Hello Graham:
My compliments on your (significant) efforts to display ground runnable BoB birds to the general public in the UK. Many folks simply do not get the chance to get “up close and personal” with famous aircraft like Spits and Hurri’s. The public out here in the far flung outposts of the empire (Calgary and vicinity) rarely get to see flying BoB-era aircraft and that is the interest my humble little replica will try to address.

As for costs of a 70% replica like mine, I purchased it from the original builder as your typical homebuilt (90% done, 90% to go) and ferried it uneventfully through the Rockies from Vancouver to Calgary in 2005. Charlie Longstaff and his machinist partner put roughly 12,000 man hours and 23 years into C-FAMY’s original one-off design and construction. I have put another 3,000 hrs and over 5 years into the modification, upgrade and refinishing effort which saw nearly every system and component overhauled or modified in some fashion. In today’s marketplace, I would guess a replica Spit like C-FAMY would cost @ $80-100K for materials and components alone. You can assign what-ever rates you feel are appropriate rates for the 12-15,000 man hours required for woodworking, custom machining and finishing labour. With even nominal rates applied for labour however, the supportable value quickly approaches $250K.

She has electro-hydraulic retracts, a fully functional custom-built under-wing radiator, in-wing oil cooler, and authentic fully functional fishtail stub exhausts. Every single piece on the aircraft was hand built including the 1.8:1 cog-belt redrive, scale 3-bladed wooden propeller c/w blunt-nose spinner, purpose-built (non-cavitating) coolant pump, smoke system, cast aluminum wheels (which originally housed ’53 Morris Minor front drum brakes), gear legs including authentic pintles and rotatable locking pin mechanisms, and a hand-formed plexi-glass canopy. It would have taken me 50 years to build all these parts myself so my hat goes off to old Charlie every time I sit in C-FAMY.

Best of luck should decide to undertake a flying replica. They are a ton of work but extremely rewarding when finally completed (my wife would undoubtedly have a different take on this last statement!!!)
Best regards, Mk.1
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Mark:
Many thanks for the photo of the “original” CW_L. It isn’t per chance the same aircraft (a dilapidated PR Spit that was languishing as a gate guard outside an Indian Military Academy) that a group of Vancouver-based doctors recovered from India with great difficulty a number of years ago? The last I heard, their PR Spit was still undergoing restoration in Vancouver. My father per chance ran into a retired airline captain (in Vancouver as well) that had actually flown the same aircraft once during the war in Burma, I vaguely recall. It would be the strangest of coincidences if my replica were to bear the same code as a fluke of Charlie Longstaff’s initials.
Mk.1

Thanks SpitfireMan:
I sent out the last request to Mark V before your replay came in.
Reagrds, TW

Mk.1 Spitfire – Paint Colour Codes

Thanks for the replies gentlemen:
I will try to get Sherwin Williams to match their “Dimensions” paint line to the BS381c codes. Can any of you list the specific BS381c colour codes/names used on an early mark Spit? (ie. fill in my list below) As for the scheme I will apply, it will be the standard green/brown/sky scheme without a specific (ie. authentic) squadron/aircraft code as I promised the original builder (Charlie Longstaff, now 85 yrs old) that I would retain his initials as the markings on the refinished aeroplane. I will not be applying a white fuselage band ahead of the tail as I believe these were applied in early 1941 were they not?

All info much appreciated, Mk.1
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