On my very first day at BBMF as NCO i/c I went to Northolt to meet the rest of the crew who werwe attending to LF363. Whilst taxying the gear had been selected up instead of the flaps. After repairs to radiator fairing, flaps etc we flew her with a four blade prop altering the blade settings to suit the different reduction gear ratio. I went to BBMF in 1978, unsure when we got her flying again.

No trouble with traffic! Duxford village gridlocked, school car park took a fortune but had to overflow on to adjoing fields, A505 stationary both ways, M11 closed one way, talk of people queing for four hours.
Getting out Saturday, one friend was out in 15 minutes, his son took two hours.
Good job us locals know the back ways.

Doesn’t look that low – an air to air shot with the ground underneath somewhere out of the bottom of the picture.

Try this one, not taken from another a/c. Where when and how?

Are you all sure that these aircraft are not heading for Biggin Hill?

…………….. or Duxford?

FM213 has more fuselage windows, and is fairly bare inside compared to PA474, which has a lot (if not all by now?) of the wartime equipment fitted. ‘474 has an oval lower bomb aimer’s window, whereas 213’s is rectangular, and ‘474 has the H-shaped aerials fitted either side of the nose as well.

PA474 has Lincoln u/c’s and I seem to recall Hastings wheels and tyres. Memory fades a bit after thirty years.

Mk. X Lancasters used American bearings throughout and I also believe they had US radio equipment.

Reminds me of the incident Spencer Flack had with G-FURY (WJ244) on the 2 August 1981. Thirty three years ago almost to the day, how time passes. He was in transit from ‘up North’ when the engine started to overheat. Abreast of RAF Waddington he decided to land. With gear down, aiming for the ‘piano keys’ the engine quit, he selected gear up, one leg didn’t make it and he bellied in to a potato field on approach. Seriously hurt, fractured leg, a/c on fire, hood jammed, he smashed his way out with his head, lucky he was wearing a bone dome. Rolled over the side of the aircraft and was nearly run over by the fire crew who did not see him amongst the potatos.

Sharing a bottle of gin with him in hospital, I think it was RAF Nocton Hall, he said as he was hot in the aircraft that day so he rolled his sleeves up and didn’t wear his oxygen mask, hence his minor burns. One other nugget was if you have an engine failure in a Fury at 5’000 where you will land is immediately underneath you and you will only be able to complete a 180 due to the high drag.

Up to that point BBMF crews flew in leather helmets, from then on it was bone domes.

Have you looked at the prop fitted to the Fiat G-59, almost P-51 but not.

Do you also know if DEHAVILLAND manufactured hydromatic parts are directly interchangeable with US manufactured hydromatic parts? Thank you

Props covered:- 22D30, 22D40, 23D40, 33D50, 23E50, 33E60, 23F60, 24D50, 24E50, 24E60, 24F60. The only part numbers given are Hamilton Standard. Will come back to you re.
copy.