I’m not sure if this is my best find of all time, but it is certainly my most recent! I just sat down for lunch with a 3.5′ section of Hawker biplane aileron.

I noticed it hanging up in the basement of St Thomas’ Hospital last year – almost mint apart from a few holes in the fabric.

The last place I would ever have expected to find a bit of plane!!

When I was working for a local developer a load of tanks were found in a barn, they were identified as self sealing tanks from a B17, Duxford were contacted but were’nt interested, eventually an over zealous ex-employee had a big bonfire to clear the site rubbish and chucked them on while we were’nt about, notice I said ex employee.

Welcome to the site Oleg. 🙂

Probably 2 airplanes was study at Research Flying institute at war time – both of them was from Poltava airfields or anyone airfields around. Some time i see photos captured P-38 in Poland or Hungary or etc. Never hear that any P-38 was in servise at VVS – only rumors or wrong informations. Some photos available at the book on Russian – author Kotelnikov Vladimir – “Americans at Russia” – subname “Americans airplanes at Russia”

Maybe plumbers are overpaid?

We have never valued our engineers (either professional degree/chartered) or the chaps who restore/maintain/build etc. This is why we have good thinkers who come up with innovative stuff like the microchip, jet engine, Harrier etc then bog off to the US later.

Where I work, lots have suggested that electrician and plumber stuff would be better paying than what we do….shame and scandalous…. 🙁