I feel really priveledged

Yes, I would include them if they're airworthy for part of the year. According to Wikipedia, there are approximately 44 airworthy Spitfires in the world. A friend of mine who used to be in the RAF also enjoyed seeing a Spitfire recently (I think he said it was at the airport on the Isle of Man). He said it was amazing the short distance it needed to take off compared to a jet airliner.

I've just finished reading my copy and can thoroughly recommend it.

That's cool that you can get a Haynes manual for the Spitfire!

Best wishes,

Chris

Could very well be - Lynham is only about 15 miles away.

Does anyone know about the noise-suppression system? I was told they were experimenting with/testing it. Whatever, it worked!

-- Peter Fairbrother

What is the huge torpedo-shaped plane?

Best wishes,

Chris

Probably on their way to the Biggin Hill Air Show (Just SE of London) - on Saturday and Sunday, usually has them, though I don't have a program as I haven't been this year.

David

=46rom details in the Haynes book: Buy a Spitfire c=A31.5M Fuel =A31/litre (probably more now). 85gal =3D 2 hrs flying so not that much. Tyres c3400 each and they last about 30 landings on hard runways. Oil =A311/gal. The tank holds 9.5 gal. Consumption is between 1 and 9 pints/ hr. Oil is replaced every 25 hrs. Insurance 4% of valu/yr =3D =A360,000 if you fully insure. Most owners don't as a total loss is very unlikely. The aircraft is serviced after evry flight. This is a viual only check. Primary servicing every 28 hrs takes 3 techs 1 day. Annual servicing every yr or 70 hrs takes 4 techs 3 - 4 months! Minor servicing is every 280 hrs. A major service is 560 hrs and includes all the usual stuff plus striping off all paint to examin the panels. X ray checking critical areas.

Of course you could just put your Spitfire into storage. That means it needs inhibiting agains corosion. That takes about a week to apply. God knows how long it takes to put it back in the air.

Remember that only qualified technicians are allowed to work on aircraft like this and the costs become obvious.

Spitfires are only for the seriously rich.

John

I can remember being in thecar park at PC World in Cribbs Causeway close to Filton, Bristol and seeing and hearing a Spitfire doing circuirts and bumps and aerobatics for many minutes. I think everyone in the car parks stopped and watched. I can only assume that the craft had been at Rolls Royce for a service. An unforgetable experience and what a sound :-)

Jim.

I was somewhat deliberate in my comments. My memory goes to the 17th April 1942 when my next door neughbour's boy 'Arthur' Garwell DFC DFM took off for Augsburg in broad daylight for Augsburg and thus the raid was the first ever raid by Lancasters.Only two Lancs were left in the first flight and Arthur flying as wing man to Sl/Ldr John Nettleton VC got their bombs on target. Arthur never made it home until after the was having ended in Stalag Luft 111and took part in what you people call the Great Escape.

The Lancasters were used again at the Mohne and Eder Dams and my 'boss' was Signals Officer to Guy Gibson VC. The bouncing bombs were made by one of my good friends at Vickers on the Tyne. Of course, RAF

617 is still in existence at RAF Marham and flies with my own '31' with Tornados. So much for the Lanc but it was replaced by 'Shack' in 1949 and I was a Farborough to see it, Comet 1 and Canberra 1 fly for the first time. Out of Filton came Brabazon. The Meteor 8's with re- heats were doing 40,000 feet in 4 mins!

However, we had two Squadrons of Spits at Hendon.

601 and 604 with Battle of Britain ace Max Airken leading the 601's.

Somewhere in the Goldstar News is Tempting Providence. The real story of submarine sinking- not Morning Departure the fictional but very disturbing film of 1950. I was there- for real.

Anthony

Peter, Limpley Stoke- Hmmm? Now I know of one Myford ML7 there

Norm