Here's the plan.. lend me a few quid

[Roland Pulfrew]

So here's the plan. Everybody on PPRuNe donates a few pounds to me and I buy this (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2825127/Airworthy-Spitfire-to-auction-for-1-million.html)

And then I fly it on behalf of all of you. What do you think?:E

More info here (http://www.bonhamsandgoodman.com.au/lot_details.php?lot=67625&auction=257)

[Rigga]

Are there 1 million registered on Pprune?

If there are - I'll ask the Wife if I could qualify for permission to place a request for an unsigned cheque.

[Benjybh]

There are only 256,794 :eek:
Still, a fiver each should cover a Spitfire + Post and Packaging (I assume they charge extra for that!?) :}

[Selfloading]

But your plan is flawed, you see I intend to win euromillions buy the Spit and a WWII fighter station and live in the watch office.

[BEagle]

Aber Roly, als ich habe mein Me-262 gekauft.....

[henry crun]

The Spitfire sold for NZ$2.8 mil (about 1.040 mil UK pounds) to a Hong Kong businessman.

He intends to donate it to the China National Aviation Museum.

[exscribbler]

Wenn ich nur mehr Geld hatte, junge! :E

[Benjybh]

Hmmmm what is it going to China for? I doubt they would fly it? Seems a bit of a waste to me.

[taxydual]

Benjybh

(about 1.040 mil UK pounds)

answers your question. He who pays the piper..........etc

[EyesFront]

Hmmmm what is it going to China for? I doubt they would fly it? Seems a bit of a waste to me


... so that we'll all be able to buy copies at a fraction of the price

[Fareastdriver]

Is it a waste, I don't think so. Museums are established to preserve history in one way or another so incarceratating a Spitfire will preserve that history. The aircraft was once a wreck and has been restored to flying condition but it is ageing and will come up with the standard Spitfire problems of old age. There are enough Spitfires flying around the world, mostly with remanufactured wings and the cockpit filled with gizmos so that it can fly in todays ATC envirionment.
It will probably still be there in fifty years time, the only drawback is that the Spitfire has no history in China so it will not be appreciated as much by visitors as in the UK but they have odd Russian, French and German aircraft in British museums so why worry.
The museum at Cosford has stacks of unusual aircraft that were built for research in the fifties but nobody is screaming for them to get airborne.

[JT Eagle]

Errrm... it wasn't a wreck as such. It spent decades being underappreciated in the USAF Museum in generic RAF markings before going to NZ. It was replaced by a PR.XI in US colours. Quite a lot of work has gone into making it airworthy again (as it was when delivered to the US) and now it will probably be "displayed" backed against the wall of an underlit tunnel (or heaven forbid, outdoors, but I don't expect so). Do you remember the "MATS Connie" once owned by Vern Rayburn? It came to the UK for a visit circa 1997. It was bought by Korean Airlines and now it is "preserved" outdoors on an island in Korea in the colours of an airline that has no ties with KAL. Let's see how much good that does it in the long term.
I'd rather see both flying, myself...

JT

[Fareastdriver]

Who was prepared to beat the million or so and fly it? Then give it away.

[dunc0936]

with all the cuts going on in the armed forces, perhaps its time to set up a volunteer airforce, if not the fighters then cargo, Helio's, Nimrods etc, lol could not do any worse than this current government.