.

Flying Legends 2011 Photo Book

2012-01-23T21:34:00.002Z

The Flying Legends 2011 Photo Book is now available to overseas Friends and followers.

Visit Fighter Shop for details.

Friends of TFC 2012 Event Announcement

2012-01-16T21:51:00.000Z

Once again we invite you to an 'Evening with TFC' which will be held in Hangar No 2 at Duxford on Sunday the 11th March 2012 between 5 pm and 8 pm.

The event will be open to all Friends and their families at a reduced price . Others are welcome to attend at the full price.

The Evening will include a presentation by our guest speakers and a tour of the Collection by some of the Pilots, Engineers and Volunteers of The Fighter Collection.

This is your chance to get close to the aircraft and talk to the people who fly them and maintain them.The theme for the evening will be ' Hangar Flying and Development ‘. With a number of presenters including some surprises.

A hot buffet meal will be provided and after the presentations you will be able to tour the hangar and get a closer look at the fleet.

Friends of TFC benefit from a discounted admission price of £25 per ticket, while non members can still attend at a price of £27 per ticket to help cover expenses for the event;There will be no charge to enter the Museum to attend the event if arriving at 4.30pm. There are only a limited number of tickets available for this event, so book early to avoid disappointment.

How do I get my tickets for the 2012 Friends of TFC Event?

You can book online HERE or use the traditional post method. But remember we are limited on tickets so don’t delay.

Postage applications to :

Friends Events,

Friends of The Fighter Collection,

Imperial War Museum,

Duxford,

Cambs

CB2 4QR

You must include your membership number to qualify for the reduced rate tickets. Please indicate the number of tickets required. Cheques should be made payable to Friends of The Fighter Collection.

Eric Carter at TFC Today

2012-01-12T16:43:00.000Z

A couple of pictures taken today at Duxford during a break from filming the "The One Show" to be aired on BBC 1 at 19:00hrs Friday 13th January. The programme will include TFC Supermarine Spitfire MkXIV and Eric Carter with John Sargent.

The official bit - Included pictures copyright: The Fighter Collection 12/01/2012

Flying Legends 2012 30th June & 1st July first confirmation

2012-01-10T18:42:00.001Z

With December now a misty memory our thoughts are turning to the summer and the weekend of 30th June and 1st July.

The Fighter Collection are delighted to confirmthat The Manhattan Dolls will be making another trip from New York to entertainus all at Flying Legends 2012. The Manhattan Dolls will be performing to theFlying Legends visitors during the mornings of the 30^th Juneand 1^st July. More details later.

What a great way to start the year. Here is a picture of the Dolls at Duxford last year, thanks to Rob Scott who supplied the photo.

Happy New Year and a Competition Winner

2012-01-01T10:21:00.003Z

Friends of TFC wish all our Members and visitors a Happy New Year.

The 'guess the year' competition was won by Paul Taylor. The answer is 2000. Well done Paul, a copy of the Flying Legends 2011 Photobook will be on its way to you shortly.

FofTFC Christmas 2011 Competition

2011-12-27T22:50:00.003Z

We thought you might like a change from inventing different Turkey based meals.

Open to everyone except members of TFC and associates.

So with a fairly short video clip what we want for this competition is which Flying Legends year was this filmed at? There are some definitive clues if you look closely. Prize is a paperback copy of our Flying Legends 2011 book. Usual FofTFC competition rules. If more than one correct answer we will borrow Stephens bone dome and draw the ultimate winner.

Closing date is midnight GMT 31st Dec 2011. email answers with your name and address to Friends@fighter-collection.com with the subject line "FofTFC Christmas Competition"

Please include your name , email address, contact number and address.and the year you think the clip was filmed

Good luck

The video:

Friends of TFC -The Christmas Bit

2011-12-23T07:40:00.002Z

Wishing you all the very best for Christmas and a Happy New Year. Watch below for a short message from the volunteers at TFC and a chance to see our Spitfire Mk XIV during display, previously only available to Friends of TFC.

With much more planned for 2012 may we thank you all for your support and kind comments.

TFC Fiat CR42

2011-12-12T16:04:00.000Z

12 Dec 2012 Duxford, Hangar 2

photo credit and (c) Stuart

With a Little Help from Our Friends

2011-12-10T11:45:00.005Z

Regular visitors to our website and Blog will recognise Jessica, who for many years has supported us with our merchandising, both in front of and behind the camera.

