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Canadian Lancaster to visit UK in August 2014!

Discussion in 'Everything Else Heritage' started by 5944, Feb 24, 2014.

  1. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    The Flying Legends at Duxford do a good job most years of bringing exotic fighters from far and wide so they seem to think it's worth the expense. That is for a headline act though. European based ones could simply fly here.
     
  2. Fred Kerr

    Fred Kerr Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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    For those who missed the last flight of the pair at Southport on Sunday 21/09

    Southport-14bf.jpg
     
  3. Duty Druid

    Duty Druid Resident of Nat Pres

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    Thanks for that, I've never had the time to see it up close - usually stuck in traffic going past..... or in years gone by, coming past in the dark from the Red Lion on Hillingdon Hill! :rolleyes:

    I suppose it depends on the willingness of the owners to join the party.......... the more the merrier I say! :)
     
  4. Bean-counter

    Bean-counter Part of the furniture

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    The thing about Spitfires and Hurricanes is I suspect they are much easier to airlift or sea freight, being smaller.

    It would be nice to think somebody might do an blockbuster film or TV series to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain - from memory, the only such production to mark the 70th was a very good but clearly low budget BBC version of Geoffrey Wellum's First Light, made it seemed with one flying Spitfire in later Grey.Green camouflage and one static replica in correct brown/green.

    Of course, the problem is that only 8 USA nationals flew in the Battle.

    Steven
     
    ADB968008 and oddsocks like this.
  5. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    ARCo at Duxford have mastered this (photo from their website):

    crated-spitfire.jpg
     
  6. martin butler

    martin butler Part of the furniture

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    And there are still several spitfires in crates in this country, that have yet to be either exported or rebuilt, several ex Doug Arnauld that were in flying condition, were crated up when he died, and have as far as i know not been re sold.
     
  7. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Don't talk to me about Doug Arnold. The classic stuff he sold overseas would be an airshow on its own if they'd remained in this country.
     
  8. martin butler

    martin butler Part of the furniture

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    i happen to agree with you on that, At one stage he had airworthy the B17, Lanc, several spitfires, the mossy ,mustang, he was no classic warbird collector as he made out, but mearly someone who found them, then sold them on
     
  9. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    And a B-24. Ex RAF/Indian AF IIRC. He did keep a Spitfire for himself but I only saw that at one maybe two air shows. It was a very rare beast on the air show circuit.
     
  10. ilvaporista

    ilvaporista Part of the furniture

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  11. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    A safe journey chaps.
     
  12. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    There are supposedly still several airframes belonging to his estate, in storage in containers, at various places in the South of the country.
     
  13. martin butler

    martin butler Part of the furniture

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    yes i had heard that, not 100 percent what they are, but heard that a mk 22 spitfire,Mk9 spitfire , thunderbolt, amoungst others are still in the uk owned by his sons, now awaiting new owners
    Might be called Flying A Services, at Greenham common, they have, or had, the spitfire mk9 and a seafire , some aircraft linked to Mr Arnold such as the wildcat are registered in the states.
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2014
  14. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    I didn't think the Lanc was airworthy when he had it - not if it's the ex-Strathallen Lanc now owned by Kermit Weeks - wasn't it was being restored to flight when the previous owner died and he acquired it and then sold it on...
     
  15. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    Charles Church was restoring a Lanc to flight when a section of hangar roof collapsed and crushed the centre section of the fuselage. That was the ex Strathallan one. Along with a new fuselage section out ended up with Kermit Weeks in Florida. AFAIK it's still in bits.
     
  16. martin butler

    martin butler Part of the furniture

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    not quite sure, I know the B17 flew in ,i saw that one arrive, i might be getting confused, i know that G LANC was at blackbush, but cant remember if it was flying
     
  17. Spamcan81

    Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

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    G-LANC was deregistered in 1991 and now resides at Duxford.
     
  18. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    Ah, I think I was confusing two different aircraft - G-LANC did belong to DA too, but although put on the register, allegedly never flew.
     
  19. martin butler

    martin butler Part of the furniture

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    Thanks, i knew it ended up somewhere, talking about what ifs, had things been different might we have had 3 airworthy lancs in this country had the Charles Church lanc not been damaged, or if the Duxford Lanc had been in flyable condition :), oh and 2 uk based B17's , a B24
     
  20. big.stu

    big.stu Well-Known Member

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    I was thinking about this "grand gathering" while driving across to the in-laws (trip to the Malvern Show - some nice vintage cars and lorries, a lot of stationary engines and a few model traction engines - but not much else of interest to me!).

    Am I right in recalling that display pilots need some extra level of qualification/authorisation for formation flying? If so, and you manage to round up 30-40 aircraft across the UK and mainland Europe, do you actually have a enough suitably qualified pilots (i.e. formation display flying and Spitfire/Hurricane type qualified) to actually have them fly a big formation?

    P.S. I see that Vera is safely back on Canadian soil :) Just to keep us on thread...
     

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