Category: News

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World’s Only Flying Hawker Hurricane Mk IV Heading to New Home

Hawker Hurricane Mk IV (S/N KZ321/CF-TPM), formerly owned by Vintage Wings of Canada in Ottawa, has reportedly been sold and will be heading to its new home in Belgium.

As previously reported, the machine was built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. sometime after 1942 and delivered to No. 6 Squadron RAF in 1943, serving in Greece, Italy and Yugoslavia before the end of WW2. It was abandoned in Israel in 1947 and was recovered decades later from a Jaffa scrapyard by Warbirds of GB, Ltd., who returned it to the UK in 1983.

In 1991, the Hurricane was acquired by The Fighter Collection of the Imperial War Museum. Restoration by Hawker Restorations, Ltd. commenced in 2001 and the aircraft was returned to “zero hour condition” using original and refurbished parts. It performed its first post-restoration flight in 2003 and was operated by The Fighter Collection until acquisition by Vintage Wings of Canada in 2006. It is believed to be the only airworthy Mk IV in existence.

The Hurricane is the second machine from the Vintage Wings of Canada to be sold to a Belgium-based owner in 2018. Spitfire XVI SL721 was sold in February and has already arrived in the country. Future plans have not yet been announced.

(via Platinum Fighter Sales Photo: Peter Bakema via Wikimedia Commons)

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Collings Foundation’s Newly Acquired P-38 to Make Airshow Debut

The Collings Foundation has reported that their newly acquired P-38 Lightning will make its first airshow appearance at the Los Angeles County Airshow at Gen. William Fox Field in Lancaster, California on March 24-25.

As previously reported, The aircraft (S/N 44-53186) was intended for use in photo reconnaissance but was stored in Arizona following the end of WW2. After being declared surplus, it was acquired by a succession of companies, including Kargl Aerial Surveys, Aero Exploration Co and Mark Hurd Aerial Mapping, before being parked in 1963. Over the following years the P-38 passed through the hands of several additional owners before being acquired by Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, Oregon, which restored the machine to pristine condition and placed it on display in 1997.

In 2014 the aircraft was offered for sale and was soon acquired by the Stow, Massachusetts-based Foundation. It has since undergone maintenance, flight evaluation, and preparation at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino.

The machine will reportedly be on static and flying display during the event and will be the only Collings Foundation aircraft in attendance.

(via Collings Foundation Photo: Articseahorse via Wikimedia Commons)

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MikroMir Releases Renderings of Upcoming New Tool Canberra T.Mk 17 Model

Model manufacturer MikroMir has released new renderings of a new tool Canberra T.Mk 17 model kit that is currently in development. The company is also in the process of developing a T.Mk 11, and both kits will reportedly be offered in 1/72 scale.

The English Electric Canberra was a jet-powered medium bomber that was introduced in the early 1950s and continued in service until 2006. The T.11 variant held a crew of four and served as a trainer for pilots and navigators of all-weather interceptors while the T.17 operated as an electronic warfare training variant.

Little has been reported about the upcoming kits, although the T.Mk 11 will reportedly be released “soon”.

Click below to check out additional images of the upcoming kits.

Continue reading MikroMir Releases Renderings of Upcoming New Tool Canberra T.Mk 17 Model

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Owls Head’s New Sopwith Pup Performs Engine Test [Video]

The Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head, Maine has performed the first engine test on their newly acquired Sopwith Pup reproduction.

The aircraft was assembled by Brian Coughlin and features a steel tube fuselage constructed by Dana Narkunas and restored wing panels originally built by noted WW1 aircraft builder Carl Swanson. Powered by an original Le Rhone rotary engine, the machine made its debut at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome last year.

The recent acquisition was made in a frame-for-frame trade for the museum’s previous Sopwith Pup, a reproduction built by Dick King in the 1960s which was a regular performer at Old Rhinebeck throughout the 1970s. Coughlin is now in the process of restoring this machine (see The Flying Machine #6 for additional details).

Owls Head retained the Le Rhone engine from the King Pup and installed it in this new example. It is expected to return to the air this year.

Click below to check out a video of the test.

Continue reading Owls Head’s New Sopwith Pup Performs Engine Test [Video]

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Shuttleworth’s Spitfire Mk VC AR501 Performs First Post-Restoration Flight [Video]

The Shuttleworth Collection’s Spitfire Mk VC (AR501) performed its first post-restoration flight earlier today with pilot Stu Goldspink at the controls.