In 2007 Jessica developed a serious illness and sadly withdrew from Friends and her other work and interests to concentrate on her recovery. Again regular visitors to the site and those of you who have The Friends Calendar, will see that Jessica is back with us this year after a long battle with her illness.

She was persuaded to write about her route to recovery and this January 2012, sees her book, a practical guide that will help you take control when faced with cancer, published and on sale. There has been a great deal of interest in her book and you may also have read about Jessica in various newspapers and magazines in recent weeks.

We wish Jessica great success with her book and hope you will direct friends, family and acquaintances to her website where you can pre-order her book. Just click here Jessica Richards

Legends 2011 Photo Book

2011-12-09T08:01:00.001Z

Just a reminder if you were thinking about buying this before Christmas we suggest you place an order before the 17th of December for UK delivery.

Help Planes of Fame - Now!

2011-12-07T23:44:00.001Z

A message from our Friends at Planes of Fame:

Planes of Fame needs your help to win a $50,000 grant!

This is amazing! We've made it to the final phase for theDecember Pepsi Refresh Grant! But we won't get it without you.

If you click on the link below, you will be directed to thePepsi Refresh project. If we get the most votes, the Museum will receive $50,000from Pepsi toward our Korean War Memorial.

http://www.refresheverything.com/koreanwarmemorialatplanesoffame

A Message to our overseas Friends of TFC

2011-12-05T21:39:00.001Z

We are still experiencing problems with our addressing and stamp printing facility supplied via Royal Mail. See HERE for a statement from Royal Mail. As you know Fighter Log is sent in clear polybags and this creates a problem when using old fashioned Stamps! We assumed the problems would have been rectified by now - they aren't and we are therefore in discussion to find a solution. In the meantime we hope you have been able to access and enjoy the online version of Fighter Log.

By tonight we will have the last remaining UK Fighter Logs despatched within the Royal Mail system. This has been a frustrating time and we do apologise again for the delay outside of our control.

Friends of TFC Calendar

2011-11-27T16:44:00.003Z

The Friends of TFC Calendar 2012 is now available. Price £3.50 inc p&p. Payment via Paypal to Friends@fighter-collection.com

Note to current non online members: Your copy will arrive with the latest edition of Fighter Log.

Fighter Log update

2011-11-23T22:42:00.001Z

At 22:40 on Weds Royal Mail re activated the ability to print stamps for Fighter Log (lost since Saturday). We apologise for a delay that was totally out of our hands.

(We are printing labels now!)

This means the next postings will take place on the 24/5th November - for UK Friends we will make this first class. Worldwide customers will be despatched over the week end.

Monday Teaser

2011-11-21T18:37:00.002Z

Fighter Log postal update

2011-11-20T18:16:00.001Z

Posting out of Fighter Logs is now continuing.

In the mean time do poke about the members pages as we have a few Fighter Log related goodies uploaded this weekend for you to enjoy.

Fighter Log

2011-11-20T09:02:00.002Z

The latest edition of Fighter Log is now available on line in the Members Area.

We also present - Flying Legends 2011 Photo Book

Fighter Shop

Friday Teaser

2011-11-18T09:28:00.001Z

There's only one Snafu!

Thanks to Jack Diaz for this stunning tribute to The Fighter Collection P-47 restoration.

Fighter Log

2011-11-15T07:36:00.000Z

The latest edition of Fighter Log is at the printers and will be distributed soon.

Remembrance Sunday at Duxford

2011-11-13T18:03:00.001Z

On an extremely busy Remembrance Sunday, the hangar fell silent as 11:00 was signalled by the sound of a gun fired in front of the control tower.

P-47 Video

2011-11-09T20:59:00.002Z

With thanks to the two Robs. There will be a longer version of this available to Friends of TFC on our member pages tomorrow.

A smiling face

2011-11-09T20:02:00.000Z

P-47 Engine Run

2011-11-09T16:05:00.002Z

P-47 Had a successful engine run today, congratulations to Team 47

TFC Website now fixed.

2011-10-29T15:32:00.001+01:00

You may have had trouble logging into the main TFC website recently. With a bit of help from ex TFC volunteer Ben we found the missing part , fixed it and all is running properly - thanks Ben!

More from Friends of TFC tomorrow.

TFC Corsair News

2011-10-27T23:33:00.001+01:00

You may have seen that our Corsair had an engine run on 26th October, the first for a couple of years.

Stuart escaped fron the stores to capture this smoky start and then this rather neat propellor study.

