Point taken but I guess we all need maximise our pension funds!

Been there today! So it’s fresh in my mind

Hello guys and gals 🙂

This time I would like to hear your views about Duxford

1) What do you like most about Duxford?

The fact that it’s a live museum

2) What do you dislike most about Duxford?

The price – £12.00 now, the corporate feel to the place – the risk management, the political correctness, the fact that the airframes outside are looking increasingly ratty

3) What makes you return to Duxford? (When time and distance allows of course!)
For the first time ever I thought after today’s visit, “well, was that really worth the journey”

4) What do we get right at Duxford?
probably most things but nothing spectacularly for the frequent enthusiast visitor

5) What do we get wrong?
Some of the restorations – eg the census number on the Jeep in the Montgomery exhibit – OK it’s only a little thing but if you you know these things it jars! or the rusting AVRE that badly beeds a full restoration

The incongruous modern architecture has decimated a historic site and why the hell have you stuck little radioactive stickers under the speedometers of the jeeps – the luminous needle cannot surely be a health hazard – how long before we see jeeps restored with such stickers because it was seen at Dx…….

6) What changes or improvements would you like to see made at Duxford?
Try and capture the excitement of new exhibits and restorations there used to be 20 years ago – it seems as if the museum has got a bit flabby and middle aged – like me

7) Should we put on more airshows? Or fewer? Quantity or quality – for example have fewer airshows with longer displays?
About right

8) If sometimes you are accompanied to Duxford by family or friends who are not particularly interested in aircraft, do they leave feeling they have at least had an interesting day out, or do they think that Duxford is for enthusiasts only?
Something for everybody

9) How do you rate the catering outlets at Duxford? Expensive or good value for money? Enough variety?
The one near the entrance was closed today – the other one was full of kids

10) How do you rate the Museum shop? Is it well stocked for enthusiasts with something new to catch your interest each time you visit? What in your opinion could we sell that we don’t already?
Primarily seems to cater for the schools market

Thank you in advance for your input, let the comments commence!

Been down twice a year for the last 10/15 years plus selected airshows but increasingly I wonder why.

Becka

see above!

anyone want to advance any comments on FBVI HR339 being in brown/green/blue-grey when delivered to the RNZAF and now held at Ferrymead? I’ve asked this question in various places over time but no one can explain the scheme.

An answer perhaps – this is speculated to be a standard SEAC scheme – the blue-grey is possibly Azure Blue

Air Force Orders (India) Nos 69-76 dated 4/4/44 gave the uppersurfaces of Day Bombers (which apparently included Mosquito FBVIs) as DG/DE- but makes no reference to undersurfaces. AMO A.664/42 gives the undersurfaces of “day bombers serving overseas” as sky or azure. Sky had been rejected as an undersurface colour for the Middle east in 1940 so Azure Blue is likely to have been used to overpaint the MSG. There is photo evidence that HR462 and HR493 were finished in this scheme.

Given HR339’s known NW Europe history, it patently did not come from SEAC stocks, but I suppose it could have been refurbed for potential use in South East Asia, in which case it might have been refinished in the UK in the authorised SEAC scheme.

There also seemed to be some sort of battle between the Air Ministry who had developed new heat resistant camoflage dopes and SEAC who latterly favoured Aluminium dope for Mosquitos. I suppose however if refurbed & refinished in this country they may have used the camo dopes.

I hasten to add that this is all pure speculation of course but could be a possibility

Source as before -see above

Mossie Colours

Paul Lucas has suggested that although there were DG/DE/Sky early Mosquito BIV (Series i) , some of the Series ii were also finished in the Temperate Land Scheme of DG/DE uppersurfaces but with Azure Blue undersurfaces. This was prior to the adoption of the “modified” Day Fighter Scheme of DG/OG/MSG with deletion of the Fighter Command sky spinners/sky tail band/yellow leading edge stripes.

As much of this is based on analysis of b/w photos presumably this must be regarded as provisional until further evidence is available.

Information from SAM Combat Colours No 5 – deH Mosquito in RAF PR and Bomber service: 1941 to 1945

Colours

This might be a good starting point…

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_uk.htm

as might this…

http://www.indfinspec.demon.co.uk/bs_381c_colour_chart.htm

I don’t think that trainer yellow has a BS381c equivalent, possibly because 356 golden yellow, was as near as damn it.

The man to speak to on the equivalent colours used on US export aircraft such as the Hudson is Dana Bell – he has written what is probably the definitive monograph on the subject entitled Aviation Color Primers No. 1: US Export Colors of WWII

HTH

sk

Looks like

a Demon to me, Paul, on the basis of the angled Scarff ring

(edit)

and I’m wrong anyway 😮

sk

Brian’s attempt at restoring the Defiant certainly wasn’t up to RAF Museum standards

probably teaching grannies to suck eggs here…

but didn’t the cockpit/fuselage section used to rebuild the RAFM example also come via Strathallan – wasn’t it an Austin-built example – P2183 or something like that