WIX Archives
Re: Ok, just out of curiosity.................... Go for it!
Posted by PeterA on Wed May 14, 2003 02:48:37 PM
In reply top Ok, just out of curiosity posted by Cees Broere on Wed May 14, 2003 02:13:04 PM
Cess,
I think we are transitioning through that phase now. The Australian wrecks mentioned were remote surface reoveries and buried 'on site' disposals. There are crashes and there are crashes. Like 500kts straight into granite as opposed to light burial in boggy ground. There are certainly dig recoveries of some years ago in the UK, looking back, where people are now saying by the standards of today we could have rebuilt that - damn! You only have to look at what is happening to the 'recent times' crashes. Certainly extensive material recoverd from surface crashes in Russia is ripe for the rebuild pipeline.
I think it makes sense today that if you are going to rebuild a Dutch crash site Spitfire to choose one that has bulk and visual interest, like for example the one at at Deelen - MJ874. Incidentally I don't think a data plate is a pre-requisite if the identiy provenance of the crash site is robust. If the rebuild/restoration/reconstruction is transparent and not intended to deceive commercially I do not see a problem. It has to be said that during this transition period you are unlikly to make a commercial profit. I welcome the sale of the MK912 package at a reported ?1.3m. When they get to ?1.5m plus, the profit will come back into the market place and we can move on.
I can remember saying in 1990 Spitfire restoration will not stop at the turn of the millennium. It won't stop at 2010 either.
PeterA
: Suppose over here in the Netherlands we dig up a Spitfire
: wreck (I know the crashsite of a post war ex Dutch one) bu
: t apart from a mangled mass of aluminium we find a datapla
: te, would you include that one as a survivor and a possibl
: e identity for a flyer? If so then there could be dozens p
: erhaps hundreds of raw material.
:
: Cees
: