The Beaufighter has been inside the storage building since about 2006.
The museum has started on the restoration. The cockpit/nose section is currently on display in the foyer of the main museum as “fundraiser” exhibit.

I believe it will be restored as a 404 sqn aircraft. The main missing items are the engines/cowlings. I think these went into the RAFM Beaufighter when it was restored back in the ’60’s.

Regards
Bill

That is one aeroplane i would love to see return to the UK.

But who would take it? The FAAM doesn’t need another one and the IWM seems to be having a moritorium on collecting aeroplanes.
No it’s better staying on this side of the pond then I can go and look it to remind me of part of my miss-spent youth at Fleetlands trying to stop Scimitar wings from peeing fuel all over the shop floor.

Regards
Bill

What a sad story!

Plymouth’s my home town although I haven’t been there in years.
Many happy memories of Roborough from the 1950’s. Took my first ever flight from there as an ATC cadet (335 Sqn) on 3rd June, 1956 in Anson VM341.
Last flight (in & out) was in 1999 in a BA Dash 8

No reason to come back for a visit now.

Thanks for the video Baz. Do you have a pic of the ‘City of Plymouth’ Gemini?

Regards
Bill

Hi Bill…sorry bad wording on my part…I only meant that I had not personally witnessed an NW display in a zlin !

No Problem Baz, that’s how I read it.

Regards
Bill

Great pictures and quite a collection. I haven’t heard of this museum before.
Good collection of Russian aircraft. The TU-2 looks amazing.
I’m going to have to visit.
Thanks for posting.
Regards
Bill

I think that happened at Hullavington.
Colin

Thanks.
He was an amazing flyer, sadly missed.

Bill

Hadnt thought about Neil as possible for the zlin,I dont recall ever seeing a NW zlin display – but I saw a couple of N Browning displays in the late 60’s and thought the flying ‘style’ may have been similar,anyway here is a slightly larger version of the vid clip and at approx 9.12 onwards you can just about make out the zlin colour scheme…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTwfMr_1i5g

Not conclusive – but here is a pic of G-ASIM which i believe was Neville Brownings a/c,looks similar colour but not enough contrast on video clip to see if the displaying a/c had the wing stripes !

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=zlin%20g-asim.%20photos&source=web&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CC0QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abpic.co.uk%2Fphoto%2F1175059%2F&ei=UZplT5yGM8Pr8QO5gcGJCA&usg=AFQjCNEGhJXpitQL-zey6gOxi0y9DraDlQ

rgds baz

I seem to remember seeing Neil Williams flying a Zlin, possibly at Cranfield ’72/73, and he flew most of the display inverted (that’s why I thought it was NW in the clip)
Didn’t he have a near disaster in a Zlin when a lower wing bolt failed and the wing flapped up, forcing him to approach with the plane inverted and flick it over at the last second before crash landing, or am I thinking of someone else?

Regards
Bill