Another Spitfire and Another Mustang Take 1st Flights

[Bomber_12th]

This past Friday, at MeierMotors in Germany, both TF-51D 44-63473 "Little Ite" and Spitfire Tr.9 MJ772 flew for the first time, following lengthy rebuild and servicing. The TF-51D is a combination new-build and restoration, I believe using componants made at Square One (before it closed years ago), and assembled into a project registered using existing data plates/paperwork (the paint work is not factual, but based on a 352nd FG scheme). For MJ772, it has been about 25-years since it last flew, having been on static display in the States, before being sold to a German warbird operator (two years ago I believe). Both aircraft are German-registered, where they will remain, and likely present at some European air shows this year. Always great to see the warbird population increasing, not decreasing!

According to probably the world's great knowledge base on the Spitfire, and current Spitfire operations, the current count of flying Spitfires the world over now stands at 48 - (not including those which are said to be airworthy, but have remained parked for years). It wouldn't be surprising if the count gets up to, or breaks, 50, this year.

Here's a video of the events from this past Friday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtBCM0elp0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtBCM0elp0&feature=youtu.be)

(MJ772 is one of the rare, original dual-control Spitfires, unlike some of the modern conversions. For many years it was displayed with the rear cockpit canopy removed and the rear cockpit covered over, to look like a fighter variant, though because the main cockpit was moved forward from the original fighter-location (as was the case with these aircraft), it always looked a bit odd. Thankfully, the new/current owners requested that the rear cockpit canopy and windscreen (which had still been kept with the aircraft) be put back in place (the rear cockpit having remained always there).

[Bomber_12th]

By the way, here are the individual MeierMotors pages detailing these projects, with numerous photos, showing how both projects arrived and how they developed through the work of the company (note how the first few photos of the Spitfire, show how it was displayed with the rear cockpit covered over in order to look like a fighter variant, though because the main cockpit is a number of inches forward from that of the original fighter, it looked a bit odd to the trained-eye):

http://www.meiermotors.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=113:supermarine-spitfire-mj772-type-vs509-t9&catid=25&Itemid=181&lang=en

http://www.meiermotors.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=114:north-american-tf-51-serial-4463473&catid=25:aircraft-&Itemid=2&lang=en

One of the things I love about MeierMotors, is how young the guys are who are working on and restoring these aircraft, and the work they do is absolutely superb. MeierMotors also is responsible for having laid down the ground work for getting warbirds like these flying in Germany, where as before they came around, it would have been near to impossible to get such an aircraft on the German civil register. As a result, they seem to be also doing very, very well business-wise.

[Naki]

Great to see more Spitfires and Mustangs becoming airborne. Hopefully there will be one or two Spitfires coming out the door here in NZ in the next year or two.

I saw a pic and of that two seat Spitfire as a single seat not long ago and thought it looked a little weird..now I know why. Not a great fan of two seat Spitfires but the one above looks a lot better as a two seater than a single seater. John, is the front cockpit on all two seat Spitfres (such as the one here in NZ) all have their front cocpkpit moved forward?

Miers Motors - are they connected to Flugwerke in anyway?

[Bomber_12th]

Naki, the two-seat Spit in New Zealand does also have the main cockpit position forward, in the same position as that of the original T.9's. The front/main cockpits on these aircraft look different than the stock fighter-cockpits, as moving everything forward, the structural elments seen within the cockpit are different (Aeroplane Heaven did a great job of recreating this on their Tr.9 models). The most noticeable element of this are the angled-structural supports that jut-out from below the instument panel back to the side walls, forming a triangle in front of the pilot.

You can see this structural difference illustrated in this Tr.9 (even though it isn't finished very authentically), and you'll be able to see the same in Doug Booker's: http://www.mindartdesign.com/warbirdsatduxford/airshows_2011/september/spitfire_ixt--12.jpg

Or as seen here on TE308: http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/092852.html

Flugwerk and MeierMotors are not affiliated with one another, though MeierMotors has had a good amount of experience 'correcting' what Flugwerk designed, into a more suitable aircraft with the few FW-190's they've built for customers. Besides restoring warbirds for clients, they also maintain, service, and paint warbirds, and keep some client aircraft under their own roof.

[Naki]

Ok thanks for the info.

Just wondered about the Flugwerke connection as I believe that Flugwerke are making Mustangs from scratch.

[Bomber_12th]

I've not heard anything lately in regards to the Flugwerk Mustangs - I wonder if any buyer/warbird restorer would ever even state that they used a Flugwerk Mustang fuselage or assembly in their restoration, as long as they have the data plates/paperwork from an original - they could incorporate say a Flugwerk-produced P-51D fuselage, as long as it was built to specifications and quality, into a Mustang build, and it wouldn't have to be registered as a new-build, or a new aircraft (like the Flugwerk FW-190's), but rather a complete/original NAA-produced Mustang (even if only the paperwork/data plates said as such), as long as they had an identity they could lay claim to/ownership of. If one simply buys a Flugwerk Mustang Fuselage, and makes a complete Mustang from it, but does not have any original paperwork/data plates from an original NAA Mustang to assign to the work, they'll have to get it registered as a new experimental aircraft or homebuilt (like Gerry Beck did with his scratch-built P-51A).

In the case of the TF-51D "Little Ite", that was a project that originated in the U.S. from wing, tail, and fuselage assemblies that I believe had been built by Square One (the company that was at Chino, famous both for converting Mustangs into TF-51's, and conducting some unique and authentic restorations, such as the Bagley P-63 and Greenhill's P-51D Geraldine), but never put together into a complete aircraft before Square One closed. The web page linked above to the project shows what sort of additional work had to be done. Likely a lot of re-finished NOS parts were also used.