More news from FofTFC tomorrow.

Flying Legends 2012 Dates

2011-10-17T11:23:00.002+01:00

“ The FighterCollection are pleased to announce that Flying legends 2012 Air Show will beheld on Saturday 30^th June & Sunday 1^st July. Thisdate has been selected to de-conflict with Olympic Air Space restrictions andother major events in the UK. We can confirm that we will be reverting to ourusual July date in 2013. Flying Legends 2012 Tickets will be available on linein the very near future, and we look forward to welcoming you back to anotheroutstanding air show.”

TFC Spitfire at Duxford October Show

2011-10-16T15:10:00.000+01:00

Just the one picture for now - we thought you might like this one

Reappearance in Hangar 2

2011-10-05T13:28:00.000+01:00

More movements at Hangar 2 today:

Return from Goodwood

2011-09-18T20:41:00.000+01:00

Just a quick picture of our Spitfire MkVb and Mk XIV in a timeless scene on the ramp at Duxford after returning from Goodwood this evening.

Duxford September Show -TFC in action

2011-09-04T19:39:00.000+01:00

Well a glorious Saturday and Challenging Sunday. Good to meet up with many visitors and Friends in the mornings. Photo is of TFC Hawks, flown by Stephen,, Nick and Carl captured by Rob Scott on Saturday. Also flying were both the Spitfires and Nimrod. We will have a full photo report in the next Fighter Log which is currently in production.

Duxford Airshow 3 and 4th Sept

2011-09-01T23:52:00.000+01:00

We'll be there, Spitfires, Hawks, Nimrod and Staggerwing (subject to the usual serviceability stuff).

We should be about in the hangar with Airshow offers on Friends of TFC stuff - pleased to meet and chat about aeroplanes and the weather! Do drop in.

FofTFC Team

(and no we don't have that confirmation on the Flying Legends 2012 date yet!)

Flying Legends 2012 Update

2011-08-19T10:52:00.000+01:00

We promised to keep you updated on the date of Flying Legends 2012 - this is where we are at present (19/08/11):

"The dates for Flying legends 2012 will be announced soonest, further to detailed discussion and agreement with various parties Many thanks for your continued patience"

P40F and Bob

2011-08-03T19:57:00.000+01:00

Sun was shining at Duxford today and our Mk Vb Spitfire went up in the morning and then in the afternoon the newly arrived P 40F followed suit.

Here is one of our short videos of the P-40F. Don't forget to turn the sound up.

Flying Legends 2012 -update 2nd August

2011-08-02T19:27:00.000+01:00

Due to the protracted discussions being held with the Civil Aviation Authority regarding Olympic Airspace Restrictions please note that we are unable at this time to confirm the 2012 Flying Legends date. We will provide updated information on progress for you on a weekly basis.

We would appreciate that you do not call The Fighter Collection about the 2012 dates!

We will update information for you as soon as we can through our usual internet sites.

We thank you for your understanding on this.

Flying Machines DVD/Blu Ray Legends 2011 preview and offer

2011-07-20T23:25:00.000+01:00

Steve has just emailed us the link to a preview of Flying Machines TV DVD/Blu Ray for Flying Legends 2011. You can watch it

HERE

There is a special Friends of TFC offer available HERE Scroll down the page to find the FofTFC offer.

Update for Members of Friends

2011-07-12T12:10:00.001+01:00

We were delighted to see so many old and new Friends in our enclosure at the Flying Legends air show. Our admin team were busy all day renewing and providing new memberships. Due to this welcome increase in paperwork, there will be a longer than normal time before you receive membership cards etc. We will do our best to respond to any queries in the meantime.

If you are ordering merchandise online, there may be delay in processing your order while we re-stock.

Flying Legends and Holidays

2011-07-10T21:49:00.000+01:00

Again great to see many faces old and new today.

Big thanks to all who organised, fixed, and helped to make Legends a great event.

We are all a bit tired so "The Blog" will be having a break for a week or so while we recharge our batteries. We look forward to seeing all the amazing pictures you will no doubt be posting on the internet. There will be a Legends
Special in our September edition of Fighter Log.

Right now off for a shower and bed!

Legends Saturday and Sunday

2011-07-10T07:38:00.000+01:00

Good to see so many of you on saturday. All a bit hectic here at the moment but one from yesterday thanks to Brian Marshall.

Final, final post, just in

2011-07-08T20:55:00.000+01:00

Rob has sent these in from today, no comments , just a taste of the week end one and all.

