[squirl033]

Paul Allen (yes, THE Paul Allen) is quite an aviation history buff, and one of his "hobbies" is his Flying Heritage Collection located at Paine Field in Everett. Most of the aircraft in his museum are restored to fully airworthy condition, as well as being restored to completely original condition. they look like the day they rolled off the assembly line, complete with vintage instruments, original engines, etc. every detail is authentic, down to the cotton insulation on some of the wiring... anyway, every summer, the planes get taken out for "exercise" flights, and the public is allowed to watch for free. i tell ya, there's nothing quite like the roar of those old engines as these birds fly by...  ;D

[NT73]

Great aerial shots.

I have not heard of Paul Allen, (I've heard of the Confederate air force ) but the Spitfire in the second shot, I looked up.
In the history in the link, it mentions West Kirby and just below mentions gate guard.
I am not sure what this means, but I did square bashing ( National Service training) at West Kirby in 1956/7 and at the gate entrance was a display Spitfire. Maybe it was this one, but it was not capable of flying then. I may have a slide or photo of it somewhere.
If I have it will be a B&W one.

The sound of a RR merlin is unique. I suppose your american and canadian planes have the same feeling about them too.

A flying friend of mine, used to be in a group of volunteers repairing a Wartime Halifax Bomber. I was going to go and take a few shots of it but sadly he passed away.

Link to West kirby (and other stations) History - http://www.warbirdregistry.org/spitregis...ar614.html

Link to Elvington War museum history.
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/books...ax_bomber/

[Toad]

Cool shots - particularly the low altitude one showing the trees.

BTW: Paul Allen is one of the co-founders of Microsoft and can buy anything he wants.

[NT73]

Bet he can't buy Apple. lol.

[NT73]

I may have a slide or photo of it somewhere.
If I have it will be a B&W one.

Sadly it is the Gloster Meteor side of the gate.
I believe the Spitfire was on L/H side.

The photo was a bog standard give away, which we all got with a few shots of the group of guys we trained with. 1956.

[squirl033]

Great aerial shots.

I have not heard of Paul Allen, (I've heard of the Confederate air force ) but the Spitfire in the second shot, I looked up.
In the history in the link, it mentions West Kirby and just below mentions gate guard.
I am not sure what this means, but I did square bashing ( National Service training) at West Kirby in 1956/7 and at the gate entrance was a display Spitfire. Maybe it was this one, but it was not capable of flying then. I may have a slide or photo of it somewhere.
If I have it will be a B&W one.

The sound of a RR merlin is unique. I suppose your american and canadian planes have the same feeling about them too.

A flying friend of mine, used to be in a group of volunteers repairing a Wartime Halifax Bomber. I was going to go and take a few shots of it but sadly he passed away.

Link to West kirby (and other stations) History - http://www.warbirdregistry.org/spitregis...ar614.html

Link to Elvington War museum history.
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/books...ax_bomber/

Thanks, NT73....

Paul Allen was the co-founder of Microsoft. He retired some years ago as a billionaire, and now does things like owning a football team, funding private space missions, and keeping a museum of old warbirds.

this particular Spit is a Mk V©. it was assigned to the Czech 312 squadron, and was badly damaged during the war, but survived. i don't know if it was ever a "gate guard" (the term refers to an aircraft displayed, usually on a pedestal of some sort, at or near the gate of a military installation) or not, but it's a beautiful airplane! and you're right, those Merlins do make a wonderful noise! but then, so do the Jumo in the museum's Bf109E-3 and the BMW 805 radial in its FW190A-5... actually, the P-51 Mustangs - at least all of them after the "A" model - used the Merlin engine as well, and very successfully!

[shuttertalk]

Great shots, thanks for sharing.

I love that 60? 70? years on, these machines are still flying and purring along.

[squirl033]

Great shots, thanks for sharing.

I love that 60? 70? years on, these machines are still flying and purring along.

not so much "still" as "again". most have required massive restoration efforts. the collection's Bf109E-3 was shot down over the Channel in 1941, and wound up buried in the sand for 40-odd years till a Frenchman walking on the beach near Calais spotted a bit of metal sticking up out of the sand at low tide... that was the wingtip of the plane. imagine what would be required to restore it to even static display condition, much less completely airworthy and original, after 40+ years in wet, salt sand! their Fw190A-5 was shot down, and found in the 1980's in a swamp Leningrad. The Il-2 Sturmovik was hit by German flak and crashed, and had to be retrieved from a lake. their P-40C, the only flyable one in existence, bears the markings of the AVG Flying Tigers, but never flew with that group - it was delivered to the Russians under the Lend-Lease program, then shot down and abandoned near Murmansk... as you can see, many of these airplanes had to be restored from little more than rusted, rotted hulks. it takes a TON of time and money (fortunately, Paul Allen has plenty of that!) to rebuild these beauties. he also just bought a MiG-29UB 2-seat trainerand the museum also owns running tanks - a Russian T-34/85 and a German Jagdpanzer38 "Hetzer".

[Wedding Shooter]

I love the last shot - the plane really pops against the cloud bank.

[squirl033]

I love the last shot - the plane really pops against the cloud bank.

thanks! i managed to catch the reflection off the wings just right for once!