WIX Archives

Oh dear.... sounds like a disaster in the making! n/t

Posted by Richard Allnutt on Wed May 14, 2003 11:23:39 AM

In reply top Re: Ed Russell Spitfire article text posted by AIRIC on Wed May 14, 2003 11:06:14 AM

: LOCAL NEWS
: Millionaire 'itching to have a go'
: Buys Spitfire, Harvard: Ontario architect made rich by Dis
: ney lawsuit
:
: Anne Marie Owens
: National Post
:
:
: Monday, May 12, 2003
:
: CREDIT: Lynne Sladky, The Associated Press
:
: A Spitfire IX, front, and a Spitfire V fly over Cambridges
: hire, England. Ontario architect Ed Russell has created a
: buzz and fulfilled a dream by buying a Spitfire and a Harv
: ard trainer.
:
:
: (Ed) Russell
:
: ADVERTISEMENT
:
:
: When Ed Russell became a multimillionaire after settling a
: court dispute with Disney last fall, he said he did not e
: xpect the newfound wealth to change his life very much.
:
: Now, the Ontario architect in his late 60s has transformed
: himself into a vintage airplane magnate, creating a buzz
: among flying enthusiasts for spending $2.2-million in Engl
: and on a Spitfire Mark IX and a Harvard trainer and announ
: cing his plans to buy several more classics from the Secon
: d World War-era.
:
: For those who operate in this rarified world of vintage ai
: rcraft, Mr. Russell is a classic buyer: He has limited fly
: ing experience but a lifelong passion for airplanes used i
: n the wartime battles of his youth, and, most importantly,
: is rich enough to turn his dreams into reality.
:
: When Mr. Russell climbed into the seat of his newly purcha
: sed Spitfire in an airfield in Duxford, England, late last
: week and fired up the engine of the powerful fighter airc
: raft, he looked very much the part of a boy with a new toy
: .
:
: ''You should have seen him, he had a smile that went from
: ear to ear and from front to back he was so thrilled,'' sa
: id Patrick Peal, spokesman for Historic Flying, the Britis
: h company that rebuilds Spitfires and sold Mr. Russell his
: plane. He said Mr. Russell and his wife spent the past se
: veral days walking around the airfield ''like a couple of
: kids, they're so happy to finally realize this dream.
:
: ''This is a person who has had this passion for a lifetime
: and he's now been able to indulge it,'' he said.
:
: When the company launched its high-end reconstruction busi
: ness in the south of England a couple of years ago, a spok
: esman described its target customer this way: ''If they ne
: ed to ask the price, then they probably won't be buying on
: e. You're looking really at the dot.com millionaires, ente
: rtainers, pop stars, stockbrokers ... I'm getting quite go
: od at spotting the time-wasters. I'm only interested in pe
: ople who can write a cheque for 1.25 million [British] pou
: nds.''
:
: Mr. Russell amassed his wealth in a court settlement that
: stemmed from a dispute over whether the giant Walt Disney
: Co. stole his design for its Wide World of Sports Complex
: at Walt Disney World. He reached a settlement out of court
: last September, a week before the company was to appeal a
: $240-million judgment in favour of the architect and his
: partner.
:
: It was not long after that Mr. Russell began visiting airf
: ields near his home in the Niagara peninsula, sharing his
: enthusiasm for vintage aircraft and seeking some advice on
: what it takes to fly these fighter planes.
:
: ''He's enthusiastic about it, that's for sure,'' said Drak
: e Andrews, an instructor at the Welland Aero Centre, not f
: ar from Mr. Russell's home in Fonthill.
:
: He said he talked with the novice flyer, who so far has co
: nducted most of his minimal in-air experience at the Duxfo
: rd airfield in England, about the training pattern recomme
: nded before attempting to fly the Spitfire.
:
: The famous Second World War planes, pumped out in large qu
: antities for the war effort with little attention to cosme
: tics and all attention to fighting power and speed, were i
: ntegral to victory in the Battle of Britain, and became an
: enduring symbol of Britain's refusal to give up.
:
: On its Web site, Historic Flying describes the appeal of t
: he Spitfire this way: ''The larger machines feel as if the
: y are angry. The sound from the exhaust stacks and the vib
: ration transferred to the seat of the pants communicates v
: isceral power, almost a desire to go kill something. Any h
: ot-rod lover would enjoy this sensation of unbridled horse
: power, this impatience to be turned loose and hunt.''
:
: Historic Flying was established a decade ago to rebuild de
: relict Spitfires and sell them to interested customers suc
: h as Mr. Russell. The company's owner, Karel Bos, is a Dut
: ch industrialist who, like many of his customers, fell in
: love with the famous aircraft and learned to fly one at th
: e age of 68.
:
: Mr. Russell has told Historic Flying he is keen to get his
: hands on other vintage aircraft from the same era, includ
: ing a Hurricane, a Tiger Moth, and a Lancaster, in what th
: ey say will be ''a fabulous tribute to the airplanes of th
: e period, in a museum located in the Niagara peninsula.''
:
: Mr. Andrews is among those at the Welland Aero Centre who
: are keen to see these powerful planes preserved in a museu
: m-like setting in the region, but fear that Mr. Russell mi
: ght rush too early into flight.
:
: ''There are always stories of people who had enough money
: to buy one, but perhaps push the envelope and get into tro
: uble,'' he said. ''Most of us who know Mr. Russell are a l
: ittle bit concerned that perhaps in his enthusiasm he may
: not allocate as much time to each stage of training as he
: should, that he may want to jump to a Spitfire prematurely
: .''
:
: He said the powerful fighter plane requires considerable t
: raining, so much so that even he, with more than 3,000 hou
: rs of flying experience, does not yet feel ready to tackle
: a Spitfire.
:
: When Mr. Russell stood beside his new plane late last week
: , he told a local newspaper reporter in England that he ha
: d many friends ''itching to get inside and have a go in on
: e of these.
:
: ''I have a number of Jaguars and a Lamborghini, but planes
: -- they're really fast,'' he told the Cambridge Evening N
: ews. ''I just love the speed.''
:
: aowens@nationalpost.com
:
: ? Copyright 2003 National Post
:
:

Follow Ups: