Spitfire moved

Press, 29 February 1984, Page 3

Spitfire moved

The landing gear was lowered for the last time on Spitfire TE 288 at Harewood yesterday. The 1945 Mark 16E Spitfire has been mounted on a

plinth outside the Brevet Club in Memorial Avenue for about 20 years. In this time it has been brought down for maintenance twice, in 1968 and in 1975. Its owner, the Brevet Club, has given the Spitfire to the R.N.Z.A.F. Museum at Wigram. In return, the R.N.Z.A.F. has agreed to build a fibreglass replica of the aircraft, to be mounted

in its place. Among those there to watch the final landing yesterday morning were a former wartime Spitfire pilot, Mr John Checketts.

“It was a lively thing,” Mr Checketts said. “Both the performance and handling made it a nice aircraft to fly.” Another person interested in yesterday’s activities was Mr Stephen Durney. Mr Durney was a corporal at Wigram when TE 288 arrived at Lyttelton in the ship Cumberland and was taken to Wigram for reas-

sembly. As an aeroplane fitter he was involved in the job. Yesterday he helped serveicemen from the Air Force to move the aircraft. The aircraft was taken to an Air New Zealand hangar to be dismantled before its journey to Woodbourne air base. There, volunteers from the Friends of the Museum Society will work on the replica. The job is expected to take at least three months, depending on the temperatures. Fibreglass cannot be worked in temperatures that are too cold.