Spitfire!

[Kayos]

Took off from Humberside today, luckily I was there with my camera

Many, many more but here is a selection

 

[arther dailey]

fabulous , and thanks

 

[rcx132]

Fab!

Does anyone else here bore their wife and kids making them go to shows and stare at tanks, planes, boats, firearms and engines?

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Griffon engined spit!

 

[Kayos]

Griffon engined spit!

I thought you would know about it

 

[Kayos]

Fab!

Does anyone else here bore their wife and kids making them go to shows and stare at tanks, planes, boats, firearms and engines?

My wife and kids enjoy it, except the teenage girl but thats nothing new

 

[Kayos]

An edited shot, looks like it could be a poster for a war movie IMO

 

[Tinbasherdan]

I thought you would know about it

I tell a lie, it’s a merlin powered one, cam cover humps looked bigger on my phone! She’s got a merlin 66 under her cowls

 

[rtcosic]

I tell a lie, it’s a merlin powered one, cam cover humps looked bigger on my phone! She’s got a merlin 66 under her cowls

That's a relief!!

I'm no expert but I thought the nose and landing wheels were noticeably different.

I can relax now.

 

[Kayos]

I tell a lie, it’s a merlin powered one, cam cover humps looked bigger on my phone! She’s got a merlin 66 under her cowls

Far from an expert but it sounded very spitfire-ey, in fact I was about to head home when I heard it fire up

Here's a shot of of it circling (Took about 900 so still sorting)

 

[rcx132]

My wife and kids enjoy it, except the teenage girl but thats nothing new

My boy enjoys it, my daughter only started taking an interest because my son did (apparently it's all a competition). I try to make a day out of the trips with a picnic so that my wife enjoys them.

The weather has really warmed up here in the South East so time to start visiting shows again, I'm keen to hear of any gems or less known museums that people know of?

 

[Melvyn Best]

I’m fortunate enough to live about 3miles or so as the Spitfire flies from Duxford Imperial War Museum, almost every week we have classic aircraft flying over the house. I cant remember exactly what the occasion was , maybe the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2 ? but we had squadrons of Spitfires flying over, I believe it was the largest gathering for many years, very impressive! We used to have a Mosquito flying over on regularly at one time but I think it may have crashed?

 

[Tinbasherdan]

I’m fortunate enough to live about 3miles or so as the Spitfire flies from Duxford Imperial War Museum, almost every week we have classic aircraft flying over the house. I cant remember exactly what the occasion was , maybe the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2 ? but we had squadrons of Spitfires flying over, I believe it was the largest gathering for many years, very impressive! We used to have a Mosquito flying over on regularly at one time but I think it may have crashed?

Mozzie crashed ~97 ish? Should be one in the air in the next 5 years though

 

[Johnnybravo]

I’m just outside of Headcorn. Have Spitfires overhead at least three times a week. I treat it as a personal aerobatics show, always a loop and a victory roll , with a quick waggle of the wings as it flies off.

 

[outofthefire]

Does that pilot need a cushion to sit on, his visibility looks bad especially coming into land, or is that normal?

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Does that pilot need a cushion to sit on, his visibility looks bad especially coming into land, or is that normal?

Normal, all tail draggers have naff viz on approach, that’s why they do short, banked approaches, keeping the runway in view out the side til the last moment. And also why they zig zag when they taxi

 

[Tinbasherdan]

I’m just outside of Headcorn. Have Spitfires overhead at least three times a week. I treat it as a personal aerobatics show, always a loop and a victory roll , with a quick waggle of the wings as it flies off.

Aero legends, fly from headcorn and sywell. Had a few engines from us. Also owns a Dakota (drag em’ oot) a Harvard and I think a tiger moth

 

[frank horton]

thought they didn't have a bubble cockpit top.....seem to remember the body work came to the back / top of the cockpit roof.....
prob different designs...
is true that a lot of US Mustangs got converted to Merlins.....heard it a few times.....??

 

[Smallfry]

Does that pilot need a cushion to sit on, his visibility looks bad especially coming into land, or is that normal?

You can crank the seat right up in the originals, but back in the day you had a parachute to sit on. I don't know if display pilots these days use them, as probably not high enough to deploy.

We are not too far from Biggin Hill, so they are over here all the time in summer, and sometimes a Hurricane. Seen Sally B several times too. A few years ago I was mixing concrete in the garden when I heard the sound of several Merlins approaching. Looked up to see two Lancasters in close formation. They were low, and passed directly overhead. One was the BBMF one, and the other had flown over from Canada for a tour, which will most likely never to be repeated

 

[Smallfry]

thought they didn't have a bubble cockpit top.....seem to remember the body work came to the back / top of the cockpit roof.....
prob different designs...
is true that a lot of US Mustangs got converted to Merlins.....heard it a few times.....??

Later models had the bubble top and cut back rear fuselage. If you watch the film Reach for the Sky starring Kenneth More, you will see a mix of models flying, as in the Fifties, the later models were mostly the ones left in flying condition.

P51 Mustangs started out with an Allison engine, which gave it a lacklustre performance. They tried a Merlin engine in one, and it transformed it into probably the best all round fighter of the time. The Merlins were licence built in the US by Packard, who apparently could produce them faster and more consistently than RR, using modern mass production methods.