I have a 4 yo turning 5 in November. I have a bike, a Duc – it’s a mono-posto so no issue anyway – not like the one that guy Moggy thinks he isn’t has (or hasn’t – how many negatives make a positive?). Anyway, would I do it? Maybe, carefully, in light/zero traffic etc (which I’m sure is how you have approached this). But I agree with others, if you want to give him that thrill, please protect him better against the unlikely – look at your own gear in that photo. Issue is of course cost vs a growing body – anything available on eBay or similar?

I get your point Jonathan. The issue may turn out to be your source’s memoires/memories. Memory tends not to be linear and the possibility of things being muddled up are significant. As you suggest, a RATO arrangement behind the bomb-bay, a tail mounted jet and a chance sighting of a subsequent outboard jet engined aircraft (or photo thereof) could easily be aggregated together when looking back in time. A friend on my father’s flew Halifaxes, he insists and wrote a book in which he flew Lancs, his logbook says otherwise. 😎

A bloke is in a queue at the Super Market when he notices that the rather dishy blonde behind him has just raised her hand and smiled hello to him.

He is rather taken aback that such a looker would be waving to him, and although familiar he can’t place where he might know her from, so he says “sorry do you know me?”

She replies “I maybe mistaken, but I thought you might be the father of one of my children!”

His mind shoots back to the one and only time he has been unfaithful,

“Christ!” he says “are you that stripogram on my stag night that I had on the snooker table in front of all my mates whilst your mate whipped me with some wet celery and stuck a cucumber up my ass?”

“No” she replies, “I’m your sons’ English Teacher”

Guys, JanathanF in particular, the reference you link to says the first such conversion was in Lancaster prototype BT308. This aircraft was a standard Machester airframe with new wing centre sections and 4 engines. It had the triple tail structure of the Machester BUT if you look here …

http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/lineage1.html

… you’ll see reference to the fact(?) that it was: “Later, used by Rolls Royce for trial work and then to Armstrong Whitworth and fitted with Metrovick jet engine in rear fuselage.”

This is interesting!

Darren, Could you find out a bit more of the spitfires history? My squadron 80 was the only RAF unit to operate them, I was a flight mechanic, my kite was vn307 and my mates was pk682. I was not in Hong Kong when the sqdn recieved Hornets but was told that 6 aircraft were given to the H K aux air force and the rest were bulldozed into the sea and are now under the runway extension. I cannot find pk683 mentioned in any web sites listing preserved spits, Mike j mentions Southhampton museum but have been unable to find it on the web, I know Duxford has an ex 80 sqdn,ex HK aux,and ex Kai tak gate guard vn485. get your thinking caps on for me guys.

Oops … in my Post #6 above I intended to put in a link to the spit – here it is …
http://www.spitfireonline.co.uk/popup/other3.html

Well found both of you!!! I note the dates are a handful of months apart (July and November) and the aircraft reportedly different (de Havilland and an Avro 504) but the one and the same Captain Russell barnstorming here and there.

oh dear … that was indeed dreadfully non-PC … but I laughed (and then stepped out the door)

pre-bloody-cisely … is it only you, me and the late Steve Young who comprehend this?