I believe that three RMAF Twin Pioneers (FM1063, 1065 and 1068) went to the Indonesian Air Force in 1970.

An eagle-eyed colleague has identified that one (or perhaps two) of these is at the disused airfield at Rumpin, southwest of Jakarta. (located at 6°22’35.67″S 106°37’29.76″E)

Can anyone confirm the serials of these two aircraft at Rumpin?

Thanks,

David Eyre

N500CC was cn 669.
Made its last flight in September 1976, and was later broken up. The fuselage was stored at the Wallace Division ‘bone yard’ at Wichita Mid Continent Airport, Kansas, and last noted there in February 1982.

Full Citation production list (in Excel format) is at http://www.airlinerlist.com:
http://www.planelist.net/cessna.zip

Regards,
David Eyre

There’s also another thread on the other Spitfire XIVc RM689 / G-ALGT:
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=20297&page=4

Regards,
David

Thread drift, Sorry!!

Yes, the David Brown Tractor is the one at Brooklands Museum. We have pictures of it towing sections of Concorde around the Brooklands site in the 1970’s!!

Back to the thread, can anybody help me with the C/n of 9M-OPT which I helped look after at Farnborough 1996 , I have conflicting info!..

Thanks,
GASYD

Hi GASYD,

The CAA’s website confirms 9M-OPT is cn 020 which became G-BOPN on 8 Jan 1999 then was cancelled 19 Jan 1999 as sold in Australia, where it became VH-OPI:

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=detail&aircrafttype=optica&dereg=true&dataindex=17

Regards,
David

I contacted the Roll-Royce Heritage Trust for an update on this aircraft the other day. Ian Craighead, who has taken over the restoration of RM689/G-ALGT kindly responded yesterday:

“there has been only a little visible progress (but things have kept moving on).

We had some problems which meant that the wings have still to be finished and so the completion date is now estimated to be mid to late 2010.

While this seems some way off, it must be remembered that the aircraft is being almost completely rebuilt, there having been little left of the original upon which to base the new airframe. That said, everything original that was deemed to be reuseable was retained and has been restored allowing RM689 to retain her original identity.

As you might expect there isn’t a one stop shop to get Spitfire parts and so we are reliant on new manufacture or parts becoming available through the “network”.

However, it must be admitted that original estimates of the time for rebuild were optimistic.

The fuselage and tail are nearing completion and the Griffon engine has been installed. I am expecting one wing to be delivered by April 2009 with the other around June/July.

After the wings are fitted the aircraft will start to look more complete, however, there are fuel, hydraulic, electrical and pneumatic systems to be plumbed in and connected. From a personal viewpoint the wings will mark a significant milestone and the finishing post will be almost in sight.

In the meantime our PR XIX Spitfire PS853 continues to fly during the summer months, maintaining our presence in the air for the benefit of local charities and adding that little special touch for our customers.

The [Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust] website is admittedly woefully out of date with respect to the Spitfire and it is one of my missions this year to get it up-to-date and maintained on a regular basis. Your suggestion of 6-monthly updates is feasible. We do occasionally publish some information on Spitfire progress to Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust members and I hope that as completion nears I will be able to report more advanced progress. If you are interested in becoming a Trust member, please let this office know.

I am glad to hear that our Company Spitfires have fans abroad as well as here in the UK.”
Regards,
David Eyre

Some great night photos of Jetstream 31 G-PLAH and Whirlwind HAR.9 XN298/10 here:

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=85926

Regards,
David.

How about these?

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Nanchang-CJ-6A/1115051/L/
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Nanchang-CJ-6A/1040108/L/
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Nanchang-CJ-6A/1159074/L/

Regards,
David