Duxford from 19...?

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16 years 7 months

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Cant remember what year,1993 I think .Anyway someone out there will be sure to know!!

Original post

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I'd have thought 87. The Mustang (G-PSID) went to France early in 88 having arrived in 87 and then used in Empire of the Sun as Tugboat.

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20 years 7 months

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The Spitfire is the ex-Tim Wallis MkXVIe TB863, which if I remember rightly first flew around 1988/9.

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Wasn't it in TB863 that Tim Wallis had the crash that put paid to his flying days. If so what happened to it afterwards? - I had always assumed that it was destroyed in the accident but Spitfires are rarely beyond repair nowadays so is TB863 up and about again?
I have a particular interest as I saw TB863 in Bill Francis garden and also helped unload it when it was transferred on loan to the Southend Museum.

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The accident aircraft that put paid to Sir Tim's flying was NH799, however TB863 suffered an accident shortly after arriving in New Zealand. Its now in Australia. NH799 was/is under rebuild again.

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I'll go for early 90's as the Sunderland always use to appear to be undergoing refurbishment. As I recall there used to be steps leading to a walkway along the port side where you could look in through the depth charge hatches and see the interior (or at least some of it). When did that disappear? I guess they had to do away with it as it was made of scaffold poles and planks and it would have upset the Elf 'nSafety police.

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If its early 90s the Spitfire was in New Zealand and the Mustang in France by then....

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The accident aircraft that put paid to Sir Tim's flying was NH799, however TB863 suffered an accident shortly after arriving in New Zealand. Its now in Australia. NH799 was/is under rebuild again.

Having just had a look at Platinum Fighter Sales' website, it seems they've sold on '799.

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16 years

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I took this photo in July 88 which shows the aircraft in the same positions as in your first photo. Were all your photos taken on the same day?
Jim
TB863 was present at that time but not G-PSID.

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Duxford 19__?

I have these pictures taken of G-PSID as the widowmaker taken 5-87, then as jugboat taken 6-87, on the same negative is a picture of g-cdan/tb863 from almost identicle position of that of the above in the same state of restoration as in the image below, even down to the guy in overalls! as for the sunderland my nearest picture time-wise to this, is wingless in 1986.[ATTACH]182108[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]182109[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]182110[/ATTACH]

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20 years

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IIRC G-CDAN was parked in primer looking externally complete at the Spitfire Jubilee Air Show. That show would have been held in 1986, placing the photo in question circa early 1986.

Time for someone to throw in some incontrovertible evidence.

... as if by magic, First shot 1985, second shot 1986.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/Merlin70/Aircraft/TB863RebuildDuxford1985.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/Merlin70/Aircraft/TB863Duxford1986.jpg

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Surely the fact that the Victor is inside must narrow it down a heck of a lot!

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The MK XIV Spitfire that Tim Wallis had his crash in (NH799) will be staying in New Zealand and its new owner has also purchased the first build Flug Werk FW190 to keep it company!!

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I have these pictures taken of G-PSID as the widowmaker taken 5-87, then as jugboat taken 6-87...

That's 'Tugboat', a confusion (I believe) originating from the script style of the font used.

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15 years 11 months

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I took this photograph of G-CDAN at Duxford on 10th July 1988 according to my notes. I think this was a 60th anniversary air show - probably of the first Spitfires into squadron service.

http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/ww110/Jetflap/Spitfires/TB863.jpg

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14 years 5 months

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Hi Jetflap

Think it may well have been 50th ;);)

regards

Jon

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The Lancaster is still in bits in the pic, according to one of my books the Lancaster arrived at Duxford in 1986 and took 8 years to fully restore, where in your pic it looks like it did when it first arrived.

Maybe the clue is finding out when the sunderland was finished and the Lancaster properly started?

curlyboy

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The accident aircraft that put paid to Sir Tim's flying was NH799, however TB863 suffered an accident shortly after arriving in New Zealand. Its now in Australia. NH799 was/is under rebuild again.

Thanks for setting the record straight. good to know TB863 is still alive and well.
When she first arrived at the Southend museum around 1972 there was much less expertise in restoring warbirds than there is now. As a teenager I looked at the part restored fuselage and very battered wings and found it very hard to believe that Bill Francis (or anyone else for that matter) would ever get her back into the air. If a restorer were presented with the same kit of parts now it would probably be regarded as a very restorable airframe - times change and in the case of warbird restos much of the change has been for the better as flying warbirds were a rarity in the UK at that time.

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16 years

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The Lancaster is still in bits in the pic, according to one of my books the Lancaster arrived at Duxford in 1986 and took 8 years to fully restore, where in your pic it looks like it did when it first arrived.

Maybe the clue is finding out when the sunderland was finished and the Lancaster properly started?

curlyboy

The Lanc was still disassembled in 1988 and the Sunderland further advanced than shown in the photo (The engines were attached but I think there was still some work being done then)
Jim

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19 years 4 months

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As Yak11 Fan said it was 1987.