Thursday, May 9, 2013

Flypast Magazine 06/2013

North Weald's Hangar 11 Collection has been working hard on its fighters over the winter. As reported in the February issue, P-40 Warhawk G-KITT is being prepared for a new colour scheme, with paint-stripping continuing at a rapid pace. The cockpit is also receiving some TLC, with the team removing modern radios and nonstandard alterations. Collection owner Peter Teichman told FlyPast: "We scoured the world for a genuine replacement top instrument panel, and were delighted to source one some 12,000 miles away in an Australian museum. The panel is just as it was when removed from a wartime P-40 in '0z', complete with all gauges, clocks and instruments. It will be fitted to the P-40 before she flies to have her new paint applied." Away from the hangar, work on Spitfire IX PT879, a survivor from a Russian unit, started last year. Restoration work has progressed at a significant pace, with the fuselage coming along nicely at Isle of Wight-based Airframe Assemblies. The Hangar 11 team has supplied around 650 components from the original fuselage alone for re-use in the project.

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