Hi Doughnut,
Yes,the NEAM Swift is the one that Lithgow took the speed record in,but it’s not displayed to the best effect.She’s currently painted in a roughly applied matt yellow,and as a consequence she looks half finished.I know she’s missing lots of internal bits (and a few external ones,ie the wings!),but I can’t help but feel she doesn’t do Lithgow or the Swift as a whole a great deal of justice.A better paint finish,roundals,stencils etc etc would work wonders for her,but alas the restoration work at NEAM seems to progress at a snail’s pace.She’s also up against a wall,which makes her difficult to appreciate even in her current state.I know NEAM have worked wonders with the fuselage since it was recovered 20-odd years ago,and I’m not trying to have a bash at them,but I can’t help but feel that a complete Swift at a more suitable location would do greater justice to Lithgow’s memory,and stand as a testemant to the last days of Supermarine.Afterall,what do ordinary folk notice,a fuselage tucked away in a dark corner,or a complete aircraft in a more accessable,flattering setting?

Interesting responses 🙂

I have to say I agree with Kev (and those of you who agreed with him) that the people are the most important element of any machine,flying or otherwise.
A case in point was when I was up at the North East Air Museum a couple of months ago.The museum itself has quite an interesting array of airframes (some displayed to better effect than others),so from the point of view of machinery,there was plenty to look at.The only problem was that the information boards gave only the technical specs and the potted history of the airframe on display,with no information about the people involved with them,either in restoration or when the aircraft was in service.Even the wreckage of a P40 and a He111 were ‘coldly’ displayed,which is the first time I’ve ever viewed a wreck without some sense of loss or sadness.This gave the exhibits little historical or personal impact, and I walked away from the museum with the feeling that I’d simply been looking at bits of metal and rusty rivets.
One of my reasons for being so keen on the Swift is that it would once have been flown by the likes of Mike Lithgow or Dave Morgan.Test pilots have as much of my admiration as combat pilots,and many from that era were both.I’ve recently finished reading Mach-1,the biography of Mike Lithgow,and I find it pretty incredible how he so coolly recounts his attack on the Bismarck in a Swordfish,and his brush with death when his Stringbag smacked into the Med on a night flying exercise.About 10 years after writing the book, he was killed in tragic curcumstances testing the first HS Trident airliner.For me,he’s one of the un-sung test pilots,and in a way I see the recovery of the Sheppard’s Swift as a tribute to him as much as anything else.