View Full Version : Merlins over Malta.
Something for you guys to look out for in September (http://www.themodelzone.org/forum/showthread.php?t=299)
theBaptist
27th Jul 2005, 06:33
i hope it does materialize this year though ......... the organisers here (Malta Aviation Society) has been saying that they are bringing a Spit over for the past 5 airshows at least ....... year 2000 was our real 60th anniversary since the war actually started in Malta, and 2005 as a 60th anniversary does not really mean much to us as the last bullet fired over Malta was way back in September 1943 - since the Allied invasion of Sicily the war in Malta was effectively over. :D
well let's hope they succeed this time though i do understand, being a member of MAS) that the costs involved in bringing a warbird over are simply astronomical, especially insurance for the plane itself, let alone bringing TWO over !!!
we actually have a Spit and a Hurribag here in our museum but the Spit nothing works, its just for a static display, the Hurricane's engine is in top condition and runs so the plane can be taxied but even though it was a total rebuild it will never fly.
Something for you guys to look out for in September (http://www.themodelzone.org/forum/showthread.php?t=299)
Just reading that sent a shiver, fantastic, the spitfire, for me is the best aircraft ever built!
If it materialises I will be there..... :rolleyes:
Having seen and heard a a Spitfire and Hurricane (along with a Lancaster) fly overhead just recently i can assure you, you won't be dissapoited. The sound of these aircraft is just amaing and they must have one of the most identifiable wing spans/designs out there. I really hope it does come off for you guys, it will be well worth it
I really should invest in a better camera, living on one of the flight paths from Northolt over to central London, you would have thought i'd learnt my lesson by now. Look reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal close in between the cranes there is the Spitty, Hurri and Lancaster, believe me they looked awesome through a pair of binoculars :)
it would be a nice 21st bday present ;) usually i get another sort of present, still aviation wise ;) but this would be amazing!
i heard that before, however i also heard some1 say (cant remember who) that the two should be featured in top gear (in one of them famous races between a car and somethin) however dunno how much its gonna happen. also another rumour is that they're gonna try get the hurricane which was rebuilt in malta up and running this year for the airshow, however as baptist has mentioned before, i doubt very much that it will fly
theBaptist
27th Jul 2005, 10:51
Olo that Hurricane was not built to fly from day 1 (reason = costs re insurance plus risks involved in pranging the thing..... and i doubt there are many local pilots willing / able to fly a museum piece). it is a fantastic job they have done on it but if its not built to fly it wont. engine and running gear are great though and it can taxi around the airfield no prob.
well i said i think it wont fly, i just said that i heard that they going to try and make it fly.
i'm not saying what will happen, if you read the post again you'll see that i was mentioning rumours.
Having seen and heard a a Spitfire and Hurricane (along with a Lancaster) fly overhead just recently i can assure you, you won't be dissapoited. The sound of these aircraft is just amaing and they must have one of the most identifiable wing spans/designs out there. I really hope it does come off for you guys, it will be well worth it
I really should invest in a better camera, living on one of the flight paths from Northolt over to central London, you would have thought i'd learnt my lesson by now. Look reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal close in between the cranes there is the Spitty, Hurri and Lancaster, believe me they looked awesome through a pair of binoculars :)
When I was in the UK back 1989 I think it was at Hartlepool or Whitby,I can't recall. It was a war commemoration 50 years I think it was. I saw a Spitfire flying over, and it actualy did a few fly byes one comming directly at the beach. What a marvelous sound. Its to die for.
I managed a few pics of it but afraid they're not digital and I got no scanner.... :( :(
I have always said, if I had the chance to travel in time I would go back to that time just to fly the Spit!!
joe019
27th Jul 2005, 18:18
i hope it does materialize this year though ......... the organisers here (Malta Aviation Society) has been saying that they are bringing a Spit over for the past 5 airshows at least .......
Keeping in moind today's standards and emthodologies, the idea of bringing that sort of aircraft over from the UK is immensly difficult, even though 50 years ago they would take of from a carrier in the middle of the drink and manage to find this piece of rock we call Malta. If I am not mistaken there was once a genuine attempt at getting the aircraft but after landing in France it had to make its way back cause of bad weather.
Do you immagine that Merlin V12 under the hood of your landy? You'll have to tow a fuel and oil supply behind you :) Do you have an offhand fuel consumption of that engine?
Joseph
20 gallons per hour at 100mph :).
Taken from here Rolls Royce Engines (http://www.stobbe.dk/technical_literature/combustion_engines/rolls-royce/Rolls-aircraft.html)
There was a write up in "The Sunday Times" it seems there is still some determination to bring them over, they are Lm20,000 short, they are looking at around Lm100 000.
