During the main display on Sunday at Legends, there was a brief 30 second moment when nine Spitfires on the flight line were devoid of all other aircraft, pilots, crew, refueling trucks, ‘dangly’ legs the lot.
My mind said – “New opening screen for the PC” – click.

Tom Wood has been flying this Mustang for about 30 years.
It is amazingly light damage for a wheels up landing in a P-51.
Informed opinion from the US suggests that this was not an aircraft malfunction. You have either done it, nearly done it or are going to do it.
If this was an approach with a known ‘gear up’ malfuction, and given the choice, I guess that you would opt for the grass and cut the power over the threshold.
Power controls altitude, stick controls speed.

Well I remember seeing the remains of one of these Scimitars in the famous Coley’s scrap yard near Heathrow in the late 1950’s. I have some negatives somewhere. If only we had known……

With respect, Spitfire MV263 actual was the machine of W/C Jeff Northcott and coded JEFF in small white letters. It is not a survivor.
Doug Arnold recovered several Mk XIV Spitfires from India in the 1970’s including MV262 and MV293, the latter being the TFC machine currently painted as “MV268/JE-J”. The JE-J markings were based on his Mk IX Spitfires EN398 and MK392. The photo posted, showing the actual MV268/JEJ, was not available at the time of the rush to get the aircraft refinished for Leg-ends 2000.

Digby,
I think that should be MV293.
Attached, or on next post, is how Johnnie Johnson had the codes.
Maybe next repaint?
Mark12

Coronation Flypast – 1953.
Just swarm after swarm after swarm – unbelievable – over 600 aircraft. That is the Leg-ends Balbo x 25 to get it into perspective.
Hooked and no going back after that!

The B-24 was one of the Indian Air Force machines in transit to the UK for the RAF Museum or David Tallichet as I recall.
In the 1970’s there was the ‘all white Spitfire’ in Australia that had allegedly ‘buzzed’ an Aero Commander belonging to the DCA, somewhere in the St Catherines area.
In 1986 I thought we had finally got this confirmed when two non aviation minded American backpackers submitted a letter and photo to a ‘a well known US warbird journal’ seeking confirmation that the aircraft they had seen ‘x’ hundred miles west of Dubbo, in the middle of nowhere, giving an impromptu air display was a Mustang – the photo showed a Spitfire in a hanger. Rather than print the story the editor, perhaps seeing a commercial opportunity, shared the story and photo with a few close associates, one of whom gave me a photocopies of both the letter and the photo as I was shortly Asia/Australia bound on things vintage aviation. The photocopy was faultless with just enough 1980’s ambiance items in view to confirm this was not a period photo. The 45 gallon drums, the AeroShell, the drape over the engine, the farm strip paraphernalia etc. A three blade Mk V with tropical filter, a typical Australian Spitfire – perfect. A close study of all possibilities, three blade Spitfires, world wide could not make a match. Had we finally found it?
Australia is a mighty big place and where would you start to look with such vague location details?. Over a dinner party in Sydney one evening I gently broached the subject to collector/restorer Rob Greinert who burst into much laughter. He had sent the letter and the photo to the journal to ‘spark it up a bit’ as he did not hold it in high regard. He had been involved with the production of a full size GRP reproduction of Clive Caldwell’s Mk V for a museum and during the finally finishing process had posed the photo. A wonderful hoax and boy did we all laugh and enjoy it.

Mk V,
As you can see from the period print attached the codes are OK.
I would have preferred to see the “Dorothy II’ logo that Bill Harpur carried on the port engine cowl of his TB886/AU-J.
Gloss, semi gloss or pure matt is a personal choice but for me the oiled and grubby patina of pure matt after a couple of years weathering is perfection. We are never going to convince our North American brothers on this and as Spencer Flack said of his Red Spitfire…….etc.
Yes I preferred the Blue JMR scheme.
Regards, Mark12