tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7553640108575678452010-03-02T09:29:18.634ZComments, news and updates to the Spitfire SiteSpitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.comBlogger309125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-15905797479269791422010-02-28T22:13:00.003Z2010-02-28T22:21:38.607Z

Without further delay, here's the update for tonight. Amongst the many emails that I receive through this site, one question returns particularly frequently: "How can I arrange for a flight in a Spitfire?". I've always been thinking that it would be fantastic to be able to direct those who ask to something that would meet the expectations, even though conducting passenger-carrying flights in a

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-28133859639412028542010-02-18T23:35:00.001Z2010-02-18T23:38:32.071Z

I'm reporting again after a week without updates. The technical issue which stopped my editorial work proved unexpectedly resilient to pinpoint, despite the visible best efforts of the support team. In the end, it took no less than a transfer of this site to another server to get around the crashed FP problem. You may have noticed yesterday that I put up a temporary page informing about the

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-5254812136433944222010-02-11T18:18:00.000Z2010-02-11T18:18:45.833Z

I regret to say that technical issues continued to mount during recent days. First, permanent failure of Frontpage Extensions on the server prevented me from adding some new articles during Tuesday. Then, yesterday, another critical update on the server failed, causing the site to go offline entirely for about 16 hours. At the moment when I write this, you should be able to reach the site again,

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-69169884584980600722010-02-08T21:17:00.001Z2010-02-08T21:19:09.619Z

Technology issues kept me busy during the weekend, see more about it at the bottom of this post. In a meantime, there are two new videos for today. A Truly Emotional Start-up is a video clip from the film "Perfect Lady", which covers full restoration story of ML407, a two-seater Sptifire TR MK. IX also known as the Grace Spitfire.   The World's Worst Special Effects Movie? falls definitely into

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-74204539713334169472010-02-04T13:01:00.003Z2010-02-04T13:04:54.147Z

You may recall my previous report from attempts to migrate my editorial toolkit to Windows 7 on my new notebook. As of today, I feel that I have prevailed, but it's not an unqualified victory. Here's a short summary. I like Windows 7 because it is noticeably faster than the old XP, at least when it comes to startup and shutdown. If your computer is a laptop and you keep starting, closing and

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-21449606742799759032010-02-03T13:21:00.001Z2010-02-04T13:08:02.362Z

January brought much interesting email, and some of the letters are well worth sharing. Joop Thuring from the Netherlands sent us this wonderful story, which comes with a request for further information. "The article, The Kenya Presentation Spitfires, triggered to me a latent point of attention with a low priority. In the mid-sixties of the last century I started my professional career in

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-88723505151192230262010-02-02T18:04:00.001Z2010-02-02T18:10:46.176Z

Without further delay, here's the first update of the month. The armament of the Spitfire has been covered in the Variants & Technology section before, but it just so happened that we have received one more article expanding on this subject. Read Cannon or Machine Gun? - The Second World War Aircraft Gun Controversy by By Anthony G. Williams.   The Video Section features a new video clip released

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-15794961123117865322010-01-29T12:31:00.003Z2010-01-29T12:47:13.992Z

Here comes the review of January press. Fears about the future of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight started earlier this month, after Daily Mail's speculatory claim that the forthcoming £6 billion defence budget cuts could result in grounding the historic flight, or force it to rely on commercial sponsorship. BBMF's annual funding is in the region of £3 million. Read more: http://

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-53376983639592673692010-01-27T19:52:00.003Z2010-01-27T20:04:00.674Z

Tonight I present another one of these articles which started out as a photo, then became photo with a caption, then got expanded to a short writeup with two photos. Then the writeup prompted some reference checks. IN the process, other findings were made which were worth adding to the text... and so the story went on until, after a few days, the initial picture became a fully-fledged feature.My

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-2193784026697112062010-01-26T23:23:00.002Z2010-01-26T23:31:34.220Z

Tonight's update includes three new items:A new addition in History Articles is devoted to Kenya Presentation Spitfires. The story of African Spitfire Funds and the donated aircraft is described by Kevin Patience.A new image has been added in Historic Photographs section. This item has been kindly donated by No. 602 Squadron Museum and documents that unit's Spitfires at the annual camp at

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-26433689664166195432010-01-25T09:18:00.008Z2010-01-25T14:33:10.261Z

I'm reporting again, looking at this site from behind the glassy surface of Windows 7 on my new notebook.Despite all the favourable opinions about Micorsoft's newest operating system being a stable improvement over Windows XP (I choose not to mention Vista), the upgrade was easy enough - but regrettably only at first glance. Yes, all that fancy user interface stuff in version 7 looks and works

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-13810329856522141272010-01-18T13:54:00.002Z2010-01-18T13:58:31.405Z

I have started migrating my three-year old notebook to a new PC, at the same time upgrading everything from Windows XP to Windows 7. For my limited resources, it's a rather sizeable operation which may require a few more days to complete. Updates may be slow during the period; thank you for your patience.