So all is not lost!!!....... :) :)
theBaptist
8th Aug 2005, 13:43
it's looking good ........ i hope they finally manage as it will definately be a thrill :)
it's looking good ........ i hope they finally manage as it will definately be a thrill :)
Thrill? Orgasmic I'd say! :D :D :D
dynamited
8th Aug 2005, 15:30
Awesome..... looking forward to this event....
I wonder how they`re managing to find funding... unless they`ve got some static show... they`re only going through many expences.
I`ve never seen vintage aircraft in the air... so im really 'thrilled' :p
Rich_P
8th Aug 2005, 16:09
Probably the same aircraft from the memorial flight.
Er, it says "a decisive turning point in the war".... so how many "decisive turning points in the war" exist? One is Battle of Britain, another I think is when the yanks got involved, and so was that little island? :rolleyes:
Probably the same aircraft from the memorial flight.
Er, it says "a decisive turning point in the war".... so how many "decisive turning points in the war" exist? One is Battle of Britain, another I think is when the yanks got involved, and so was that little island? :rolleyes:
It definatly was mate, read some of the history, Hitler concidered Malta a thorn in his side.
Malta had a lot of strategical value during the war...... ;)
theBaptist
9th Aug 2005, 10:58
there were quite a few "turning points" in a 5-yr war m8 - as you say Battle of Britain was one, the famous convoy codenamed Operation Pedestal was another in so far as the Med was concerned ensuring Malta could battle on and survive, without Malta the RN would have been severly handicapped in the Med and the Allied forces in Africa would have probably conceded defeat.
another major turning point in the war was, of course, Stalingrad on the Eastern Front, the invasion of Sicily in Sep 1943, the D-Day invasion of mainland Europe, and finally commemorating it 60th anniversary this very day (Nagasaki) the 2 A-bombs dropped on Japan - a major turning point imo doing away with the massive risk to US losses in invading Japan. ;)
Hello All,
I found your thread on our project so I thought I would fill you in. Merlins Over Malta (http://www.merlinsovermalta.com/) are bringing a Spitfire and Hurricane to Malta in September for a week.
The time table of events can be found here - September 2005 (http://www.merlinsovermalta.com/2005/)
We have been raising funds for the last two years to achieve our goal and we are almost there. We are having to raise £100,000 to do this. The majority of the money has come from the UK through private donations.
The aircraft are not from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. They are privately owned examples that belong to the Historic Aircraft Collection (http://www.historicaircraftcollection.ltd.uk/) and are based at Duxford in the UK.
We are still raising funds and there are many ways that you can help (http://www.merlinsovermalta.com/donate/).
Have a look at the Merlins Over Malta Shop (http://www.merlinsovermalta.com/shop/)!
If you are in Malta and you can help please do. We have been trying to get support from the Maltese people but we have had very little success. The Ministry for Tourism and Culture have been very good with their support but we need more. There are five weeks to go before the Spitfire and Hurricane arrive through Grand Harbour. Please help us to make this happen...
Thank you for your support
Glenn Denney
Merlins Over Malta (http://www.merlinsovermalta.com/)
theBaptist
18th Aug 2005, 06:47
fantastic m8 :o
i work for a local newspaper (The Malta Independent) - ill make sure we cover the event bigtime :D
btw baptist, have u relocated that antenna? i could swear i saw it on the drivers side! as am passin alot by that corner where u usually park (hdej dak taz zeba jew x'inhu fil kantuniera) in st julians
theBaptist
18th Aug 2005, 10:39
passenger side antenna got lonely so i bought a clone and stuck it on the other side. i have two now :D
dynamited
18th Aug 2005, 17:13
[/url]Brilliant Glenn... so its surely on now? I dont know to what level you`re keeping the local press informed, cause we did see an article on the Times Of Malta paper, plus surely other ones too. But thats been ages ago.. and myself thought that it was cancelled untill you posted here.
Try keep in contact with the press as they can really make a difference and they can easily keep the article on file for when they have space. A couple of photos to impress the general public and you`ve surely got a crowd.
Links to local papers for your convenience:
www.independent.com.mt (member.php?u=7532)
[url]www.timesofmalta.com
www.maltatoday.com.mt
www.di-ve.com
Good Luck and all the best for the event!
Mum and Dad are out in Malta next week for one final push to get more support from the island. I will pass the details you supplied onto them so they can make contact while they are down there.
The problem we are finding is that everyone thinks what we are going is a great idea, we cannot however get people involved! We keep trying...
