🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄Merry Christmas 🎄☃️🎄☃️🎄

MJ271 RTB...

A truly monumental achievement in aviation 'milestones' and completed in technology from the 30/40's. 

After 123 days/27,000 miles/22 countries and 4 continents, Spitfire MJ271 aka "The Silver Spitfire" has come home.

Sometimes great designs defy the march of time.... 

Almost home...

Almost 5 months after it's departure on "The Longest Flight", G-IRTY/MJ271 is due to return to the UK and Goodwood next week, weather/serviceability permitting, after successfully flying around the world.

Currently stopped in Friedrichshafen, very close to IWC HQ in Schaffhausen.

https://www.silverspitfire.com/about/flight-tracker/

Wednesday Wander...

Attended an interesting talk by Nick Oram on his recent publication "Spitfire Elizabeth And The Roaring Boys", the story behind the nine 411 Squadron RCAF pilots who flew NH341.

After lunch, I decided to have a saunter and timed it right for the extraction of Miss Helen from H3...

Monday Saunter

After five weeks of absence I took a saunter round a very quiet Duxford.
The Casa 2.111B/He 111H-16 is being prepped for the move to it's new home at Hawkinge. No photos allowed there due to "security reasons", so maybe the last time I'll get to snap it...

New site transport being trialled...

D-Day striped Beech C-45H Expeditor...

The IWM Spitfaux X4474 QV•I was on the move down to Airspace, for Xmas party backdrop?

Back in the 'fray' - more gun camera film.

 

Just when I thought it was all over, more gun camera film has been found.
So here we go on a load more sorties leading up to and following D-Day...

Me 109 being chased as it makes for home.  IWM

No Shows :: 2019

First year for me not attending any air shows at Duxford. Am I all 'airshowed out'? Maybe I will consider something in 2020...

So, a photo from the September show in 2017 to fill the gap...

Battle Of Britain Day...

15th September 1940 was considered the peak of Luftwaffe bombing activity against the UK and has subsequently become known as Battle Of Britain Day... 

German Losses on the day : Airmen 93, Aircraft 61

British Losses: Airmen 16, Aircraft 31

Weiße Fünf, Gelbe Zehn und Gelbe Sieben...

Finally caught Hispano Buchon White 5 today. Yellow 10 and Yellow 7 were also hangared in H3.

The Longest Flight :: Sack the PR person...

Update:
MJ271/G-IRTY and OY-THP have now arrived in Iceland via Faroes - short film of MJ271 A2A now on their FB page. Hopefully the updates will be more regular now...


After a glitzy-razzmatazzy-celeb-heavy departure at Goodwood, the SS PR dept appears to have dropped the ball on "The Longest Flight" - no updates on their website or their social media as to what is occurring.
The flight tracker appears to be the electronic equivalent of a map on a wall with pins and string!

📌_____📌________📌________📍

With the organisation that has obviously gone into this adventure you would have though that a bespoke flight tracking system (such as used for Op Bolero II) might have been considered, rather than the hit and miss service provided by FR24 or such like...

Anyway, apparently MJ271 is still in Lossie and the PC-12 has flown on to Iceland (yesterday) and is now on the way back to Lossie.
Is this going to be the format for the remaining 26,500 miles? The PC-12 doing twice the distance?...


3/10 Could do better...

The journey begins...

The "Silver Spitfire" MJ271/G-IRTY has set off today on it's round the world trip - left Goodwood this afternoon, accompanied by the support ship Pilatus PC-12 OY-THP, with a stop at Newcastle and is now on the final UK leg into Lossiemouth before heading west...
Safe journey Spitfire...

Personal Me109!

I was watching something on the History Channel last night and a film clip of Me109s appeared briefly - the nearest carried the Reichsluftfahrtministerium Stammkennzeichen (RLM Factory Registration Code) code RG✚BL - "White or Yellow 5"...

According to the LEMB Stammkennzeichen Database Project , RG✚BL is listed as a Messerschmitt Bf109G-6 marked as White 5. Notes against the entry state “some say its a G-5 or G2/R6”.

