Warbird Kid wrote:
Anyone know the story of Black 8 or how far along she is now?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7g326N8r-gI'm sorry for taking so long to get a reply to this.
The aircraft is based on the remains/identity of the Bf-109G-6 Wk.Nr.440738 which was salvaged near Melk, Austria, where it crashed on May 29, 1944 (the pilot, Lt. Frederick Schulte, survived, but would end up being listed as missing in action later in the war). The main rebuild of the airframe and engine began in 2007, in Austria, at Mike Rinner's shop (
http://me-109.at/). The aircraft is almost entirely new build, but using as much original components as could be sourced and it is certified as the original (using the aircraft's original data plate, and I believe the rebuilt engine may even use the same data plate as the original used in the aircraft during the war as well). Rinner had the aircraft already well completed, and ground-run in Austria with the rebuilt DB 605A, when Hangar10/Air Fighter Academy sent the project to MeierMotors in 2013 for final completion - the fuselage arriving first, followed soon after by the wings, after Rinner had those completed. It was slated to be flown as early as 2014, but according to what others have stated, Hangar10 decided to make their Bf-109G-12 the priority, at Meier, to be completed/flying first, before they would take delivery of the G-6 "Black 8" (the work that had already been accomplished on "Black 8", such as all of the firewall-forward stuff, also seems to have been used for patterns/guides throughout the work done on Jerry Yagen's Bf-109G-4 and Hangar10's G-12, thus preventing "Black 8" from being fully finished/flown out the door). I wouldn't be surprised to see "Black 8" flying at any time in the near future.
As told, "Black 8" is owned by Hangar10/Air Fighter Accademy, based in Germany, and this is the same group that owns the Bf-109G-12 that MeierMotors just completed, as well as the TF-51D "Little-Ite", a Yak-9, and some other warbirds (including a static-only Bf-109G-14). At one time, I saw references to them also owning the Bf-109E Wk.Nr.1983, or at least it was speculated as such, which has been under restoration for over a decade (the main restoration of the fuselage/tail/firewall-forward was already completed at Craig Charleston's shop in England (to the highest of imaginable standard), and was to be combined with wings rebuilt or under rebuild in Germany), but I haven't seen any recent information on its current status/whereabouts, and I don't believe Hangar10 has ever mentioned anything about the aircraft themselves. Hangar10 also owned, for a time, the Spitfire Tr./Mk.IX MJ772, but it was sold last year and is now registered in the UK as G-AVAV (though is currently under restoration following a forced landing in England last summer, during which I believe was part of its delivery flight). At this time, MeierMotors is also working on completing the rebuild of a Flugwerk FW-190A for Hangar10, the same one that was owned by Christophe Jacquard and was involved in the ditching in the sea, off the French coast, back in 2009.