Glenn
Merlins Over Malta (http://www.merlinsovermalta.com/)
dynamited
23rd Aug 2005, 10:58
MALTA INDEPENDENT ONLINE (http://217.145.4.56/ind/news.asp?newsitemid=20372)
Yep... they published it online so it was on the newspaper too. Baptist pushing the right buttons or ?
Problem at the moment on the island is money/cash... everyone seems to be conservative on sponsorships this summer.
Make sure to advertise that the planes would be on display at the malta airport..... people love to visit and as long as the entrance fee is acceptable, its a sure thing they`ll be flocking there.
theBaptist
23rd Aug 2005, 18:30
i did i did ;)
The Spitfire and Hurricane are on their way to Malta!
Look here for flight details - http://www.merlinsovermalta.com/flight/
Glenn
cil111
16th Sep 2005, 13:17
brilliant mate...
hope that all is fine and will arrive on schedule... i am trying to organise some people at work so we stay on after work and see them coming in over the grand harbour.... since we work just next to castille in valletta we have a brilliant view from the roof....
will try and get some decent pics too :) :)
Just awesome!
I would love to be one of the pilots..... :)
I'll be watching out for them too.
cil111
22nd Sep 2005, 07:11
MoM
is everything on schedule..???
will the Spit and the Hurricane fly over the grand harbour at 18.00 hours local time??
I am ready on the roof of my office complete with camera and tripod to shoot at them.... Pics obviously :D
MoM
is everything on schedule..???
will the Spit and the Hurricane fly over the grand harbour at 18.00 hours local time??
I am ready on the roof of my office complete with camera and tripod to shoot at them.... Pics obviously :D
Make sure to post a few Cilli.... ;) ;)
Yep, please post a few piccies for us, just a pity you can't post the wonderful noise they make too:D
I'm going to try and video them, all I'd need is a way to get the clips on here.
Will see what can be done tho'.
Aircraft for the show should have started arriving by now too.
joe019
22nd Sep 2005, 17:16
The sound of that V12 is incredible... I just saw them land at luqa. Had no time to grab the camera.. will try to make up for it next saturday or sunday!
Anyone tried fitting that engine into a landy? hihihi....
It's not just a V12 Joe, it's a Merlin V12!
They are absolutely awesome.
I was at the airfield but they did a real display over the harbour,then did an anticlockwise flight over the island, another short display over Marsaskala then over the airfield then into land.
I managed to get some on video but not much. The best part was to be seen over the habour. From the airfield I could see them diving into the harbour making low passes through it.
Seeing them certainly sent goose bumps thru me!!
They realy are a lovely sight......and sound for that matter.
It is the first time I have seen the hurricane in flight.
Brilliant absolutely brilliant,you should have been here Roy..... ;)
dynamited
23rd Sep 2005, 06:31
I went to my evening classes lesson in hamrun and saw it all from the rood. WOW! Stunning things! They flew low, over the sea, and kept flying inland really low... over to marsa probably.
Fantastic! Paul.. i`ve got a convertor that captures video on the pc, which we can use to transfer it in digital format. I will get my pc sorted though... cause its on strike.
Over the weekend, if we dont go to gozo, i`ll msg to see where you guys are going to watch. I have a sony air receiver ( thats what it says at least ) whats the frequency they radio on... and should i get it over jew?
theBaptist
23rd Sep 2005, 06:36
was in Grand Harbour on the bastions :D they did more than just the flypast i expected - quite a dogfight over the harbour and some really low passes, lowerthan our vantage points ...... no pics here sorry, downloaded them at home and didnt send any to my office :rolleyes:
I went to my evening classes lesson in hamrun and saw it all from the rood. WOW! Stunning things! They flew low, over the sea, and kept flying inland really low... over to marsa probably.
Fantastic! Paul.. i`ve got a convertor that captures video on the pc, which we can use to transfer it in digital format. I will get my pc sorted though... cause its on strike.
Over the weekend, if we dont go to gozo, i`ll msg to see where you guys are going to watch. I have a sony air receiver ( thats what it says at least ) whats the frequency they radio on... and should i get it over jew?
In that case Neville I'll try and get more video so we have something to choose from.
cil111
23rd Sep 2005, 07:41
I got some pics as well but erm i do not think that they are anything in particular... actually arrived late so once i got there i did not have time to set up properly..
I actually found a decent place, next to the PUFTI bar underneat boffa hospital.. they swooped low just in front of me..
will post them up when i have some time though....
theBaptist
23rd Sep 2005, 07:49
next to the PUFTI bar underneat boffa hospital..
qisek taf fejnu sew Cil :eek: jien ma nkunx naf bihom dawn ! :rolleyes:
I got some pics as well but erm i do not think that they are anything in particular... actually arrived late so once i got there i did not have time to set up properly..
