Restoration of Indian Air Force Tempest II MW376 is
to be completed in New Zealand by Pioneer Aero at Ardmore.
The last remaining genuine Sopwith Dolphin, C3988,
is now on show at the RAF Museum, Hendon. The aircraft has been
recreated by the RAF Museum from parts obtained from a number of
sources including Doug Bianchi and the Shuttleworth Trust. The original
Hispano-Suiza engine came from New York.
The following is taken, abridged, from Sir James Dyson’s website…
I am fascinated by ideas that seem impossible. A vacuum without a bag. A bridge without supports. A jet that jumps into the air. We’ve actually got one of those sitting in the car park of Dyson’s HQ: The Harrier Jump Jet (a repaired crashed GR9). It sits there as an inspiration to Dyson engineers, but also as a reminder of what happens when you lose your resolve.
Harrier is one of Britain’s greatest technological achievements and yet, through what can only be described as a lack of vision, we are out of the Harrier business and have even divested ourselves of our fleet, at rock-bottom prices. It was recently revealed that the Ministry of Defence had sold 74 Harriers to the U.S. at a drastically low price. Having recently undergone a £600M overhaul the like-new aircraft were sold for £112M.