Spitfire Replica

[CWBuff]

I'm looking for information about this Spitfire replica... ownership, manufacturer... etc. I've been told it has a connection to the Museum of Flight, but do not know if that's true or not.




Thanks...


Fade to Black...

[Matt Gunsch]

that used to be at Champlin, you can see the logo on the trailer. Would make since it is part of MoF since they bought Champlin out.

[P51Mstg]

I saw it on the trailer at the MOF on 9/3/7 when I was headed to Reno (and made a LONG detour)

Mark H

Last edited by P51Mstg on Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Jack Cook]

In Jerry Colingworth's 31st FG markings.

[CWBuff]

Alright, so the Museum of Flight connection is confirmed then... as well as the Champlin connection, which I neglected to mention.

Anyone know who made this thing? I'm almost totally ignorant of the world of replica warbirds, and my googling efforts have failed to yield any matches. I'm assuming that it's a fiberglass job... but of the replicas I've come across on the web, none are sufficiently similar in appearance or assembly.


Fade to Black...

[Warbird Kid]

Yeah, id like to see a compiled list of full scale mock-up replica warbirds out there too.

[Willy]

To start with a list, the majority of fiberglass FSM might be in UK as various genuine Spitfires and Hurricanes used as gate guardians were replaced by FSM in the last decades.

The Spitfire Mk.IX at Eindhoven, Netherlands is also a FSM.

Besides that, various European made warbirds replicas incorporate genuine parts originating from wrecks.

Regards

Willy

[PeterA]

Yeah, id like to see a compiled list of full scale mock-up replica warbirds out there too.

For Spitfires alone that would be a pretty long list.

Here is an example, one of the better ones, in Christchurch, NZ, taken April this year. If memory serves me this is one of four such replicas all... painted as TE288.

Confusingly the real TE288 resides in the RNZAFMus at Wigram, just down the road...and is devoid of any RAF serial identity.

PeterA

[The Inspector]

Yep! it's fiberglass, .025 aluminum sheet, angle iron, and several pickup loads of pop rivets and sheetmetal screws. It has (and apparently never was provisioned for) no engine, it looks like it was painted with house paint from Homer or Slowes the way it sits on it's trailer it appears to be designed to drag to airshows and be erected for use a a static 'crowd magnet' to draw folks to the MoF booth/tent/whatever. This one is a definate 30 footer!!
If you get to the MoF, it's on the West side of -wait for it-East Marginal Way South, behind the outdoor big airplane static disintegration display and West of the overflow parking lot, now easier to acess thanks to a brand spanky new foot bridge over really busy EMWS also known as Hwy. 99.