My first spitfire was High Back Mark 16 TB752 at Manston when I was about 5 years old in 1969. This was when the aircraft was outside between a Canberra and a Javelin. The cockpit was sealed up with black masking tape and I remember this as my Uncle used to lift me up to look inside.
It was poignant for me years later when I was a teenage volunteer at the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway and on one of our outings that I saw the Spitfire being restored at Rochester airport. It was in a freezing cold tin shed on the airport and It was the first time I realized how small the fuselage was compared to the bulk of the engine.

Outstanding story well told by the film makers.

It did raise one question in my mind which I have no doubt will be answered in record time here. It featured the stock footage of Lancasters taxiing out past a hangar in colour which has been shown many many times, usually when talking about the 1000 bomber raids. But where was it shot?

Thanks in advance

It was Hemswell and if you want a lot more of that you need to get hold of the colour wartime film called ‘Night Bombers’ Ive got it on VHS and superb is it too.

Im living only five miles up the road from it now and was there recently, the ‘runway’ didn’t look long enough to my untrained eye? Anyone know what the flying plan is?

Nice cowling work by Steve Moon. He was doing the air intake at the same time he did the cowling on my Rearwin.

Steve is a good man

Yes he must be very good to work off photos to create this super job.

I totally agree, I think it was the fact that they were used mainly as a Photo reconnaissance aircraft in the last few weeks of the war, so out of the way really.
If you want a fantastic model of one MDC do a nice very detailed 1:32nd scale resin kit of one.

Where have I heard that before? :rolleyes:

Seriously, did the UK ever have a realistic (that is likely to be financed) manned space program planned?

Seriously would you put money into a space program when you could role over in bed and gamble other peoples hard won pension pots on the stock market and wake up richer in the morning and keep virtually all the cash and tell everybody how clever you and your ilk are?

You only have to look at what the BBMF have done with PA474 to keep it flying that you realize its a big task. PA474 has Tornado wiring which has lightened the aircraft and made it easier to check its systems and also the re-spar job which was necessary to extend the flying hours. ‘Jane’ has not had this done but I wonder how long it would be before it would need to be?