Left half says: “Valve to refuel / defuel hot oil”.
Top right half says: “Coupling for manual start”.
Bottom right half says: “Pull when prop-area is clear”.
The small black seperated marking says: “when handstarting, remove brushes”. Not quite sure what they mean with that.

So this would definately be at or near the engine.

My guess about “removing the brushes” is that this refers to the brushes on the starter motor. Brushes are an essential element in an electric motor, providing electrical contact with the motor’s commutator. Removing them, or more likely, drawing them back, would prevent the electric starter motor from doing its job. I assume this would be achieved as a safeguard to prevent the pilot from accidentally using the starter motor while personnel were trying to hand-prop the engine. Alternatively, it could be to prevent the starter motor from becoming a generator during the hand-start. Just a thought at least.

Cheers,
Richard

Wonderful photos! Thanks for posting. Who took them by the way?

On another note… this really is a remarkable restoration. I take it, from the photos, that a Vought F8 Crusader is also in the shop. Will that ever be restored?

Cheers,
Richard

I wonder if the parts in the process of being obtained by the RAF Museum from Canada originated with David Maude, as I gather he’s got an extensive collection of Hampden wreckage. Anyone know?

Cheers,
Richard

So if it’s not going into the FAAM, why is it going to VL?

Someone with an interest in the F4 and felt strongly that an original 892NAS airframe should be preserved has after a lot of work managed to get permission to move the aircraft to VL where it will be preserved and looked after by a group on the airfield.

Sorry if I’ve missed this somewhere, but who, or what is VL? Very glad to see the Phantom going on to preservation though.

Cheers,
Richard

These are brilliant!!!! Keep posting, please, and thanks so much. You actually captured one of the Shacks in these images too. I wonder if this Hastings is the one YAM got the wings from?

Cheers,
Richard

From what I understand, this was an ownership dispute between the city (which owns the aircraft) and the museum (which wanted to sell them). The city seems well within their rights to decide what happens to the aircraft, and seems to be putting up a significant amount of money to see them properly restored to static condition with runable engines. I don’t see any harm in this, and think it’s a good thing in fact. Hopefully the recent decision will lead to a positive direction for both airframes.

Cheers,
Richard

Half way down the Thunder and Lightnings list is an FB5, originally WM994 and later G-SEAH and N994WM, apparently now in Minnesota and up for sale. Or at least it was in 2004 – someone will soon be along with an update, I’m sure.

Wow… I am shocked I missed that! I wonder what has happened to her…

All the best,
Richard

Hi Richard,

I have also seen the Wapiti at Palam and would agree that it looks a bit rough around the edges, but I thought she contained some original airframe.

Anyone know any more ?

I hope you are right, but I’m not too optimistic. Perhaps there is some original structure in the fuselage. everything else looked like it was cobbled together from a bunch of sticks and old bicycle parts sadly… however, it was at least nice to see the breed represented in physical form, and it does look ok at a distance…. not so much when you get close up though.

edit:… after doing a little looking on the internet, it does sound like the “Wapiti” at Palam is based upon the remains of an original, though how much original material remains is unclear, as is the history of how it came to survive. It was apparently “restored” in the 1960’s. If this is the case, one only hopes that someone eventually does a proper restoration on the beast.

All the best,
Richard

PS. What happened to the two airworthy Wapiti/Wallace replicas mooted a couple of years ago for a re-enactment of the first flight over Mt.Everest? Were they ever built? Did construction even begin? Considering that early Wapiti’s shared a lot of parts (the wings) with the dH-9, and that dH-9’s are experiencing somewhat of a renaissance… I guess we can at least dream of a possible flyer sometime in the future.