Last post before Legends

2011-07-08T20:32:00.000+01:00

Last post before the week end.

As posted elsewhere it was a little breezy today so less practice displays than on a usual pre-Legends Friday.

We hope to see as many of you as possible over the week end.

The Friends Tent will be open and for those who haven't joined yet we have a show special on membership which of course includes free access to the Flightline walk.

Thursday Legends Preview

2011-07-08T07:40:00.001+01:00

A brief look at what was happening around the airfield on Thursday.

Thurs 7th July Update 1

2011-07-07T18:10:00.000+01:00

Another busy day at Duxford.

TFC Sea Fury, TF 51, Horsemen, Flying Bulls, Skyraider up and practicing, Sea Fury from France arriving along with two Fokker Dreidecker replicas from the UK which braved challenging conditions. Work continuing in the hangar with the P-40F.

Here are the Flying Bulls taxiing out:

We will have more information and video from today later on this evening.

Pictures from 6th July

2011-07-06T21:24:00.000+01:00

We said it was a busy day. Many thanks to Rob for these. Note this set (c) TFC/Rob Scott and may only be reproduced/linked/copied with permission.

Wednesday 6th July update 1

2011-07-06T19:58:00.002+01:00

We are pleased to announce that the Flying Bulls arrived at 18:00hrs at Duxford. Earlier in the day we welcomed the French Skyraider by air and Mike Carlson with his Fokker Triplane by road. The Horsemen arrived by Helicopter!

During the day the TFC Bearcat and Spitfire MkXIV both went up for practice.

The work on the P40 F continues apace.

Oh, and all UK Fighter Logs were despatched by first class post today. Link to online editionfor Members of FofTFC HERE

When the photos of today arrive here we will post them on the blog

Update on Today's Activity

2011-07-05T14:02:00.002+01:00

You may have read in the Sunday Express:

LET'S hope Ray Winstone is feeling as robust as the hard nuts he plays on screen when he will be clambering into the cockpit of a wartime fighter aircraft, the P-51 Mustang, for a flight to publicise this forthcoming weekend’s Flying Legends display at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire.

Ray has now completed his flight in Miss Velma.

5th July Morning Update

2011-07-05T10:07:00.001+01:00

The P-40B, P51 Miss Velma and the Sea Fury now out on the line. The Spitfire MkV will be having an engine run. More to follow.

P40 F pictures from this afternoon

2011-07-04T18:36:00.000+01:00

Many thanks to Brian Marshall for these two pictures from Duxford today.

P-51 Update

2011-07-04T17:13:00.001+01:00

Fragile but Agile has just taken off.

(update 17:40

,,and landed.

Sea Fury now warming up.

Now it is February's turn

2011-07-04T16:45:00.002+01:00

February - engine running at 16:40hrs.

We hope to have pictures later today but everyone is doing stuff at the moment!

Fragile But Agile update

2011-07-04T15:52:00.001+01:00

Engine Running at 15:30 hrs

P40-F arrives

2011-07-04T09:37:00.001+01:00

The P40-F has arried at DX this morning and will be unloaded later today from the container.

The week before Flying Legends 2011

2011-07-03T23:34:00.001+01:00

Sunday 3rd July.

A quick note on how we are going to play it for this coming week. We've been bowled over by the tremendous pictures and reporting on the forums by many of you. Brilliant stuff we have enjoyed looking at all of the pictures - Good Stuff. So we thought we would leave you to keep up the good work! This coming week the blog will provide news snippets as and when, with more extensive coverage from Wednesday onwards.

In the mean time a quick report on the weekend. The Bearcat and Hawk 75 have been up and about,

(photo Rob Scott)

We had a lot of visitors in the hangar as people fly in from around the world. It really is good to hear your thoughts and all the positive feedback is appreciated. Time might be a bit limited to socialise during this week though!

The rate of work continues with Team Hinton continuing apace and volunteers making sure the aircraft look the part for next weekend. Steve T and his team of engineers were also "doing stuff".

As if that wasn't enough we took the opportunity to update some of the pictures of our ever popular merchandise - so here is Sunday 3rd July 2011 in a minute.

July 1st Update No5

2011-07-01T17:33:00.001+01:00

Just when you thought it was over, Corsair 4FU from Meier Motors is now inbound as well. Hope you are all keeping track of what where and when!

(photo credit : Greg) Now tucked up in hangar.

