Battle of Britain

[Terry]

Fighters from the movie to be restored to flyable.


http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/502635/Battle-of-Britain-fighters-fly-again-after-40-years-in-barn

[Allen]

Seen better days hasn't it?

[Naismith]

Even if they fail in the flyable stakes, just to get them looking good or even better in taxi condition is better than them rotting away in a barn.

[Bomber_12th]

It was interesting to read this, as it is exactly what I predicted would happen with them - a European buyer and with the Buchons sent to MeierMotors due to their experience with the type.

The article continues to describe these aircraft as being 'barn finds'. The truth is that they've been known about for years by warbird enthusiasts and friends of Connie Edwards (a prolific guy in the warbird community) and the aircraft were stored indoors in a very dry, basically desert climate since the 70's. These all are the best warbird restoration projects someone could hope for (the Spitfire, Buchons, and the yet to be sold Mustang), as they are all there, and with very little/minor at most corrosion (whatever corrosion is present would have likely only initiated before Connie Edwards got them). Most warbird projects these days start with very, very little, where as these are complete in every regard. I know a couple restoration experts who have stated that they would love to work on the Spitfire, for instance, as, for a change, it would be starting with an absolutely complete aircraft with everything still there (unrestored since original manufacture), rather than having to start with a corroded wreck and having to build almost everything from scratch (as has been the case with some various warbird 'restorations' in recent years, as it is getting to be just about all that is left). The Buchons, being in the number they are, should also be a great cost-savings measure to have them all restored in a sort of production-line method. Even if just cleaned up (water and soap), these aircraft would be display-ready for any museum - they just have a lot of dust and dirt collected on them over the years. Most sellers would have had these aircraft cleaned up ahead of putting them up for sale, in which case they would look great, but it was all part of keeping the appearance of them as being 'barn finds'.