I bet he knows what the max endurance mixture setting is now!! 😀

Anyway, bloody well done to that man! He deserves a beer or 20 after a flight like that!!!

(Second thought: I seem to remember that the Cirrus models don’t have a mixture lever? Any Cirrus drivers care to comment?)

So if you have a Seafury and do this to it.
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/696808/M/
What is it then.

Still a Sea Fury.

The aircraft stopped being original when it landed at its first base and the local engineers got their hands on it. Tyres, wheels, screws, nuts and bolts were replaced. A few weeks later it had a minor accident and they had to replace some metal. During a major overhaul it may have gotten a new outboard wing from stores and some additional replacement parts. At sometime during its life the instrument layout was changed because newer instruments became available. After its service life it may have undergone modifications to the airframe and instruments at Hawkers because it was sold on to a new air force. After its service life there it may have had a civil career as a skywriter/target tug, for both of which it needed modifying. At the end it is still a Sea Fury. Only modified from the way it first left the factory. The fact that the aircraft is now a Mk.XVII type C mod 2346a/37bis after SB 63-9876B and AD78-14397 doesn’t change what it started out as. It will never become a Mustang 😉

I too would like to see the cockpit in its original state, but in the end that’s up to the owner. The warbird world is slowly moving towards restoring aircraft to full military and/or original specs, but safety issues, practical issues or simply money and availability of parts/time/skilled hands may still prevail.

One of my relatives saw the fuselage being on the ponton from a distance, looking like ditched, thought it was plane crash, raced over while calling emergency services and got a speeding ticket while on her way 😀 😀 😀
Cop’s response, “sure ma’m, the best excuse we heard lately, but we’re giving you the ticket anyway” 😀 😀 😀

Nice one! 😀 😀

I was early enough not to have to speed towards the ‘crash site’ 😉
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36010

So if you stick a GPS in a spit, it then becomes a replica or a fascimile ?

Just a quick reply: no it doesn’t. We all accept that to keep aircraft in the air some concessions need to be made to modern requirements. A GPS stuck in a cockpit doesn’t alter the basics of the airframe or systems. It doesn’t make the Spit in itself any less original than it was without the GPS. If we want to go down this discussion route we’ll get into the big ‘originality’ quagmire.

Snapper gives a great example of one of the big advantages of a reproduced aircraft: you have the benefits of a trustworthy structure with modern materials and systems. Also you will not write off a historic item when you crash it. On the other hand: should this change the way you fly it? I’d say no, the only change would be that the flight envelope can be more fully explored because of the modern structure. Still you should always aim to end the flight with all wheels safely on the ground. This remains the same for an original Fw190 or other valuable warbird. Any airplane should always be flown within the aircraft’s and the pilot’s and the environment’s limits.

Another aspect is uniqueness. Say Flugwerk only built one FW190, would you still take the same ‘risks’ because it is ‘just a reproduction’? Indeed it isn’t an original airplane, but it is the only representation of a flying Focke-Wulf available and this gives it a ‘uniqueness’ factor that (in my view) gives it an intrinsic value that almost equals that of an original warbird. Allright, Flugwerk will be building more than one, but many of these will disperse to different areas of the globe, so after a few years the above situation may well apply for say Europe. In the case of the Me262s being built, they may not sell all the aircraft, leaving only 2 or 3 complete and airworthy. You would then end up with the same situation again.

By the way: Nice Hurricane scale replica Daz, but had I had Galdri’s choice and even knowing this would have been available, I would’ve chosen the Gemini too! 😀

something like the Isaacs Spit, although a scaled-down sport Spitfire replica, could technically be considered an historic aircraft design – it’s coming up thirty years since it first flew

The Boeing 747 first flew in 1969, and the majority of Boeing discussions is still held in the commercial forum! 😉 The solution might be to stick it in a museum Daz 😀 😀 😀

Are we talking in general, or just ‘aircraft’…?

The entries from the dictionary are general, which partly explains the confusion since the meanings of replica, facsimile, reproduction etc. are so close to eachother. The word ‘replica’ is more often used in everyday language, and many people wouldn’t know the difference anyway between a replica Spit or a Spit facsimile (mind I’m using Spits as an example here, but this applies to Fw190s and other aircraft as well).

When applied to aircraft, I would suggest using these terms as I described above, and I know that there are people who already do so. It might make life easier in the long run as it may save some explanations/flame wars :rolleyes: .

Ahum, suggestion for correct naming protocol:

Replica – aircraft built to full original specifications but without incorporating original structure.
Facsimile or Look-alike – aircraft built to externally resemble ‘the real thing’, but using different construction methods and/or materials.

Turns out I was mad enough to go and see the transport last night, although working is a bit of a struggle now 😎

Quality of the photos may be a bit off on some shots (I’ve only got a smallish Canon), but they give an impression.

1. The tail section moving into the small lock which is the entrance to the Amsterdam canals.
2. Expectations are high on the bridge 😉
3. The fuselage clearing the railway and highway bridges, traffic was brought to a standstill on the A10 ringway for this event.
4. The fuselage entering the lock.
5 and 6. Nice coloured lights to add some atmosphere.
7. Aircraft systems were powered by a GPU on the barge so the fuselage wasn’t completely dark.
8. Some silly sod apparently managed to drop a camera in the water! Wasn’t retrieved obviously.
9 and 10. Slowly cruising through the center of Amsterdam (Kostverlorenvaart).

Wonderful pics Roger! Do you have any idea what the routing is and/or where she is now? I wouldn’t mind getting a look at the convoy somewhere during the transport.