Thanks for the link Jason, a great clip. Such a sad loss so soon after, RIP.

Thanks for the link to the Flickr stream TrolleyAux, that spade grip is in amazing condition all things considered. Great to see Mr. Hemingway himself looking so good for his 99 years too!

Great detective work, have to agree it does look a convincing match for the SB.

Great to see another “hands-on” project thread, wishing you all the best with it Scott. Could you possibly give us a bit of a run-down of her background and preservation history? Has she been kept in live order in recent years or is this the first time she’s been powered up since she went to Brough?

A sad sight, fingers crossed the damage isn’t too severe.

I have to admit I was very surprised to see the BBC make such a headline of the event, it makes you realise just how important these things still are to people and that the memory of guys like these isn’t in the least bit dead. I think if we are honest, there are many people on a forum such as this who end up wondering if such past events are all forgotten and/or that nobody cares, but it’s events such as this that just go to illustrate how quietly important these things are.

Congratulations to everyone who pulled this event together, not least Mr. Foulds for tending to the memorial so devotedly over the years. Inspirational.

I have to agree that Merlins do seem to be run more conservatively (and therefore more quietly) these days, it would be great if someone with first-hand knowledge could confirm or deny. The sound is obviously more muffled on the earlier engines with the fishtail exhausts but even the twelve-stub Merlins seem quieter than they used to.

Regards the replica P51, it would be interesting to know what it’s made of. I saw it dismantled years ago in the old fire engine shed when it first arrived in the 90’s and seem to remember there was a lot of wood to it. If so I don’t think it would last too well outdoors in the UK climate.

I agree it’s tantalising and frustrating to see all the Dux projects in bits, but better indoor piles of bits than deteriorating complete outdoors. It’s probably fair to say we all dream of working on this stuff, but on the other hand I really don’t envy those who have to make the choices about what deserves attention at any given time.