WIX Archives
A better link
Posted by Robert M on Tue May 13, 2003 03:56:30 PM
In reply top Re: And how about..............EN199 posted by Robert M on Tue May 13, 2003 03:44:47 PM
A more direct link:
http://www.searchmalta.com/cgi-local/photos/main.cgi?locationid=115&type=1&brand=0
Robert M.
: There are some close up shots of EN199, and the Hurricane
: before the fuselage was covered, here:
:
: http://www.searchmalta.com/cgi-local/photos/main.cgi?genre
: id=26&type=6&brand=0
:
: They both looked good to me when I visited in 2001, The H
: urricane will be fitted with a Merlin that has already bee
: n run on a test bed, allowing it to taxi.
:
: Robert M.
:
:
: : Cees
: : Against all the odds this project made it despite being
: di
: : scarded to the scap heap on two occasions.
: : After initially being donated to the local Boy Scouts in
: M
: : ay 1947, it degraded in their care to the point where it
: b
: : ecame used as a Civil Defence training aid and finally b
: ru
: : ised and dismembered ended up at Targa gap. In the early
: 1
: : 970's I made an approach to the then Prime Minister seek
: in
: : g the possibility of acquiring the wings for a joint Sea
: fi
: : re project I was engaged on with with Neville Franklin.
: Th
: : e request was politeley acknowledged with the response t
: ha
: : t the parts had now been collected for a proposed War Mu
: se
: : um. Visiting Malta for the first time in 1985 I enquired
: o
: : f EN199 to be told that the 'x' number of pieces the fus
: el
: : age was in had been consigned to a scrap yard after repe
: at
: : ed complaints that cars were scraping it in the tight mu
: se
: : um car park..... and the wings. The wings it transpired
: we
: : re thought to be in a storage facility that literally ha
: d
: : not had the doors open for some years. After some long a
: nd
: : protracted negotiation these were eventually traded to
: me
: : and were the key to my proposed Mk XII project, EN224.
: To
: : a subsequent group of new and enthused museum supporter
: s,
: : who re-located and recoverd the fuselage pieces, the lo
: ss
: : of 'their' wings was taken in good spirit. They set too
: a
: : nd rebuilt/reconstructed two wings using the leading edg
: es
: : of BR108 and Rib 1's supplied from the UK. Although I
: am
: : sure the Maltese would be the first to agree that their
: f
: : irst venture into aircraft sheet metal on the fuselage u
: si
: : ng principally pop rivets and commercial grade aluminium
: a
: : nd a very limited budget could perhaps be described as '
: ad
: : equate'. The overall restoration however, from the displ
: ay
: : point of view, is first class.
: : My understanding is that lessons learned on the Spitfire
: a
: : nd later restorations are turning the recoverd Hurricane
: i
: : nto something quite special and I look forward to seeing
: i
: : t on my next visit.
: :
: : : the maltese Spitfire EN199.
: : :
: : : How about that restoration considering the standard of
: r
: : ec
: : : onstruction?
: : :
: : : Not that I am dismissing this airframe, but I am just
: cu
: : ri
: : : ous how one can ressurect a seaminly dead aircraft int
: o
: : a
: : : beautiful museum piece
: : :
: : : Cees
: : :