Mloc's Kurt And Guy Martin - Separated At Birth?

[Dr H]

Lincolnshire lads, big side burns (although I think Kurt had got rid of his recently), handy with a spanner and a love of old war birds........... Kurt are you sure you aren't related

 

 

Watch Ch4 on Sunday at 7:30pm. Looks like it will be an interesting program.

[KurtB]

LOL! I wish we were, I could run his Merlin with him then! It's already on record on the box thingy, and I'm interested to see what they let him do. The blokes that rebuilt it have a solid reputation for their craftsmanship, although for reasons of airworthiness there's not a huge amount of original material goes into a rebuild. Consider the wrecks that are recovered as a donor aircraft. I've seen Spitfires "rebuilt" from a single tea chest full of parts, but however you look at it, I'd prefer to see a "new" Spitfire flying rather than a pile of scrap.

 

And Leigh, I think my sidies may make a return, but they'll never be as impressive as Guy's!

[Dr H]

I remember you getting quite animated and protective about the BBMF's Mk2 Spit being the oldest genuine flying one - i.e not restored from a few bits but restored form a whole aircraft - and I see your point!

 

Looking forward to the programme.

 

If I had the money I'd fund the restoration of one of each of these for my 'fantasy hangar'. Better go and buy a lottery ticket.....

 

 

 

 

[KurtB]

There's a good selection of lottery win choices there! If you like the Tempest, there's one recently moved from Lincolnshire to North Weald in Essex for restoration to fly. It's the Bristol Centaurus powered MkII as opposed to the MkV Napier Sabre powered version in your image. Sadly that version won't fly again...

The Mosquito is beautiful and is love to see one back in Blighty. The prototype is still extant at the DH museum at Hatfield.

The P47 Thunderbolt is a gem of a plane. In fact it was the last warbird I worked on, a high back Curtiss built P47G restored as War Eagle/SNAFU and it departed these shores in 2012.

The FW190 pictured is a new build by Flug Werke, but has an ASh engine which is a soviet version of the original BMW radial. This particular one couldn't get through the rigorous CAA examination scheme and was exporteded. A French registered one did come over for Duxfords Flying Legends show one year and it was truly brilliant to have seen it! I was named after the designer of the FW190 (Kurt Tank), so I guess that warbirds were destiny.

My lottery win list would feature warbirds too: Messerschmitt Bf109G, Focke Wulf Ta152 and Fw190D, and Me262 Schwalbe. Finally the Mosquitos smaller cousin, the DH Hornet, would be a priority.

 

I look forward to Guys program, I'll give some feedback on here....

[Elaine]

I actually said to Reg at RAF Coningsby, Kurt looks really familiar. Have we met him before?  Mind you, one year at the Royal British Legion Christmas dinner I saw a man who looked really familiar, and said to Reg I think I used to work with him. I kept exchanging smiles with said man across the room.......

 

 

 

 

Then Reg finally realises who I'm looking at and exclaims 'That's MP David effin Taylor, you twonk!!!'    

Elaine strikes again! 

[Dr H]

Quite enjoyed the program but it could easily have been a series rather than just a 90 minute one off.

 

'Skimmed' over the top of a lot of stuff but then maybe as a general interest thing it was pitched correctly - i just want lots more detail!

 

So the Merlin he bought is going in his living room.......wonder if I could get away with that?

[Alex B]

Quite enjoyed the program but it could easily have been a series rather than just a 90 minute one off.

 

'Skimmed' over the top of a lot of stuff but then maybe as a general interest thing it was pitched correctly - i just want lots more detail!

 

So the Merlin he bought is going in his living room.......wonder if I could get away with that?

Sounds like:

A) should have made that new garage bigger.

you might require a divorce lawyer if you tried buying one.

[Dr H]

There's a good selection of lottery win choices there! If you like the Tempest, there's one recently moved from Lincolnshire to North Weald in Essex for restoration to fly. It's the Bristol Centaurus powered MkII as opposed to the MkV Napier Sabre powered version in your image. Sadly that version won't fly again...

The Mosquito is beautiful and is love to see one back in Blighty. The prototype is still extant at the DH museum at Hatfield.

