Excellent shots!

Your earlier ILA photo threads were great but oooh, I just love the highlights on that shiny Red Bull DC6 (or DC7? never was much of a student of US airliners).

And that shot of the 262 with it’s l/edge slats open is real stunner, you can even see the heat haze behind the engines.

Well done Mossie, got any more gratuitous aero-porn to show us……?

Paul F

Interim Storage???

Put “in store”?

For how long, and what action will be taken to stop them deteriorating further whilst “in store”? For example will they be stored under cover, or will the dissassembled sections be left outside somewhere to suffer more battering from our wonderful climate?

Time to check with East Fortune what the timescales for offical “unveiling” of the reassembled/restored exhibits, and on how secure the restoration/reassembly funds are methinks.

My fear (hopefully totally unfounded 😮 ) is that the dissasembled airframes may yet dissappear for good sooner than we would like, unless they enter a program of active conservation/restoration quickly 🙁 .

Paul F

Da Vinci Code Airfield Scenes

Local press down here has been carrying the story that the “Biggin Hill” scenes were actually filmed at Shoreham Airport :confused:.

Paul F

Jim Pearce

Mr Pearce has been the guest speaker at a couple of Shoreham Airport Society meetings, and his stories of what he has found/achieved are incredible.

He spoke to the society again a couple of months back, but unfortunatley I was away on business and couldn’t get to the meeting, so I don’t know if the 189 was mentioned. We are meeting again tonight (John Farley tallking about VTOL aircraft), and I’ll try and see if the status of the Fw189 was mentioned at Mr Pearce’s last talk.

Previous talks included references to the Russian Fw189 recovery, plus other Russian Hurricanes, Stukas, and the Aircobra, plus tantalising tales of an intact British four-engined heavy bomber sitting in a Russian hangar. Also tales of knowledge of crated WW2 planes buried under a runway in the far East. You’d think the tales were all bullsh*t, but the hard evidence shown in the thread Moggy linked, and actually having seen his Fw189 on display at Shoreham shortly after it was recovered to UK, proves there’s a fair chunk of truth in his stories.

Before Jim P moved out of Shoreham, to the rural strip shown in Moggys thread, we were lucky enough to get a tour round his hangar/workshop – a real Alladin’s cave, I remember a Gipsy moth under restoration (ex-Spanish I think), plus misc other things.

An interesting character is Mr Pearce.

Paul F

Kissimmee etc

Hi Old Eagle

Visited FofF and Kissimmee area last year – as you say, it’s absolutely mind-numbing what Kermit has in the Polk City storage areas, let alone the “active” restoration hangar.

Daz- You simply cannot imagine the scale of the place!

I too was blown away by the “engine bay” – a whole wall full of inhibitted Allisons that only have manufacturers bench-test hours on them, plus misc other European engines too. It’s a gold mine out there.

Have tried to attach some of my photos from last year, but the manage attachment box doesn’t want to play ball at present 🙁 .

I assume Reilly Aviation Museum/restoration facility next to Warbird Adventures has now left Kissimmee Gateway Airport completely? That was another eye-opener, though not on the same scale as Kermit’s place, they had P51 and a P40(?) in rebuild last Easter.

Have just booked our return trip for next Easter, and am trying hard to persuade the other half that a flight in one of the Harvards is a must-do while we’re there, I started the “bidding” with a suggestion of a flight at Stallion 51 😀 , knowing full well that the Warbird Adventures option might then be seen as a suitable compromise 😉 . Am interested in how the Warbird Adventures experience went – will PM you with some questions.

Paul F

Oh No, We’ve been here before….

Puts on Devils Advocate Cape… :dev2:

Hands Up Class, who subscribes to which of the following camps:

1. How dare they paint it in an innaccurate colour scheme!

Or

2. Of course, it’s their Sea Fury, and they can paint it how they want!

Runs for the door…. :diablo:

Paul F

Wimbourne?

Googling throws up nothing obvious under “Wimbourne” :confused:

Paul F