I wonder if they’ll get a bulk discount on the Merlin overhauls? 🙂

And is it 10 airframes? I thought it was 8 (6 Buchons, plus Spitfire IX and P-51D)

…would it be possible to keep the registration “secret” until the morning of the grand reveal?

No. Once a registration is allocated it is a matter of public record. Without a registration, you won’t be able to carry out test flying, or insure the aircraft.

…last I heard I think she was owned by Bill Gates of Microsoft fame.

Paul Allen (Flying Heritage Collection), not Bill Gates.

So how do you double the output of the same engine…?

Not so different from the Merlin, whose prototypes were producing less than 1,000 hp (note: horsepower, not b.h.p.) and today’s highly-developed racing powerplants push out over 3,500 hp for a life of a few minutes, all with the same 27-litre (1650 cubic inch) swept volume.

Looking at picture 3 that ‘kahmer’ has posted above though, the sum total of the wreckage held in Berlin from both aircraft seems to amount to ‘not a whole lot.’ 🙁

Not to mention the pearl of wisdom we were given on our hangar tour a couple of weeks back, concerning Spitfires with underwing-mounted 40mm cannon for tank-hunting.

Probably a forlorn hope, but I’d rather like to see a Buchon restored and flying as a Buchon, rather than dressed up like a Bf109.

I understand that funding is a significant issue for the museum, hence the lack of airframes going to MAPS for restoration since the Defiant was completed.