The P47 Thunderbolt is a gem of a plane. In fact it was the last warbird I worked on, a high back Curtiss built P47G restored as War Eagle/SNAFU and it departed these shores in 2012.

The FW190 pictured is a new build by Flug Werke, but has an ASh engine which is a soviet version of the original BMW radial. This particular one couldn't get through the rigorous CAA examination scheme and was exporteded. A French registered one did come over for Duxfords Flying Legends show one year and it was truly brilliant to have seen it! I was named after the designer of the FW190 (Kurt Tank), so I guess that warbirds were destiny.

My lottery win list would feature warbirds too: Messerschmitt Bf109G, Focke Wulf Ta152 and Fw190D, and Me262 Schwalbe. Finally the Mosquitos smaller cousin, the DH Hornet, would be a priority.

 

I look forward to Guys program, I'll give some feedback on here....

Gotta be the Sabre engined Tempest, Radial engined one doesn't look anywhere near as menacing. The big air intake at the front give it loads of character in my eyes.

 

P47 are bloody massive for a single seat place. Again, has to be the bubble canopy one for me - makes it look even bigger than the razorback ones. Apparently the RAF pilots used to take the piss out of the US guys saying that the pilots could avoid luftwaffe gunfire by running back and forth inside the fuselage. It looks like it could take a massive hammering and still continue flying - and from what I've read they did just that.

 

I've always though the Ta152 looked a bit out of proportion - must be one of the longest noses of any WW2 single seater?

 

[KurtB]

Well Leigh, I've got to agree ref the Guy Martin Spitfire programme, it could have been a LOT more detailed. That said it gave a good insight into what work is required to build a Spitfire these days, there was a lot of work in that. I hope you can see my point about about a restoration and a new build clearly? I doubt any component from that wreck went into the airframe we saw flying in the show. N3200 will still be in a shipping container (or worse) and the new build will fly for years to come. Don't misinterpret what I'm saying, I prefer to see any aeroplane airworthy rather than a pile of scrap, and have no issue with faithful replicas (after all isn't that what Lotus did after making the first production Elise?!?).

 

Agreed ref the Tempest V, a Napier Sabre is a sound to behold, but no one will sanction an airworthy one, waaaaaayyyyy too complex and not reliable in its day (if memory serves me correctly, it is a 24 cylinder unit, horizontally opposed in an H configuration, so 6 cylinders up, six down and then repeat on the opposite side),so no chance the CAA will give the thumbs up. I've only heard one in a car in the 1980's and it sounded truly wonderful. Incidentally, Napier are based in Lincoln now, and make turbochargers for industrial use.

[Dr H]

Agreed ref the Tempest V, a Napier Sabre is a sound to behold, but no one will sanction an airworthy one, waaaaaayyyyy too complex and not reliable in its day (if memory serves me correctly, it is a 24 cylinder unit, horizontally opposed in an H configuration, so 6 cylinders up, six down and then repeat on the opposite side),so no chance the CAA will give the thumbs up. I've only heard one in a car in the 1980's and it sounded truly wonderful. Incidentally, Napier are based in Lincoln now, and make turbochargers for industrial use.

 

If I win the Euro Millions tomorrow I'll give you a bell. Sure we could work something out with all that cash

 

The Spitfire is not a restoration in my eyes it's a build. I'm sure it was emotional for the pilot's daughters to see the plane but it wasn't his. It was a recreation of his aircraft. They kept making references like 'last time the plane left Duxford' etc. Well the last time was the last time because what they have there is a different aircraft.

 

I see it as a new Spitfire, which is still a very impressive thing and I wouldn't turn down if it was offered to me.

[KurtB]

Guy Martin was in our local last night. If I hadn't have had the train of thought that celebrities probably get fed up with people disturbing their quiet time, I'd have had a chat.

[Reg]

Should have just nodded and gave him a "Chief"!

[Dr H]

Guy Martin was in our local last night. If I hadn't have had the train of thought that celebrities probably get fed up with people disturbing their quiet time, I'd have had a chat.

 

You sure you weren't sat next to a mirror

 

New series of Guy Martin's Speed starts at 8pm on Sunday (CH4). Think he's giving Pikes Peak a go this series.