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By: - 26th April 2005 at 10:37 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
RIP :(
By: - 26th April 2005 at 12:07 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
The Black Spit in flight over the IAF museum, yesterday, dedicated to the man who ordered keeping it in Israel and in flying condition. Ezer Weizman also flew the Spit until 1973.
Sorry for the size.
By: - 26th April 2005 at 12:11 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I tried, in vain, to hunt down the photo of '57' in flight with an F-15 to post up here.
By: - 26th April 2005 at 13:03 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Here you go.
The Black Spit and an F-15 on the cover of the Israeli air force bulletin in 1994.
http://www.iaf.co.il/sip_storage/files/3/19963.jpg
By: - 26th April 2005 at 13:05 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
That's the one (only without the text - it was posted on here by I do not know whom).
Thanks
By: - 26th April 2005 at 16:24 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Great looking plane...nice to see he had the foresight to keep it restored and in flying order for the future...
Mark
By: - 27th April 2005 at 09:41 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
take a look in the middle
http://www.iaf.org.il/Templates/Gallery/Gallery.aspx?lang=EN&folderID=68&subfolderID=648&position=26
By: - 27th April 2005 at 10:14 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
TE554/Black 57
HauntedSea
A very nice shot.
It also graces the front cover of Bill Norton's book 'On the edge - A history of the Israel Air Force and its Aircraft since 1947'. Expensive but in depth.
Mark
Photo credit: Israeli Air Force official
By: - 27th April 2005 at 11:47 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
A quick look in to 'Spitfire Survivors' shows this Spitfire was delivered in May 1945 so is now exactly 60 years old. Is this the only Spitfire to have remained in airworthy condition since manufacture and has never been through a major re-build?
By: - 27th April 2005 at 12:43 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
. Is this the only Spitfire to have remained in airworthy condition since manufacture and has never been through a major re-build?
Some might include MH434 in that category but I guess you would have to define 'major re-build'.
A total rivets up restoration ?
Mark
By: - 27th April 2005 at 13:50 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi Mark, thanks and yes I should have said excluding MH434 as it has at least had a major refurbishment (perhaps not as far as a ground up re-build but major work nontheless).
By: - 27th April 2005 at 14:15 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi Mark, thanks and yes I should have said excluding MH434 as it has at least had a major refurbishment (perhaps not as far as a ground up re-build but major work nontheless).
Just a couple of years ago there was a fear that the Black Spit would never fly again, as due to its old age it became risky to fly, but it was decided to put it in a rather long overhaul. However, other than that, this plane flew for long years before needing any major repair and it is one of the few if not the only Spitfire that remained in flying order since it was manufactured until today.
By: - 27th April 2005 at 14:38 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I suspected as much - thanks Erez :)
By: - 27th April 2005 at 15:15 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Wow, a beautiful machine that I had not seen decent pictures of before. Since we have had Israel's F15 over here for airshows, maybe it could be tempted over for Legends some day?
Which gets me thinking, it would look fantastic in formation with the silver Dutch Spitfire and the green Irish one, a flypast of 'export' Spits in highly distinctive liveries. Are there any other flyable examples in exotic colour schemes, or plans to restore one into a foreign scheme?
By: - 27th April 2005 at 15:28 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Total time
I don't know exactly how many hours this machine has flown but I suspect that it is relatively few in any one year and there have been times when it has been 'down' for some period. The civilian contractors who maintain it went deeper than ever previously in the last round of maintenance following the x-ray procedure of another 'friendly military operator'.
I have a copy of the aircraft logbook from July 1955, the end of its military service, and total time on the airframe was 486 hours. I doubt that its got more than 1000 hours total by now even 50 years on.
The Israelis have always been very protective of the hours flown and selective of the very few pilots that have flown it.
Renown test pilot Danny Shapira, who was the sole pilot for many many years, once told me that he always advised everybody what a tricky little aircraft it was to fly and winked.
Well he would say that wouldn't he?
Mark
By: - 27th April 2005 at 15:39 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
One for Will (taken from www.militaryairshows.net)
By: - 27th April 2005 at 16:24 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I don't know exactly how many hours this machine has flown but I suspect that it is relatively few in any one year and there have been times when it has been 'down' for some period. The civilian contractors who maintain it went deeper than ever previously in the last round of maintenance following the x-ray procedure of another 'friendly military operator'.I have a copy of the aircraft logbook from July 1955, the end of its military service, and total time on the airframe was 486 hours. I doubt that its got more than 1000 hours total by now even 50 years on.
The Israelis have always been very protective of the hours flown and selective of the very few pilots that have flown it.
Renown test pilot Danny Shapira, who was the sole pilot for many many years, once told me that he always advised everybody what a tricky little aircraft it was to fly and winked.
Well he would say that wouldn't he?
Mark
Actually it's only flying during the holidays, so it doesn't have a lot of flying hours in its history.
It also flew yesterday over Ezer Weizman's tomb in the end of his funeral, very low and in two circuits, following some F-16s. Since it is Passover it's also flying every day over the IAF museum. I hope to be there in friday.
By: - 27th April 2005 at 17:40 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Get some photos, if you can (pretty please!). This is one Spit I can safely say I can't get enough of! :)
By: - 27th April 2005 at 17:43 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Is this the only Spitfire to have remained in airworthy condition since manufacture and has never been through a major re-build?
I would think PM631 would be another that fits this specification.
Mark
By: - 27th April 2005 at 18:55 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Get some photos, if you can (pretty please!). This is one Spit I can safely say I can't get enough of! :)
I'll do my best, if I'll manage to get there ;)
Posts: 10,029
By: Mark12 - 26th April 2005 at 10:32
'The Times' of London, today 26 April, dedicates 1.2 complete pages to an obituary to Ezer Weizman, the President of Israel who died on 18 April.
A Sergeant Pilot in the RAF flying Spitfires in WWII, he went on to become C in C of the Israeli Air Force, having a special Spitfire, painted black, as his personal machine.
'Black 57' was preserved and is still maintained in flying order. It is of course well known to current enthusiasts.
Never an easy aircraft to photograph in black, here is a shot in the setting sun at Hatzerim on 11 December 1989. I was particularly pleased with this shoot as a heavily cropped image of this particular shot made the cover of September 1990 'Flypaper', and it is rare to get a ground shot on the cover.
Mark