Hurricane recovery from bog

[Sutts]

I guess many of you are familiar with this wreck which contained the preserved body of the Russian pilot.
What's new to me is a site which shows how they've put this bird back together...incredible stuff.

Warning: first link contains pictures of pilot remains.
http://warrelics.eu/forum/armour-weapons-aircraft/hurricane-wreck-pilot-recovery-northern-russia-514/

http://109lair.hobbyvista.com/DETAILSITE/UK/hurricane/z2768/hurri_z2768.htm

[Second Air Force]

That is an amazing set of photos in the second link. It is certainly sobering to view the cockpit and controls.

Scott

[lmritger]

Hey, that's my site!

It was very odd being there in the presence of this machine... I mean, you KNOW that the pilot spent 60-odd years hunched over the controls of this plane, you can't escape it, and here's the straps which held him in, the stick clasped in an unyielding grip... it was fascinating and a little eerie. Most interesting was the comment from one of the guys who showed me around- he said none of the workers like to go in there, it just felt weird to them.

So far as I know it's still out in Suffolk... Craig, can you confirm?

Thanks for bringing this up...

Lynn

[Dan Jones]

That airplane is in England? Who's doing the work?

Dan

[Django]

Looks good so far. Pretty amazing story too.

How many hundreds of similar aircraft are waiting to be discovered out there? Fascinating.

[Mark V]

That airplane is in England? Who's doing the work?

Dan

No - Suffolk, Virginia, USA (with The Fighter Factory)! Its not being restored at the moment but is retained as a potential swap for another aquisition. I looked at the history of it a while ago and it was stationed at Duxford prior to departure for the USSR.

[jet1]

....spooky stuff!

[Sutts]

Hey, that's my site!

It was very odd being there in the presence of this machine... I mean, you KNOW that the pilot spent 60-odd years hunched over the controls of this plane, you can't escape it, and here's the straps which held him in, the stick clasped in an unyielding grip... it was fascinating and a little eerie. Most interesting was the comment from one of the guys who showed me around- he said none of the workers like to go in there, it just felt weird to them.

So far as I know it's still out in Suffolk... Craig, can you confirm?

Thanks for bringing this up...

Lynn

That's a great piece of research Lynn, thanks for making the effort.

What I find incredible is how straight everything looks. Surely even if you hit something soft like a peat bog at 200mph it's going to distort many parts, especially the tubular structure.
Do you happen to know if items have been straightened out or replaced in this rebuild?

Thanks

[CraigQ]

Hey, that's my site!

It was very odd being there in the presence of this machine... I mean, you KNOW that the pilot spent 60-odd years hunched over the controls of this plane, you can't escape it, and here's the straps which held him in, the stick clasped in an unyielding grip... it was fascinating and a little eerie. Most interesting was the comment from one of the guys who showed me around- he said none of the workers like to go in there, it just felt weird to them.

So far as I know it's still out in Suffolk... Craig, can you confirm?

Thanks for bringing this up...

Lynn

Hi Lynn, yep still there but disassembled now. As for me I don't really get an eerie feeling from it, a little wonderment from looking at the bullet strikes in the armor glass and the headrest plate. That and how well preserved the surviving airframe parts are.

Craig

[warbird1]

Hey, that's my site!

It was very odd being there in the presence of this machine... I mean, you KNOW that the pilot spent 60-odd years hunched over the controls of this plane, you can't escape it, and here's the straps which held him in, the stick clasped in an unyielding grip... it was fascinating and a little eerie. Most interesting was the comment from one of the guys who showed me around- he said none of the workers like to go in there, it just felt weird to them.

So far as I know it's still out in Suffolk... Craig, can you confirm?

Thanks for bringing this up...

Lynn

Hi Lynn, yep still there but disassembled now. As for me I don't really get an eerie feeling from it, a little wonderment from looking at the bullet strikes in the armor glass and the headrest plate. That and how well preserved the surviving airframe parts are.

Craig

Perhaps Kermit should consider buying that airplane since he is into paranormal aircraft and all. Maybe the ghost of that Hurricane could "befriend" the ghost of the B-17 waist-gunner which seems to be hanging out at Fantasy of Flight. They could have some vodka together and share "war stories" of what it was like to be alive.

[PbyCat-Guy]

Kermit's B-17 is haunted? Boy am I behind on this stuff! Since I live close, I should go check it out for myself.

[Lynn Allen]

Its still there and many people will still grab the O2 mask and put it on before Craig & Co. can stop them.....

[andyman64]

very sobering post sometimes we get caught up in our love for these airplanes and forget howmany people died flying them trying to protect us from the evils of the world i hope that his family has closure !

[Warbird Kid]

Grim, sobering, haunting, but fascinating none the less. From a scientific standpoint I'd figure some scientists would be interested in examining this pilot due to the amazing preservation of his body.

[Aircraft Mech Paul]

Hi All,

Long time away and glad to be back. Those pic's of the pilot are eerie to say the least. To sit in that cockpit as he did for all those years.....amazing is the word that comes to my mind. I do hope that the rebuild of this Hurricane will be done in the proper way.....in Russian markings.

Just my two cents,

Paul