Arrival of two stubby biplanes at Duxford in July 2001 created a sensation at The Fighter Collection's annual Flying Legends airshow. From the time they were unpacked from a well-worn container and quickly assembled by a team of dedicated warbird enthusiasts out of Chino in California, they became unique stars in one of the best of that year's air shows. The single seat F3F-2 was one of four reproductions made over the latter years of the eighties by Herb Tischler's Texas Airplane Company while the two-seater was the original G-32A, fully restored as first made in 1936. Leader of the team was Steve Hinton who runs Fighter Rebuilders at that exciting haven of Chino. Watching Steve give each of the flying barrels a close inspection while they were given a complete spray wax and polish treatment by supporters became an object lesson for onlookers, more used to camouflage and matt metal. Not for a long time had the long inspection torch or the napkin trailing from a hip pocket been seen on a British flightline. Even the hardened fans of Duxford must have felt that America had taken over, at least for a short time.
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