Warbird Information Exchange

Spitfire MK959 on the Courtesy website is already showing as sale pending. You knew that one wouldn't be for sale long.

I'll bet money I know where that Spit is going ....

Mark H

Mudge how tall are you? (Asks a hopeful 6-3" canuck )

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It's a small (warbird) world Bill! I really liked that airplane, very authentic. I was very sorry to hear of the fatal accident just a year or so after I sat in it. Did you happen to fly it out of Deer Valley per chance?

The UK? Given the current exchange rate, and what the last few Spits over there have gone for...I would think that there are a couple folks over there ready to snap it up.

I was out in Buckinghamshire on Thursday when I heard a sound that made my heart miss a beat. I climbed as far up the side of my motor as was reasonable and through the low cloud (fog) , I saw a Hawker Sea Fury. Now I like the double wasp ( who don't ) but they don't float a boat, the same way a Bristol does it. Some things really are special to us over here in the UK. And I really don't have a problem with the concept of listening to the dry chuckle of another Griffon over the green hills. Transport heads and banks, power Spitfire come home safe baby please.

Chad, I flew that Spit from Scottsdale over to Deer Valley. I took a little time to feel it out a few rolls, tight turns and stalls. It handled very nicely with the shorter wing tips though I prefer the looks of the full version like mine and the slow flight excellence of it. That plane was very nice inside with more ergonomically friendly fuel gauges than mine. The engine was a Packard and seemed slightly rougher than mine. It was starting to get a bit windy so I landed after about 40 minutes. I'd guess Bernie's nephew Tom flew it out of DV to the west coast. They flew it there for a year or so, then Tom was lost in it in an accident, I heard trying to get back home over the Sierras under low weather. I had helped them get familiar with the Spitfire and the deal was that I get a flight in their plane. Bernie was a man of his word. Tom had been a RCAF F-18 instructor, with almost no prop time. They used to dogfight the Spit and their L-39. He said as a jet guy he wasn't so sure about this prop plane at first. Later, he said he really liked it, "Its a fighter", and was better than the L-39 under 300knots. We seem to lose a lot of the good guys.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

In response to Ryan Harris' comment about Raybourn Thompson's labor of love restoring MK959.... I have an acquantance who's a top notch rare sports car restorer who goes for 100 point restos; nothing less. For Mike Z. the thrill of it is in the chase. He loses interest after he has the car finished. Maybe Rayborn is looking at another a/c resurrection. I'm glad I got to see it up close last spring when he flew to LSFM airshow that Saturday.

Canso42

Couldn't agree more Bill, Tom was one of the good guys. He spent a couple of weeks with the Spit at Deer Valley building time in it. I happened to be working across the street at the time and he flew the Spit nearly every day. I didn't get much work done those weeks! I met him and spoke with him on several different ocassions and it was he who invited me up into the Spit after I and a buddy helped him push it to the hangar one evening. A very down to earth guy it seemed.

I was probably standing across the street when you arrived at Deer Valley Bill!

After reading the list of spares and about the A/C, that's a good deal.
Not to change lanes here but who's Mustang is for sale over there at Courtesy??

TIA,

Lynn

And have DEEP pockets, here's another Spitfire to add to the 'For Sale' list.

It's MKIX SM520 (G-ILDA), restored to original VS Type 509 (TRIX) spec, for the owner, who recently passed away:

http://www.pilotweb.aero/content/classifieds/

(It's on Pg2, 3rd listing from bottom)

More info on the aircraft and the restoration can be found here:

http://www.classicaerothruxton.co.uk/

Cheers

Paul

Be interesting to know how they can justify best part of twice the price for that.

From the UK viewpoint.

One looks remarkably cheap the other too expensive.

PeterA

Indeed Peter - a realistic price would be about half way between them. The purchaser of 959 has got a bargain IMHO.

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