BA Swallow, not so rare, there is one in my hangar VH-AAB belonging to John Sinclair, powered by Cirrus Minor II and in flying condition. I have had a fly of it in the past. It had been pranged about 25 years back John rebuilt it. The prang busted the centre section main spars and the wing root of one outer wing panel. These are of laminated spruce construction.

Build in 1936 from memory and went to India before coming to Australia.

From memory, the Klemm has a rounded turtle deck, the BA has an angular one, easier to build. Also from memory the stall speed is 25 mph.

cheers

Hello Everyone,

Yes, as Fournier Boy already said, the Spit and C-47 are both grounded this year, insurance costs being one of the major factors. It’s a real shame, especially seeing as the C-47 has just emerged from re-paint and it is the 65th Anniversary of D-Day this year. I’m afraid that this will not be the only such news this year.

Tom

Insurance is typically 3-4% of the hull value, work that out. It can often be more than the operating costs for a year for an aeroplane that is occasionally flown.

Gooday All

Further to my earlier post ……

I am not a people person, I am a things person and as such I sometimes look at things from a different perspective.

In this case, I think it may be worthwhile to look at the project from the point of view, what will be the best outcome for the spitfire in the long term. What will see its rebuilding back to flying condition and being maintained in flyable condition.

If a project is going belly up – for whatever reason, then its reasonable to alter the plan of attack and restructure the project to achieve a more suitable outcome for the aircraft. The project may have several shifts in direction and directors until success is achieved.

I rate success as the spitfire back in flying condition and being flown regularly.

In order for success to be achieved, sometimes some of the personalities involved need to move to the back and allow a new team to take control – difficult, but sometimes necessary.

cheers

[QUOTE=TerryP;1357556]It is/was pure absolute ethyl alcohol de-natured with 5% pure methanol. When the bowl is filled it is de-aerated by holding it at 28 In of vacuum for one and a half hours. Then topped up again.
QUOTE]

How close to metholaded spirits is that, around my neck of the woods here in Southern Queensland, Australia we use avtur to refill P8/P11 when we overhaul them. I have been using one in my Tiger for about 25 years with little downside.

Having said that, I am thinking of replacing it with a recently O/H unit because the liquit is a bit yellow now and with ski googles on (yellow filter) it is getting a bit harder to read (or is my eyesight going with age).

cheers

That reminds me to check when the first flights were made in Queensland. They took place at Seventeen Mile Rocks, Brisbane in what was then a cow paddock on the banks of the Brisbane River. I think initially they were just glider flights. There is a plague on the site celebrating the achievement.

I am always interested about some of these “First Flights” because no doubt many of you would know anout the New Zealander who made controlled powered flights before the Wright Bros. I don’t know the details, Maybe someone else does and can post some of them here.

Not directly in accordance with the tone of the thread, but in general keeping with it. I friend of mine Barry Hempel (now deceased) owned and flew a Mig 15. I think he may have also flown a Sabre. He said that the Mig 15 was more than a match for the Sabre in turns of handling and aerodynamic performance.

I guess that it was the ability and experience that of the pilots that was the determining factor.

By the way he told me that his Mig 15 used 1500 litres of fuel an hour.

cheers