As previously reported, the aircraft was originally built by Westland Aircraft at Yeovil and was issued to No. 310 (Czech) Squadron in 1942, where it escorted USAAF B-17 and B-24 bombers. Later, it would serve with RAF’s Central Gunnery School before finding use as an instructional airframe at Loughborough College. AR501 was acquired by the Shuttleworth Collection in 1961 and restored to airworthy condition for the 1968 film The Battle of Britain. It entered the shop once again in 1973 for restoration to its authentic wartime condition, eventually returning to flight in in 1975. The most recent work was initially expected to last only 18 months, but eventually expanded into an extensive overhaul that has seen the aircraft completely dismantled and rebuilt. The result is said to be “95% original.”

Today’s test was described as “very successful.” The machine is scheduled to debut at Shuttleworth’s season premier airshow on May 6.

Click below to check out a video of today’s flight.

Continue reading Shuttleworth’s Spitfire Mk VC AR501 Performs First Post-Restoration Flight [Video]

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Kermit Weeks Provides Update on Fantasy of Flight Curtiss Jenny Restoration

Fantasy of Flight owner Kermit Weeks has provided an update on the restoration of his original Curtiss JN-4D Jenny.

The aircraft (S/N A5360 / C/N 2404) was damaged when Hurricane Andrew struck the Florida-based collection back in 1992. Since then, all damaged wood and metal components have been replaced, including all of the wing spars and fuselage longerons. Fabric work is also said to be just about complete, including the application of the same USAAS markings the machine wore while it was based at the EAA Museum in Oshkosh back in the 1980s.

Click below to check out the update.

Continue reading Kermit Weeks Provides Update on Fantasy of Flight Curtiss Jenny Restoration

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Watch B-17F “Memphis Belle” Take its Place at the USAF Museum [Video]

Last week a private event was held to transport the newly restored B-17F “Memphis Belle” from the USAF Museum’s restoration hangar to its World War II. In the process, the legendary bomber was positioned nose-to-nose with B-17G “Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby,” which will be moving on to a new home.

As previously reported, the Memphis Belle (S/N 41-24485) became the first U.S. Army Air Forces heavy bomber to complete 25 missions and return to the U.S., where it flew across the country to promote war bonds and boost morale. The bomber will be officially unveiled at the museum on May 17th during an event that will reportedly include visiting B-17s and over 100 WW2 reenactors.

Shoo, Shoo, Shoo Baby will be moved to the museum’s restoration area and placed in storage until it is transferred to the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum at a date to be determined by the Smithsonian.

Click below to check out video of the event.

Continue reading Watch B-17F “Memphis Belle” Take its Place at the USAF Museum [Video]

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SL721, One of the World’s Most Original Spitfires, Arrives at New Home

A Spitfire XVI touted as one of the most original airworthy examples of the type in existence has arrived at its new home after being sold to an enthusiast in Europe.

Previously owned by Vintage Wings of Canada in Ottawa, Spitfire SL721 has reportedly arrived safely in Belgium and will be reassembled over the coming weeks in the FAST Aero workshop in Brasschaat.

SL721 was built in August 1945 and delivered to the RAF, where it became the personal aircraft of Air Chief Marshall Sir James Milne Robb, a WW1 pilot who served as Commander-In-Chief – Air Forces Europe following WW2. The Packard Merlin 266/R55-powered machine was sold in 1967 and transported to the US, where it would stay until 2002, when it was acquired by Vintage Wings of Canada. last month it was sold to an enthusiast

Upcoming plans for the historic aircraft have not yet been announced.

Click below to check out photos of its arrival.

Continue reading SL721, One of the World’s Most Original Spitfires, Arrives at New Home

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Brickmania Releases Limited Edition X-15 LEGO Model Kit

The latest release from Brickmania is this 1/35 model kit of the famous X-15, an experimental hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft developed in the 1950s which flew to the edge of space and reached a speed of Mach 6.72, the fastest speed ever recorded in a manned, powered aircraft.

The new, limited edition kit reportedly consists of 467 genuine new-condition LEGO & BrickArms elements and includes deployable airbrakes, retractable landing gear, opening canopy, towing equipment, printed elements and a high-quality sticker sheet.

Click below to check out additional images.

Continue reading Brickmania Releases Limited Edition X-15 LEGO Model Kit

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Kent Battle of Britain Museum Acquires Cockpit For Bristol Blenheim/Bollingbroke Project

The Kent Battle of Britain Museum in Hawkinge has announced the acquisition of a cockpit section for their Bristol Blenheim / Bollingbroke project.

As previously reported, museum volunteers acquired the substantial remains of four Bristol Bolingbrokes (a Canadian Bristol Blenheim variant) in December that will be rebuilt into one original airframe. Upon completion, the machine will be displayed as a Bristol Blenheim Mk. IV.

The section was acquired in Canada on March 9 and will reportedly be shipped to the UK shortly. Click below to check out a selection of photos.

Continue reading Kent Battle of Britain Museum Acquires Cockpit For Bristol Blenheim/Bollingbroke Project