50th Anniversary Apollo 11 :: The Eagle has wings...

21 July 1969, 17:54 GMT, Eagle lifted off the Moon surface... 

On silent wings...

Was busy cutting some grass edges, and concentrating on not chopping off any toes, when the young dog was stood staring at what I thought was me but realised he was fixated on something above and behind me - I looked up and found the sky filled with gliders... 
Section of nine circling overhead to gain height then setting off to the SW - they were followed by a second section of nine which did they same - obviously a good thermal over the village...

50th Anniversary Apollo 11 :: One Small Step...

50 years ago today, man stood on the surface of the Moon. I stayed up all night with my dad to watch the grainy black and white images of Neil Armstrong's first footstep, at 02.56 GMT, on another world...
I remember him taking photos of the TV screen as that first step/hop was made onto the Moon...

50th Anniversary Apollo 11 :: "Tranquility Base here"...

At 20:17:39 GMT on this day, 50 years ago, came the message from 240,000 miles away, "Houston, Tranquility Base here, the "Eagle" has landed."

Moon 'salute'

The partial eclipse of the Moon last night felt almost like a salute by "Selene" to the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11. A couple of photos that I took managed to capture some of the eclipse - cloud was a bit of a problem as it started and the Moon was quite low - coming out of the other side, the last vestiges of the Earth's shadow fades away...

50th Anniversary Apollo 11 :: Lift Off

At 13.32 GMT 16 July 1969 the Saturn V rocket carrying the crew of Apollo 11 lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Centre on the start of it's historic journey to the Moon...

I followed the tail end of the Gemini programme and all the Apollo missions as a child, collecting every space related article I found, like many kids of my generation dreaming of being an astronaut when I grew up.
A Spitfire pilot was another dream I had - at least I have achieved that one! Twice!!...

Irish Air Corps Spitfire Mk IXT/T9 reunion?

The recent news that the UK's "T9 tally" will soon be increased to nine with the arrival of the Bill Greenwood example, TE308/N308WK, from Aspen, CO. USA to join the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar's inventory is good news in that it will mean her return to airworthy status can proceed. 
TE308 was damaged after a landing/taxiing accident with Hawker Hurricane NX9RW/CCF 96  at the Galveston Air Show in 2008.
TE308 had been under a prolonged state of rebuild since then. 

That will mean five of the six Spitfire Trainers operated by the Irish Air Corps will be in the UK - number six, MK721/IAC 160, was written off in IAC service in the 50's. 

Perhaps we might see a 'reunion' of these fine aircraft back in the ROI at some point?...

Back to 8 - PT462 flies again

The UK's Spitfire T9 population has returned to eight airworthy aircraft (nine worldwide), after the return to flight by PT462/G-CTIX yesterday at Duxford, following her accident in February. 

With the recent news that the UK's T9 tally will soon be increased to nine with the arrival of TE308/N308WK from the USA and addition to the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar's inventory. 
That will mean five of the six Spitfire Trainers operated by the Irish Air Corps will be in the UK - number six, MK721/IAC 160, was written off in IAC service. 
(WBS file photos)

PT462 close to return to flight?

PT462/G-CTIX was outside ARCo today for several engine runs, the first since it's accident - a return to flight cannot be far off now...
SM520/G-ILDA was also having it's engine run. 
PV202/G-CCCA was keeping watch over the airfield.

GIRTY gets a bit dirty...

After yesterday's 'maiden flight' I took a chance she may be up again today...
Starting to show exhaust tarnishing - keep polishing chaps!!!
MJ271/MH424 spent a long time as a hangar queen at Duxford and was rumoured to be destined to become another T9 conversion at one point. 
Now she looks splendid and has an adventure ahead of her...

MJ271 as MH424 and soon to be G-IRTY

Tuesday Saunter

A bit of activity today - N62CC/330647 "Virginia Ann" was getting a little P&W TLC, PV202 was being hounded by a Buchon Bandit and a little hangar shuffleage presented a few photo ops..