would you like a whole squadron of Spitfires?

[joecrouse]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... to-UK.html

20 of them found Boxed wrapped in oil paper. Joints packed in grease.

Brand new in their shipping containers.

[Xanadu]

Pretty cool story, been following it for last while.

[Pauli72]

This is such a cool topic. I saw Dave Duckett and Bill Parker had posted about it on Virtual Aerodrome a few days ago.

I can't believe the Spitfires are all boxed up and in cosmoline and shipping grease. That's awsome!

I wonder if the British Government is going to fly them as a squadron all together, or sell some off piecemeal?

Now if some Indiana Jones could just dig up a lost squadron of 20 P-38 Lightnings, or P-51's new in crates.....LOL!

[Bill Gaylord]

This is an incredible find for Britain, to have a number of potentially airworthy Spitfires. Depending on the mark/s, they could be invaluable. Since this is the Guillow's forum, I'll add that the Guillows Spitfire actually surprised me as being a very stable plane, once setting a solid right thrust angle and washout. May have to build another someday, to more recent build standards.

I heard the British government recovered some Hawker Furys sold to Iraq after WWII, dubbed the "Baghdad Furys". This happened during the ousting of Saddam Hussein, when British troops entered the country. They were disassembled in the desert, but the components were in excellent shape, due to dry, desert storage. Never heard what had become of them, but they should have retrieved enough to build a few. Given how they will actually fabricate faithful replicas, it should be a good break to have near complete fuselage and wing assemblies.

[mustangman]

The man who found them Is worried he wont get his money out of them? I would think he would have np doing that!! Its been said they are worth 1 million apiece that were not battle tested. 5 million for a plane that was flown in dogfights. sounds like a money maker to me!I wonder how many other planes are out there that have been trated like this? Probably none! Mark

[Bill Gaylord]

The man who found them Is worried he wont get his money out of them? I would think he would have np doing that!! Its been said they are worth 1 million apiece that were not battle tested. 5 million for a plane that was flown in dogfights. sounds like a money maker to me!I wonder how many other planes are out there that have been trated like this? Probably none! Mark

I wasn't aware that a historical Spitfire was worth more than a new-in-box version. I guess that's a bit different from an ARF. I would think that they would be worth more than 1 million each.

[joecrouse]

the really neat one is I saw a New Built ME 262 take off a few weeks ago from Harford County Municipal airport

(yep some folks out in the Seattle Area are using original Blueprints to build Me 262s (with upgraded avionics one guy supposedly has a radar in his) some Rich SOB had one out here on the East Coast in Maryland.)

[mustangman]

Well there is a place who builds replica spitfires, http://spitfireaircraftco.com/ 320 k for a complete kit minus engine prop and instruments. these are full size not a scaled down bird! Kinda neat!!Made of wood just like the mossie!! They say it will out perform any metal spitfire as it is lighter, 2000 pounds lighter . very interesting I must say! Mark