10 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

was walking in the southern english countryside a few years ago and a spitfire and lancaster flew over on the way to an air show, and also one time when i was in london, the sight and, in particular, the sound is like nothing else

As a kid in the 50's, I always enjoyed the air shows at various old bases in the Essex area; actually as a  young adult too!

 

No doubt nowadays, these shows would be condemned as inciting bad thoughts in the young, as in comments that appear on TVF every Children's Day here; but for us, it was wonderful to see the aircraft that were involved in WWII during our childhood, both on the ground and flying past.

 

And I actually sat in the cockpit of  a Lancaster - made my day, and the envy of mates.

On 8/6/2019 at 1:36 PM, jaiyen said:

Why ??  There would be virtually no Jap tourists who have ever seen a Spitfire.  How many times have you seen a Zero ?

 

Ummmmm......zero.

 

For Spitfire fans in Bangkok they have one at the air force museum near Don Muang.

 

 

Edited August 10, 20196 yr by Denim

4 minutes ago, elwood said:

As a kid in the 50's, I always enjoyed the air shows at various old bases in the Essex area; actually as a  young adult too!

 

No doubt nowadays, these shows would be condemned as inciting bad thoughts in the young, as in comments that appear on TVF every Children's Day here; but for us, it was wonderful to see the aircraft that were involved in WWII during our childhood, both on the ground and flying past.

 

And I actually sat in the cockpit of  a Lancaster - made my day, and the envy of mates.

The UK still has many air shows to this day. You can even go up in a Spitfire...

1 hour ago, transam said:

The UK still has many air shows to this day. You can even go up in a Spitfire...

That's a surprise, thought the Lefties, PC and Health and Safety mob would have stopped them.

Thanks for the update.

But Ubon's airbase is a lot closer than Southend - think I'll settle for seeing it in October????

On 8/10/2019 at 8:32 AM, elwood said:

That's a surprise, thought the Lefties, PC and Health and Safety mob would have stopped them.

Thanks for the update.

But Ubon's airbase is a lot closer than Southend - think I'll settle for seeing it in October????

I won a flight in a spitfire  a few years ago at an Airshow, when i went to collect my prize i got told sorry they could not take me as the pilot had exceeded his flying hours, Health and Safety 

On 8/10/2019 at 2:32 PM, elwood said:

That's a surprise, thought the Lefties, PC and Health and Safety mob would have stopped them.

Thanks for the update.

But Ubon's airbase is a lot closer than Southend - think I'll settle for seeing it in October????

Del Boy Trotter had better luck in a Spitfire than he did with a Hang Glider ????

 

1 hour ago, Thongkorn said:

I won a flight in a spitfire  a few years ago at an Airshow, when i went to collect my prize i got told sorry they could not take me as the pilot had exceeded his flying hours, Health and Safety 

Are you sure it wasn't "who ate all the pies"...? (????)

Edited August 11, 20196 yr by evadgib

Uk  Birmingham 1973 Amongst others  used to be one at Raf Hullavington

On 8/10/2019 at 1:20 PM, elwood said:

As a kid in the 50's, I always enjoyed the air shows at various old bases in the Essex area; actually as a  young adult too!

 

No doubt nowadays, these shows would be condemned as inciting bad thoughts in the young, as in comments that appear on TVF every Children's Day here; but for us, it was wonderful to see the aircraft that were involved in WWII during our childhood, both on the ground and flying past.

 

And I actually sat in the cockpit of  a Lancaster - made my day, and the envy of mates.

My  Uncle was a  pilot of Lancasters during WW11  shot  down twice,  Bill Evans ( as  well as  grasstrack Uk Champ 6  times in the 1950's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasstrack) and ex  girlfriends  dad rear  gunner died aged 93.

The Spitfire,E type Jag,Concorde, all design icons.

 regards wrgerde

On 8/6/2019 at 5:34 PM, Enoon said:

B29

 

 

Saw one one time at Vancouver airport parked next to a H111 . Drip trays under all the engines to protect the asphalt from drips. Next to it the H111 had no drip trays and no drips. ????

21 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Saw one one time at Vancouver airport parked next to a H111 . Drip trays under all the engines to protect the asphalt from drips. Next to it the H111 had no drip trays and no drips. ????

Dont forget their great works  with jet engines also Me262 etc

11 hours ago, gunderhill said:

Dont forget their great works  with jet engines also Me262 etc

Yep but a few years after they had got ideas from the writings of Frank Whittle back in the 1930s when the British powers that be thought he was off his nut saying these engines could enable aircraft one day to fly at 500+ MPH, certain german designers read a lot of Whittles notes on his engine ideas... difference is they got the backing for development hence putting jets into operation before anyone else... 

 

As for leaks Re; He111 v Spit - one has Fuel injection and the other carburettors, reason it was outperformed in a climb against the ME109 never the less both the Spit and ME109s/FW190s were pretty good aircarft of their day... as for the RR Merlin? surprised no one has mentioned the Mosquito, no if ever their was a multi-role fast aircraft in WWII, in its Recon role nothing could catch it at the time...

