Tag: Spitfire

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Spitfire to Arrive at Australian Home Following 10 Year Restoration

Fighter Pilot Adventure Flights, a Brisbane, Australia-based flight adventure company, has announced that their Spitfire Mk XVI (TE392) is about to arrive following a 10-year restoration.

The aircraft operated with the Royal Air Force and served as a gate guard at numerous RAF bases (including Wellesbourne Mountford, Waterbeach, Kemble and Credenhill) before being acquired by Warbirds Of GB, Ltd. and partially restored. It passed through the hands of several additional owners before arriving at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Texas, where it was restored to airworthy condition. It returned to the air in December 1999 but was damaged by flooding caused by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

The current restoration is nearing completion and Performance Aero will reportedly reassemble the aircraft and apply finishing touches before its expected arrival next week. It is expected to grace Australian skies by August of this year.

(via Fighter Pilot Adventure Flights Additional Information via Warbird Registry Photo: Bill Abbott via Flickr)

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Original Spitfire XVIe of “Unparalleled Quality” Hits the Market

Please Note: This is an archived post. The information presented here may not be current and the associated listing may no longer be active.

Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire XVIe S/N TB252 (N752TB), deemed “one of the most original Spitfires surviving today” is now available for sale.

The aircraft was built in the Castle Bromwich factory in January 1945 and served with the Belgian Air Force and the Royal Air Force before becoming a gate guardian in 1955. It was reportedly traded to Historic Flying in 1988 in “100% complete and original” condition and “still had the parachute sitting on the seat from when it was last flown 35-40 years prior.”

In 2002, TB252 was acquired by a new owner and transported to Avspecs, Ltd. in New Zealand, where it is currently undergoing a complete restoration with “no expense spared” in order to make it “the best Spitfire possible.”

The Packard Merlin 266 engine, the same engine it last flew with in military service, reportedly has 0 hrs SMOH by Vintage V-12s (completed in 2017) as does the Dowty Rotol propeller, which was overhauled by Skycraft and has new blades by Hoffman. The airframe is said to have been completely re-riveted with new skins, new main spars, and “everything 0 timed.”

The Spitfire is currently being offered for US$2,500,000. Click here to check out the complete listing.

(Photo: Steve Fitzgerald via Wikimedia Commons)

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Museum to Display Full-Scale Spitfire Sculpture During RW388 Restoration

The original Spitfire LF Mk. XVIe based at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley, Staffordshire has been dismantled ahead of a major, off-site restoration that will see it returned to its former glory.

The museum closed on January 22nd in order to remove the aircraft (RW388) from the popular Spitfire gallery, where it has been on display since 1985. When the facility reopens on February 10th, the gallery will reportedly contain a temporary replacement in the form of a full-scale Spitfire sculpture crafted by apprentices at KMF Group Ltd.

As previously reported, RW388 was originally built by Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd. in 1945 and served in a training role during WW2. Following the war it was used as a gate guard at RAF Benson and RAF Andover before being officially presented to the city of Stoke-on-Trent by the Royal Air Force in 1972. After arriving at the museum, it was given a place of honor in the Spitfire gallery, which is dedicated to the type’s locally-born designer, Reginald Mitchell.

In 2019, the restored Spitfire is slated to return to the museum for display in a new, £6 million glass-fronted extension that will also include a new cafe and city square.

Click below to check out a time-lapse of RW388 being dismantled as well as photos of the replacement sculpture.

Continue reading Museum to Display Full-Scale Spitfire Sculpture During RW388 Restoration

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Spitfire RW388 Begins Journey Toward Restoration

The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Hanley, Staffordshire temporarily closed its Spitfire gallery on Wednesday as part of an extensive project that will see Spitfire LF Mk. XVIe RW388 “reborn.”

The aircraft, which was built by Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd. in 1945, served in a training role during WW2 and also towed targets for Navy ships. Following the war it was used as a gate guard at RAF Benson and RAF Andover before being officially presented to the city of Stoke-on-Trent by the Royal Air Force in 1972. It was installed at the museum in 1985 and has taken a place of honor in their Spitfire gallery, which is dedicated to the type’s locally-born designer, Reginald Mitchell.

The museum closed the gallery in order to begin the process of disassembling the aircraft so it can be removed from the museum for restoration “to its former glory.” The full museum will be closed beginning on January 22nd so relocation can be carried out, with reopening scheduled for February 10th. Continue reading Spitfire RW388 Begins Journey Toward Restoration

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Museum’s New Full-Scale Cockpit Simulator to Help Visitors Experience Flight in a Spitfire

The Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum in Kent has confirmed the installation of a functioning, full-scale Spitfire cockpit simulator that is slated to begin operation this year.

The simulator, which is situated directly beside the collection’s Spitfire Mk XVI(LF) TB752 (pictured above), will reportedly allow visitors to to try their hand at conducting a complete flight while also getting an idea of what it was like for pilots who flew the iconic warbird during WW2. Utilizing authentic controls and a large format display screen, the simulator is said to recreate engine torque effects as well as landing challenges presented by the Spitfire’s narrow undercarriage. The red-out and grey-out effects of excess G-forces are also said to be represented.

The £15,000 fundraising goal for the simulator was met with assistance from local charities, businesses and visitors and it is hoped that it will help continue the museum’s mission to engage, educate and inspire the local community while also securing funds that can be reinvested in the museum.

It is not yet known how much it will cost visitors to use the simulator, although bookings will reportedly begin on launch day, April 1, which coincides with the centenary of the RAF.

Click below to check out additional photos.

Continue reading Museum’s New Full-Scale Cockpit Simulator to Help Visitors Experience Flight in a Spitfire