Repaint underway

This Lockheed Super Constellation that I saw at the Seattle Museum of Flight back in 2019 is having a spruce up. It will stay in TWA colours once complete.

The 'Maude' P40

The 'Maude' P40 is a Curtiss Kittyhawk Mk1A originally built as a P40E Warhawk. It has acquired its name because the aircraft was was bought by George Maude in 1946 for the princely sum of $50 from the RCAF and floated on a raft to his family home thus saving it for posterity. More recently the aircraft has been in Wisconsin and some restoration undertaken to return it to the skies. It has now arrived with ARCO at Duxford after being put up for sale through Platinum Fighters and the restoration will continue. The aircraft is considered to be one of the most original P40s in existence annd I was lucky enough to see it in the care of the Erickson Collection in Oregon in 2019.

Saved

This Lockheed Electra, which I caught around three years ago was the last aircraft remaining at the now closed coventry airport. It has been acquired by Buffalo Airways of Canada as they have Electras in their fleet. It will be dismantled and moved to a new location where the plan is that time expired parts on the Buffalo aircraft will be swapped and the Electra will be placed on display repainted in Buffalo colours.

Ted Girdler

Ted Girdler was the founder of TG Aviation, a successful flight school that operated out of Manston and I used to regularly see their red Steerman over the back of my garden. The business was forced to move when Anne Gloag came along and closed Manston in 2014 and it relocated to Lydd before closing permanently in 2021.

Ted Girdler was a former Red Arrows pilot and used to display an L29 Delfin at air shows and, tragically, lost his life doing so in a crash at Eastbourne in 2000.

The memorial garden at Manston has a plaque in his owner along with a suitably painted memorial bench.

'Elizabeth'

Overflying the garden this afternoon was Aero Legends Spitfire TrIX 'Elizabeth'.

Coastguard again

Approaching Manston this afternoon

Manston Spitfire museum

Had lunch in the museum cafe today which was a good excuse to pop into the adjoining museum. Not much had changed since I last looked in. The Spitfire and Hurricane looked excellent as usual but an addition was the modified nose section of a B25 used in filming of The Battle of Britain film.

P40 down

The Fighter Collection have reported that their P40C suffered an engine issue last Friday whilst on a maintenance flight out of Duxford resulting in a wheels up landing in a rural area away from the airfield. Pleased to hear that the pilot was fine and it seems the aircraft has been dismantled and returned to the TFC hangar. Hopefully damage isn't too bad.

These pictures from a couple of years or so back.

Fw 200

The Focke Wulf Fw200 was originally intended to be an airliner but with the advent of war it was developed as a reconnaissance and maritime patrol aircraft initially being successful in the Battle of the Atlantic. However, mounting combat losses resulted in it largely being used in a transport role.

There is only one surviving aircraft which was rebuilt from a plane recovered from a Norwegian fjord.

This is a 1/72 Revell kit built from the box. Decals weren't great but the kit is probably a few years old. Swastikas for the tail came from the spares box 

CWH Bolingbroke

I was pleased to see recently that the Canadian Warplane Heritage Bolingbroke now has its wings attached. This is a composite airframe made of several aircraft and the original hope was that it could be restored to flight. However, this plan was abandoned not so long after I saw the project back in 2012 and now, once finished, it will be put on permanent display in the museum in Hamilton.

Project Lynx XZ179

I was fortunate enough to catch this airworthy Lynx calling in at Duxford in early July. It was restored to flight status a little over 4 years ago. This AH7 previously served with the Army air corps.

Morayvia revisited

Although I had a look over the fence a couple of years ago it is 9 years since I last visited Morayvia properly, see here, and the museum has been gradually expanding in the interim. The museum's main focus remains Air Sea Rescue and exhibits generally have maritime links and many, particularly the helicopters, are open to enable visitors to look inside. Most large exhibits are outsidse but there are also numerous display boards and features under cover as well as engines, fuselage sections and some restoration work which currently includes the build of a replica Spitfire. Certainly worthy of a visit.                                                                  

Chinooks

A couple of RAF Chinooks in formation caught behind my garden this afternoon.

RAF Kingstown

Kingstown airfield opened in the 1920s and was turned into Carlisle Municipal Airport in the 1930s, being located a little outside of teh city. However, it was underused and was sold to the Air Ministry in 1936 becoming RAF Kingstown and became home to Fairey Battle bombers. The runways though were short and could not be extended and the airfield switched to training use through WWII. The base was initially closed in 1945 but was reactivated in the 1950s as RAF Carlisle serving as a maintenance unit but finally closed to flying in 1957 but remained as an administrative base until 1994 with final closure two years later. Today the area is an industrial estate although there is a memorial commemorating the area's prvious use. The final gate guard that used to be on site is the Phantom that I saw at Solway last year.