quicksilver-wsr wrote:
Wonderful days, long-gone, alas. We are a bit spoilt for choice now, as people can even retrieve warbirds from 50 years' entombment in glaciers and put them back into the air. Which is a great achievement, of course. But in the days of the Strathallan Collection, aircraft like the ones Willie Roberts owned really did seem like ghosts that had mysteriously materialised out of the ether, and that's how I remember them.
Happy memories indeed. Had a rake around the bookshelves this evening and found my copy of the Coys catalogue for Strathallan auction in 1981. (Was it really that long ago?) Willie Roberts really did amass an extraordinary collection and the spares holdings alone - not least those overhauled, inhibited and crated Merlins - would be worth a small fortune today.
And do you remember the wonderful story about the RAF delivering the museum's Comet...by air...to a grass airfield? One of the undercarriage legs collapsed as it touched down - now there's a surprise - and the thing slid the length of the runway before coming to a halt in a field. Swift change of underwear for the aircrew after that one, I suspect!
bluebirdsback wrote:Was last Wednesday mate, sorry you missed it.
Bugger! Missed that one Roberto by heck what a great job. Mmmm! However why were you not working on the real deal? I will have to dock your pay at the weekend old chap. So that's two biscuits and a cup of tea less for Roberto next Saturday But seriously that looks bloody fantastic mate from were it came from . Far better than being stuffed and put on strings.
Tony Harmsworth calling from Aeroplane Monmthly magazine. I have been reading the posts regarding the Barracuda restoration with great interest. It would be great to put something about this exciting initiative in the news section of Aeroplane.
Could you e-mail me back at [email protected] about the possibility about getting something in the magazine? We could put a plea in asking readers for any leads on acquiring parts.