what you said in that what’s operated at Duxord is old junk (it’s not, and aerplanes there HAVE to comply with current airworthy legislation…else they WON’T fly), I concur that the operators pay minimally for what is generally very skilled work. That said, the majority of the guys I know who work at Duxford have some form of passion for their work and you shouldn’t ‘rubbish’ that concept. A job, no matter how well it’s paid, is a very real posession in these times. You must also remember that warbirds and the like are ‘toys’ for the priviledged and many could afford to just wrap them up at any point, a fear that many guys in the profession are well aware of. I guess it’s horses for courses: Old planes, minimal money and a greater sense of pride over newer aircraft, better money (plus overtime) greater reliability but less satisfaction of getting it off the deck.

I’d like to see a bit more “fair trade” in the warbird world whereby when an aeroplane is sold, the guys who put the profit into it, reap a percentage of the reward, but maybe I’m living into an ideal world….

Kurt

As an aircraft maintenance technician of 20 years in the RAF and volunteering on a collection of airworthy historics at Duxford on a part time basis, may I suggest getting to your nearest Armed Forces Careers Office for some career advice. I would consider work in the REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers), the RAF as GEF (General Engineering Flight), with an aim to get to workshops, or indeed an Aircraft Technician (Mechanical or Avionic). The knowledge and standard and depth of training was/is second to none. The only issue with the Forces is the need to move around in war zones quite a bit, and generally your work can be rank restrictive. That said, there is no issue with learning a trade and then getting out to go down the civilian side of things as advised above. Please bear in mind that the money associated with historics generally isn’t very good, but that depends on what motivates you. I’d also go with the advice given above and maintain your interest in writing, at least as something to do freelance. In short if you’re passionate and commited, do it! There’s a guy I work with when I go to Duxford who had a better paid job in another life, but really liked the idea of working warbirds, so made the jump.

If you’d like to know more about RAF life and training, please PM me and I’ll give you an unbiased and straightforward look into what it can do for you.

All the best,
Kurt

Hey Norm, does that include the XVI and 21?!:diablo:

I visited yesterday for the 2nd time since Ray Hannas passing. I don’t think it’s somewhere I’ll be returning to in a hurry. 1st time I’ve ever eaten in the dump next to the entrance, how on earth is that place allowed to trade? £7.50 for a diabolical dry sausage roll, over fried oven chips & a spoonful of happy shopper baked beans, then a sandwich that had to be dunked in my pepsi to moisten it enough to eat took the bill to £17.80.
I found the museum to be dead, no atmosphere like there used to be. Always found many engineers & pilots wandering around the site that you could talk to & they’d talk to you enthusiastically, now the engineers that I saw were just staring into the work they were doing like it was a chore & they couldn’t be bothered. Yesterday was the 1st time ever I had not seen Dave Lees at work, is he still alive? I only ever used to go to Duxford just to see what was happening with OFMC & TFC, now OFMC aren’t there anymore TFC were what I was hoping to get to see but all I saw was tumbleweed!!!
Even the shop has changed, very child orientated & little for the true enthusiast to look at.

QUOTE=Black Knight;1720736]Considering I used to go up at least once a week from 1988-2000 I think it’s fair to say Duxford just ain’t what it used to be. Area 51 is the only part of Duxford that holds any interest but it’s not accessible to the likes of me. Nothings happening with OFMC & the 5 guys working at TFC looked like they’d just been handed their P45’s.[/QUOTE]

Black Knight,
Realise that things change. If you’ve only been to Duxford twice (!) since 2005, let me remind you that there is an economic downturn at the moment.If more people went, perhaps they could afford to lower the prices of food, or increase the quality (fair point you made there though), but I take my own food.

Dave Lees no longer works at TFC, and is well and truly alive at north Weald.

Please note the sign on the entrance to Hangar 2 saying that the engineers are working on airworthy aircraft and should not be disturbed unneccessarily. When you’re at work, are you all sunshine and laughter ALL the time? Warbird engineers are in it for the passion, not the money (because it really isn’t very well paid) and operating warbirds is a costly business that is generally low profit making. I base that fact on that all current warbird owners have made their fortunes in something other than OPERATING warbirds. So at a whim, the entire collection may be grounded or moved on. I know all the TFC Engineers and have to say there isn’t a bad guy amongst them, but they are in the serious business of working on old flying machines that demand concentration and respect. If I walked in the hangar and they were just larking about and not doing their work I’d be thinking I was wasting my money.

So next time you visit, just admire the fact that they are still there, doing what they enjoy, and we get to see some remarkable things taking place…oh and take your lunch with you.