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Scramble 467
Netherlands
For those of you who like both classic airplanes and classic
cars, Hoogeveen airport is the place to be on Ascension Day,
10 May. On that day the well-known ‘Wings and Wheels’ fes-
tival will take place.
France
According to French sources, North American P-51D 44-73656
is sold to a new owner in the USA. The Mustang, registered
F-AZXS, is painted as 44-12473 ‘Moonbeam Mcswine’. In this
livery the so-called ‘Blue-noser’ Mustang paid tribute to the
352nd Fighter Group of the USAAF 8th Air Force in WW II.
The aircraft has an interesting history, as it was even flown
by the Fuerza Area Salvadorena (El Salvador Air Force) as
FAS 406. Since 1974 it returned to civilian use as N32FF and
later N2151D. It was sold to current owner Frederic Akary in
Avignon in 2013. Now the aircraft will soon leave for the USA,
allegedly as a tribute to the late Vlado Lenoch, who used to
fly ‘Moonbeam Mcswine’. Lenoch died in the crash of another
P-51, ‘Baby Duck’, in Atchinson (KS) on 17 July 2017.
Fortunately Akary is getting ‘something special’ as a replace-
ment. He is the new owner of Canadair CL-13 Sabre Mk6
N80FS ( 1675 ). The fighter was delivered to the West German
Air Force in 1958 as S6-1675, and later became JD+103, BB+284,
and finally KE+104. Registered as D-9540, the aircraft was
used by Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm, Manching from 1970
to 1977. It was then acquired by famous aircraft collector
Ormond Haydon-Baille, and stored dismantled at Wroughton
in 1978/1979. Flight Systems Inc. (later Tracor Flight Systems
Inc.) of Mojave (CA) used the Sabre as N1039K, later N80FS
from 1979 to 1997. It was the sold on the warbird market; its
last owner was Rich Sugden, an apparently wealthy physician.
Russian Federation
According to a Russian aviation site, Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmo-
vik RA-2783G is bound to appear at two Western airshows,
the ILA of Berlin in April and Flying Legends at Duxford in
July. The fighter is one of the two aircraft of its type nowa-
days flying. Considering that 36.000 Il-2’s were built during
the war, the aircraft is a true rarity! It is owned by a Russian
collector of warbirds, Vadim Zadorozhny. The second Il-2
is owned by Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection in the
USA. Both machines have been restored to flying condition
by Retro Avia Tech in Novosibirsk, using American Allison
in-line engines. They were finished in 2017.
United Kingdom
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I (G5-92301) R4118 is still in the sick
bay. The fighter, registered G-HUPW, suffered a crack to the
port cylinder bank towards the end of August 2017. Upon
inspection, the starboard cylinder bank also showed signs
of cracking and, rather than repairing these components, a
decision has been made to replace the two damaged banks
with newly overhauled units. This work is currently being
undertaken by Maurice Hammond of Eye Tech Engineering.
In addition, it was discovered that the Rotol propeller hub
had sustained some damage and, once again, a decision has
been made to manufacture a new hub. Finally, the Irish linen
skins on all of the flying surfaces were replaced by Vintage
Fabrics. R4118 has been based at Old Warden since 2015,
but the owner, Hurricane Heritage, has recently decided to
relocate her to Duxford. There, The Aircraft Restoration
Company (ARCo) has been appointed to conduct the rebuild.
More Hurricane news comes from Hawker Restorations at
Elmsett. They have acquired former Peter Teichman/Hangar
11 Hurricane Mk.IIB BE505 (G-HHII). Seeing the success of
two-seater Spitfires, they have decided to convert the unique
‘Hurribomber’ into a two-seat trainer too. When finished
Hawker Restorations will offer the aircraft for sale. It is not
known yet, whether G-HHII will be finished as a two-seater
with two separate cockpits, as used by the Iranian and Soviet
Air Forces, or that it will be finished with a two-seat ‘green-
house’ cockpit as was seen on USAAF Hurricane battlefield
conversions in the North African theatre of operations.
It used to be one of Europe’s most impressive warbirds,
Republic Thunderbolt ‘No Guts, No Glory’. Arriving as N47DD
in the UK in 1999, the fighter was registered as G-THUN and
flew for Duxford’s The Fighter Collection until 2006. The
‘Jug’ was then sold to the USA, where it was flown as N147PF
by Claire Aviation Inc. in Wilmington (DE). Recently, Cour-
tesy Fighter Sales announced that the iconic machine had,
once again, been sold to the UK. It was cancelled from the
US civil register on 23 February and registered (again) as
G-THUN on 27 February. Its new owner is Fighter Aviation
Engineering Ltd. This Republic P-47D-40-RA Thunderbolt was
built as serial 45-49192, but carries the livery of P-47D-25-RE
42-26671 (code ‘MX-X’) of the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th
Fighter Group, nicknamed ‘No Guts, No Glory’.
On 20 March, Spitfire LF Mk.VC serial AR501 (G-AWII) made
its first flight in years, in the able hands of Stu Goldspink.
This L-29 was built by Aero Vodochody for the Soviet Air Force in 1972. After its military career it was shortly flown in Estonia as ES-XLR. The
trainer was then acquired by Radomil Peca & Jozef Vasko in Slovakia and registered as OM-SLK. It was photographed at Sliac by Matej Janak
on 18 August 2016.
Warbirds