3 hours ago, Lokie said:

Yep but a few years after they had got ideas from the writings of Frank Whittle back in the 1930s when the British powers that be thought he was off his nut saying these engines could enable aircraft one day to fly at 500+ MPH, certain german designers read a lot of Whittles notes on his engine ideas... difference is they got the backing for development hence putting jets into operation before anyone else... 

 

As for leaks Re; He111 v Spit - one has Fuel injection and the other carburettors, reason it was outperformed in a climb against the ME109 never the less both the Spit and ME109s/FW190s were pretty good aircarft of their day... as for the RR Merlin? surprised no one has mentioned the Mosquito, no if ever their was a multi-role fast aircraft in WWII, in its Recon role nothing could catch it at the time...

doesnt detract from their work on getting it  up and operational.

3 hours ago, Lokie said:

the Mosquito, no if ever their was a multi-role fast aircraft in WWII, in its Recon role nothing could catch it at the time...

and made from plywood

Should we note that later Spits had diaphragm carburettors so did not suffer in negative G manoeuvres then the Griffon engine. There is one Spit pilot on YouTube who said :"you should have seen the look on the FW190 pilots face when i passed him in a climb".

News item on this Spitfire

 

HOW IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN IMMORTALISED AN ICON OF THE SKIES WITH THE SILVER SPITFIRE

 

 

In 2019, IWC Schaffhausen wanted to immortalise the Spitfire in their own unique way, so they resurrected it and pitched it in a flight around the world. This is the story of the ‘Silver Spitfire’. 

 

IWC and the Boultbee Flight Academy, in collaboration with Aviation Adventures Ltd, have debuted a fully restored example of the legendary Spitfire Mark IX in a striking polished aluminum finish complete with the new G-IRTY registration. 

 

Starting on August 5th IWC’s ‘Silver Spitfire’ embarked on a global journey covering a distance of over 43,000 kilometres and visiting some 30 countries on their way.

 

 

Preparing an 80-year-old plane to take on this monumental task is no easy feat. It took 15 specialised engineers from Duxford’s Aircraft Restoration Company to work tirelessly over two years in order to bring the complex restoration program up to modern standards.

 

The Spitfire is made up of tens of thousands of distinct parts and with more than 80,000 rivets adorning the plane’s body, each one had to be individually inspected, cleaned and, if necessary, replaced.

 

The original WWII plane also arrived at the facility with no instrument panel and flying instruments. Vital components such as the hydraulic system, undercarriage legs and the propeller were no longer in their original condition. IWC and the restoration team took immense pride in procuring these rare components to bring the plane back to its former glory. 

 

One interesting modification is the fuel tanks – the ‘Silver Spitfire’ now has eight as opposed to the original’s two. This along with an overhaul of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 70 engine ensures that the plane can afford a flying range of 1,500km (with auxiliary tank in fuel-saving mode).   

 

The result is a classic fighter plane equipped with modern safety and navigation systems which doesn’t compromise the vintage design of the original Spitfire Mark IX.

10 hours ago, gunderhill said:

doesnt detract from their work on getting it  up and operational.

I never said it did..,

You mentioned oil leaks & the JET word, I just balanced your statement slightly.

 

Frank Whittle Patented his Jet engine in 1930 before anyone else - At the time the technology did not exist to build it, yes the Germans did as you said although their first engines were so rough and unbalanced they fell apart - they had to have a full overhaul after only 10 hours, once Whittles was in use it was good for 100 hours before any major checks

 

The Mosquito was not built only by plywood but yes was mainly wooden coupled to twin Merlin engines giving it the performance most fighters of the time envied yet this thing could be used and excelled in various roles, another beautiful aircraft built in back sheds around the country by furniture makers (one of its keys to success being wooden - Production and Repairs)

8 minutes ago, Lokie said:

You mentioned oil leaks & the JET word

I didnt .

6 minutes ago, gunderhill said:

I didnt .

Sorry my bad - apologies 

Vocal Neil did (you quoted him Re Oil Leaks) Then ref Me262 which would not have existed without Whittles 1930 patent

1st progress report

Silver Spitfire pilot log week one: starry send-off propels record attempt into ice-cold skies

16 August 2019

Last week, the Silver Spitfire project took off from Goodwood with a daring challenge ahead: to complete the wartime aircraft's first ever circumnavigation of the globe.

Helming a restored and slightly modified Mark IX, pilots Matt Jones and Steve Brooks flew north, stopping first in Scotland, then Iceland. Earlier this week, they made it to the Arctic Circle, where the Spitfire's polished silver regalia echoed the pristine white of Greenland's extensive glacier.

So far, the duo have racked up approximately 14 hours of flight time, and landed at seven different airfields. In the coming weeks, they will be updating Telegraph readers on their adventure, as they head through North America and into the wilderness of western Russia.

 

The next Silver Spitfire pilot's log will be published at midday on Friday 23 August.

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 20196 yr by gomangosteen

In the news ... another Spitfire, this one in Australia

 

 

THE UNTOLD TALE OF THE LAST AUSTRALIAN SPITFIRE

The local story of a flying legacy.

19 August 2019

With only 60 Spitfires deemed air-worthy in the world and the rest retired to exhibitions, the question of how this particular Spitfire, still in its immaculate factory form and certified for flight, ended up in a quaint Australian hangar in central New South Wales. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 20196 yr by gomangosteen