Shuttle's Report - Duxford 30/10/2012.

The move of the large exhibits from Lambeth Road is creating some interesting photo opportunities at Duxford. With a large amount of the aircraft, tanks and guns etc having been moved it is now possible to see some of the WWI and WWII 'icons'. 

Here are a selection of photos that show the latest comings and goings including the poor old Varsity that is hopefully off to a new home to be restored. The DAS Ambassador is coming along nicely as well. 

That Sopwith Camel is full of dust from being hung from the ceiling for so long but it will get a sprucing before going back to the new galleries in London - it deserves it as it is a VC winner. 

Those German 'terror' weapons really do concentrate the mind and makes one wonder 'what if'.....? An He-162 and a V1 were the pinnacle of German desperation at the end of the war.

Finally, I couldn't resist a photo of the Me-109. A true 'BoB' veteran. The IWM Fw-190 is going to the RAF museum as it is, in fact, a loan item.

I include the Sea Hawk as it is the subject of the recent Aviation 72 model.

 Shuttle

Shuttle's Report - Duxford today 30/10/2012.

Here are some shots of the Duxford flying aircraft that are now in their winter 'maintenance mode'. The B-17 is getting some TLC and where else could you see three such fantastic Spitfires? I am hoping the Hurricane stays in Duxford after the auction......

What a lovely Chipmunk.

More photos to follow.

 Shuttle

Disney buys Star Wars maker Lucasfilm from George Lucas.

Disney is buying Lucasfilm, the company behind the Star Wars films, from its chairman and founder George Lucas for $4.05bn (£2.5bn).

Mr Lucas said: "It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of film-makers."

In a statement announcing the purchase, Disney said it planned to release a new Star Wars film, episode seven, in 2015.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20146942

Flying DH Mosquito KA114.

Recently Warren Denholm put a camera on his helmet to record the photo shoot we conducted with the Mosquito and a DH Vampire, photo plane was the Spitfire in the footage.

The beeping sound you can hear sometimes is caused by the throttles being pulled back with the undercarriage up, it is a warning for the pilot but in certain sages of flight if is ok to hear it and can see and hear how much skill and attention is needed to fly the Mosquito in formation.

Dave Phillips is the test pilot during this flight.

Sound Barrier Pioneer Celebrates 65 Years.

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev.  -- Retired Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound, celebrated the 65th anniversary of his ground breaking event with a re-enactment Oct. 14.

Yeager was serving as a test pilot and flying the experimental Bell X-1 named the, "Glamorous Glennis," Oct. 14, 1947, when he successfully broke the sound barrier.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/10/15/sound-barrier-pioneer-celebrates-65-years.html?ESRC=eb.nl

Revealed: the wealthy backer helping the hunt for the buried Spitfires of Burma.

Victor Kislyi, who made a fortune from the online game World of Tanks, is funding the search for Second World War Spitfires believed to have been buried in Burma.

Already it was a tale of buried treasure, and of explorers heading into the jungles of a far-off land to see whether it was real or just a legend. Now, however, the story of the buried Spitfires of Burma has taken yet another extraordinary twist.

The man providing the financial backing to the Lincolnshire farmer who has devoted 16 years to quest for the Burma Spitfires can be revealed as a 36-year old from Belarus who made his fortune with an online game based on Second World War-style tank battles.

Both Corgi and Hobby Master have modelled the Ginger Lacy Spitfire Mk.XIV in 1/72 and 1/48 scale respectively. We should be looking at a 1/1 scale one of these when they crack the boxes open.

Photo courtesy of Shuttle.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9638613/Revealed-the-wealthy-backer-helping-the-hunt-for-the-buried-Spitfires-of-Burma.html

Youngest B-52 achieves 50 years of active service.

WICHITA, Kan., Oct. 26, 2012 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today marks 50 years since the company delivered its last B-52 Stratofortress to the U.S. Air Force. H-model bomber 61-040 was assigned to Minot Air Force Base, N.D., where it remains in active service.

Boeing built 744 B-52s, in eight different models, from 1952 to 1962. The Air Force fleet today comprises 76 H-models -- two test aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and 74 operational aircraft that are assigned to Minot and to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. All the H-models were built in Wichita.

The Boeing B-52 has been the backbone of the United States' manned strategic bomber force for nearly 60 years. Modern engineering analyses show the B-52's expected life span extending beyond 2040.

Source: Boeing Media.

Pre-production photos, HA7719, P-51D "Big Beautiful Doll"

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series, HA7719, P-51D Mustang "Big Beautiful Doll", Lt. Col. John Landers, 78th Fighter Group, December 1944.

Pre-production photos, HA7411, Fw190A7/R6, Red 8, JGr.10.

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series, HA7411, Fw190A7/R6, JGr.10 Parchim, Germany 1944.

Pre-production photos, HA3515, F/A-18C "Still Flying Strong" VFA-131 CAG jet.

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series, HA3515, F/A-18C "Still Flying Strong", Capt. Bill Gortney, VFA-131 CAG Jet.

Final product photos, HA3605, F-106A "B-1 Chase Program".

In 1986 during flight testing of the B-1B the F-106 was chosen as the official chase aircraft. Eight F-106’s were used in this role between October 10, 1986 and July 6, 1990. One of the chosen aircraft was 59-0061 manufactured by Convair in March 1960.

On February 4, 1987 59-0061 joined the B-1B Chase Program and on July 6, 1990 was the last to leave the program. The aircraft was converted to a QF-106A drone S/N AD156 and was shot down by an AIM-9 missile on September 3, 1993.

Final product photos, FA727001, BAe Hawk Mk.128 ZK010.

Falcon Models 1/72 scale, FA727001, BAe Hawk Mk.128 ZK010, BAe Warton, Lancashire, England, 2008.

Final product photos, FA727002, RAAF Hawk 127 LIF.

Falcon Models 1/72 scale, FA727002, Royal Australian Air force (RAAF) BAe Hawk 127 LIF (Lead-in Fighter) A27-22 No.76 RAAF Squadron, RAAF Base Williamtown.