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-71368473620947839082010-01-14T17:51:00.002Z2010-01-14T18:05:13.718Z

Part of my work on Spitfire history is roaming various archives for interesting primary source material. It is surprising to see that there's something interesting to be found on the Spitfire in almost any major international archive, be it the State Library of Victoria, Birmingham City Archive, or, as in the case of one of today's updates, the Royal Danish Library. In these days when

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-90455988437979222062010-01-11T23:18:00.004Z2010-01-11T23:30:51.522Z

Tonight's updates include:Tonight I review a new decal sheet aiming at providing a rather unusual and colourful choice of markings for the superb Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire - Dutch Decal Junkers Ju-88A-4, Spitfire F.Mk.V/IX l'Armée de l'Air. This review can be found in Product News & Reviews.We also have a few additions in our gallery of Historic Photographs. The first photo originates from RAF 50th

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-49813926575450193062010-01-08T15:56:00.003Z2010-01-08T16:05:50.600Z

Another small update for today, while I'm catching up with my email:Two new additions have been made in our Art & Memorabilia gallery. Vladimir Urbanek presents The Great Siblings, his newest work which in a playful and sympathetic way encompasses the Britishness of the Spitfire!Another brand-new piece for the new year comes from Herman Veltorp of the Netherlands. "Come and Get Me" - which makes

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-50173672722203143622010-01-07T09:52:00.003Z2010-01-07T20:09:17.213Z

Without further delay, here's our first update for the New Year.Tonight I present a new Camouflage & Markings feature. Spitfire PR Mk. XIX - Cold War Warrior depicts some interesting post-war recconaissance Spitfires and their stories. Colour artwork for this article has been kindly provided by Hannants and originates from their recent Xtradecal sheet.We also have a new book review for today -

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-80324544538223567922009-12-27T15:05:00.004Z2010-01-07T11:54:41.673Z

...of quite different times over 60 years ago:"During the war when food and luxuries were scarce, my mum wanted to give us a treat and bake us a Christmas cake. She had saved enough flour and sugar. Eggs were not a problem because we had chickens, but she didn't have any dried fruit.As luck would have it and by sheer coincidence when the midwife came to see my baby brother who had been born on

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-88002638727059012082009-12-18T14:25:00.007Z2009-12-18T14:52:25.256Z

Here's the update for today.A new addition in History Articles is entitled "I Used to Sit in a Tree and Pretend I was a Pilot". Steve McGregor tells the story of W/Cdr Don Andrews, one of the Australian Spitfire pilots serving in the UK.In Product News & Reviews, Magnus Fridsell brings us a book review of On and off the Flight Deck: Reflections of a Naval Fighter Pilot in World War II, personal

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-55060921423469336932009-12-14T21:47:00.006Z2009-12-14T22:15:20.251Z

Tonight I update the site with some new functions, plus two articles.Firstly, I have made a change in the navigation menu to the left. The Spitfire Site News section has been renamed to What's New - a title which, I believe, better reflects the very purpose of this blog! This is only a name change, the contents remain the same.Secondly, I have added a new function to the menu: Search This Site.

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-51902667254843519232009-12-10T20:13:00.006Z2009-12-13T20:47:44.676Z

I was informed today that personal jewellery of Lady Houston, pre-war English aristocrat and philanthropist, was put on auction at Bonhams. One of the highlights of the sale was her beautiful (and expensive) double-row pearl necklace.What does it have to do with a Spitfire? The connection is indirect, but very tangible. Lady Houston made a pivotal contribution to aviation history when in 1931,

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-74393315675029838032009-12-09T19:37:00.005Z2009-12-10T19:20:10.854Z

It looks like my private Christmas started early this year, with the arrival of this parcel from Japan. I must admit that there is some childish excitement about unwrapping a new plastic kit, a sensation repeated many times since that first experience with Airfix JE-J many years ago... And what a kit this is. I have already done a review of it once, but will undoubtedly return to the subject as

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-2724954127716703722009-12-08T18:03:00.005Z2009-12-08T18:19:40.367Z

Tonight's update is all about decal reviews. I have received many interesting decal sheets for the Spitfire recently, and will review all of them in due course. Tonight we review four different sheets; more reviews are to follow in the near future.The first new addition in our Review section is Xtradecal Supermarine Spitfire PR Mk. XIX. Magnus Fridsell founds it to be an essential addition to the

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-56198347536932635632009-12-07T10:10:00.003Z2009-12-07T10:20:02.780Z

Financial Times has recently published an interesting article elaborating on the growing interest in preserved vintage aircraft. According to the paper, the prices for Second World War fighter aircraft are heading up all the time, in spite of the current low economy. Rapid price increase make vintage aircraft all the more interesting as investment objects.Spitfires are topping the list, fetching

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-55072710273988832192009-12-04T16:50:00.008Z2009-12-05T08:52:37.085Z

News arrived yesterday about Spitfire landing accident at Ardmore Airport, south of Auckland, New Zealand. Rare two-seater Spitfire TR Mk. IX MH367 came to a heavy landing and struck the ground shattering the propeller and causing the undercarriage to give way. The aircraft bounced and then skidded on its belly, ending up digging its nose in the ground at the side of the runway.Fortunately, the

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-755364010857567845.post-14543233296091201292009-12-03T14:18:00.008Z2009-12-03T14:52:37.582Z

Today we have a sizeable update, covering a rather wide spectrum of subjects:The appearance of Airfix Spitfire as star prop of the recent BBC show Toy Stories has been mentioned here before. Our newest addition in Articles is called A "May" Day in Cosford - James May's Largest Ever Airfix Spitfire; it is a recollection of the record 1:1 Spitfire modelling project from the perspective of one of

Spitfire Site Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950064463451541029noreply@blogger.com0