I actually found a decent place, next to the PUFTI bar underneat boffa hospital.. they swooped low just in front of me..
will post them up when i have some time though....
Pufti bar, ma nafx bih dan!!!..... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :p
http://history.rolls-royce.com/Merlin-Spitfire-plane-engines/index.html
I found this if you want to hear the merlin engine, click on the little window showing the spit.
http://media.putfile.com/merlin33 and here too!..... :D
Brilliant absolutely brilliant,you should have been here Roy..... ;)I wish i was mate, at least i told you guys about it so you didn't miss what will probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity for you guys. I've seen our "memorial flight" (the Spitty, Hurri and Lanc) several times but still would have liked to have been there for this display, ah well never mind, enjoy and post some photo's for us:)
big.stu
24th Sep 2005, 16:04
I live about five miles from Duxford (where these aircraft have come from) and we regularly have Spitfires (and all manner of other fantastic aircraft) flying around over the village (and house).
But even better than that - a few weeks back I went to collect my daughter from her school friend's birthday party at their house which is about a mile from Duxford airfield and whilst waiting for them to finish up we heard the characteristic sound of a Merlin approaching - the friend's grandmother told everyone to wave, and out from over the trees appears a Spitfire banking round over the garden. Grandmother then exclaimed that it wasn't her Spitfire (appears she is connected with one of the companies at Duxford which fly them) as it had the wrong coloured boss. At which point a second Spitfire appeared, even lower - friend's father said pilot was probably trying to see if there were any naked women in the pool :)
How cool is that - a two Spit flypast for your sixth birthday party! Impressive even if it was just a minor detour on their way back into Duxford from another display.
Stu
saw them at the show, went right up to them and it was amazing, being able to stand right next to one of them. i prefare the spit more then the hurricane, but there again the spit was considered as the high-tech fighter them days!
nighthawk
25th Sep 2005, 18:42
Just back from the airshow. I can imagine it brought a tear to the eye of those who remember them back in the war, watching those beautiful aircraft fly our skies again for the first time in 52 years. I myself was more into the Merlin sound :D
The red arrows had to cut down their display due to some low clouds but the show was still nothing short of impressive nonetheless.
As expected, the B-1B was a star. So much noise from a single plane. And that mysterious look it's got.... And honestly I never before in my life saw such a huge hunk of metal fly so fast :D
dynamited
26th Sep 2005, 09:50
I didnt manage to get to the airshow... but a friend of mine took some pics...
I hosted them on my webspace.. to save the forum some bandwidth.
enjoy...
http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/fighter.jpg
http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/planes1.jpg (http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/planes1.jpg)
http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/planes2.jpg (http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/planes2.jpg)
http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/red arrows.jpg (http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/red%20arrows.jpg)
(http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/red%20arrows%202.jpg) (http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/red%20arrows%202.jpg)http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/red (http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/red%20arrows%202.jpg) arrows 2.jpg (http://www.thebigzone.com/airshow/red%20arrows%202.jpg)
theBaptist
26th Sep 2005, 12:11
no chicks ? :confused:
:D
no chicks ? :confused:
:D
Merlin chicks?... :D :D
Here's a pic courtesy of Nighthawk.
nighthawk
27th Sep 2005, 16:30
Here's a pic courtesy of Nighthawk.
Well actually it's courtesy of Joseph but I'll take the credit :D
joe019
30th Sep 2005, 16:56
No Problem :) hehe I will somehow or another make some of them available online. I will select some which ok, cause I got some 250 pics!
meanwhile enjoy these!
Regards
JOseph
Well actually it's courtesy of Joseph but I'll take the credit :D
theBaptist
30th Sep 2005, 17:44
lovely shot of the Spit from underneath Joe - excellent.
mind telling me what camera / lens & pulling power u were using ?
joe019
1st Oct 2005, 09:16
Hi, I'm glad you liked the pics, I am angry cause I could not make it to taqali on wednesday to see them do the flypast there.. but anyways. The pic of the spit belly reminds me of some PC games such as Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator :)
The Camera is the Canon S2, 5 mega pixels and 12X optical zoom. Got it from Germany last September. The zoom feature is really great. I had to scale down and compress the pics to be able to send them here... I can forward you a CD with the full res pics...
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons2is/
Regards
Joseph
lovely shot of the Spit from underneath Joe - excellent.
mind telling me what camera / lens & pulling power u were using ?
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