July 1st Update No4

2011-07-01T15:38:00.000+01:00

...and here it is landing!

Friday 1st July Update no3

2011-07-01T15:26:00.002+01:00

Proving to be a busy day, TFC Bearcat has been up and about. Just in the circuit inbound to Duxford is Hispano Aviacion Buchon D-FMVS. More later.

(edit, Now landed)

Friday 1st July update No2

2011-07-01T11:24:00.000+01:00

The work continues (photos today courtesy of Greg at TFC)

Friday 1st July update No 1

2011-07-01T09:52:00.000+01:00

Just to keep you up to date with goings on today - A beautiful morning and team Team Hinton are on the case. P-51"February" out of the container and on the way to joining "Fragile but Agile".

(please acknowledge source if you use these pictures)

30th JUNE MAIN UPDATE

2011-06-30T19:34:00.003+01:00

OK, busy day around the Hangar today. Patrice brought the Hawk 75 back from Reims. The Baby Spit had a flight and the Hinton family started to build some Mustangs. More on that tomorrow along with some other news. So here we have a short video on building a P-51. (video reloaded at watchable quality)

Now the Other Box

2011-06-30T13:05:00.001+01:00

It's Time to Open the Boxes

2011-06-30T08:46:00.001+01:00

P-51 Fragile but Agile

Some updates to our Guide to Flying Legends pages

2011-06-29T20:07:00.000+01:00

29/06/11 Minor Update about the Red Arrows HERE

Hawk 75 off to Reims

2011-06-29T11:50:00.000+01:00

Just to keep you up to date and for those watching around the airfield. TFC Hawk took off this morning (Weds), caught here en-route to Reims. (photo Stuart Turnbull)

We hope to have some more information on arrangements and visitors to Flying Legends later on in our "Guide to Legends" pages on the main TFC website.

Test Flight

2011-06-27T16:09:00.002+01:00

Spitfire MkXIV returns from a test flight on this sunny day at Duxford.

Spotted out of the office window

2011-06-27T14:38:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Greg for spotting this arrival today from his office in TFC .

June Update

2011-06-25T16:15:00.000+01:00

Quick update with a couple of weeks to go until Flying Legends.

Over the next two weeks we will be updating the blog regularly with Airshow aircraft arrivals, the what is in the container stories, more pictures and video from in and around the hangar. All as it happens - no rumours, no guesses, just the real thing.

We have also just sent the latest Fighter Log to the printers. We delayed this issue so we could feature the P-47 roll out and a special visitor to the hangar last week. The plan is to mail it out in the week before Flying Legends. We love it when a plan comes together!

Our Harvard was up and about again on Friday and the Baby Spitfire had a successful test flight as well after re-installation of the engine.

Work continues elsewhere in the hangar - more on that in our next post.

A message from The Horsemen:

2011-06-16T15:21:00.000+01:00

“The Horsemen, are to fly the remaining 2011 air show season as a two-ship team with pilots Dan Friedkin and Ed Shipley. The Horsemen will continue to fly their precision, surface level aerobatic display using P-51 Mustangs and F8F Bearcats, plus a few surprises.

Team member Steve Hinton stated, "The Horsemen hold ourselves to an exacting standard of formation aerobatics. We all felt the three-ship's demanding off-season training goals needed more time to refine." Hinton added, "The team looks forward to getting the three-ship back in the air when the time and circumstances are right."

The missing man

2011-06-15T16:43:00.000+01:00

While everyone else in Team 47 was preparing for the roll out of Snafu on Monday Rob Gauld-Galliers was navigating his way back from La Ferte Alais in his Nieuport replica. As a result he missed out on the photo shoot Tuesday morning. To make amends here is Rob earlier this month - work in progress at that time.

P-47 ...and there is more - the video

2011-06-14T16:07:00.000+01:00

A big well done from all at Friends of TFC to Team 47. Also a big thankyou to all those who resisted the temptation to peak or upload any snaps. The guys wanted it to be just right and even organised the weather for today. We have added a small video of the P-47 from the last few weeks - just click HERE

Flying Legends 2011 Update

2011-06-14T15:49:00.000+01:00

SATURDAY GOLD PASS tickets have now SOLD OUT.

SUNDAY GOLD PASS tickets are still available, so don’t delay in buying your tickets!

P-47 Unveiled

2011-06-14T09:36:00.000+01:00

A beautiful sunny morning and TFC P-47 went for a breath of fresh air, Rob Scott was there to capture the moment.

More later.

...and there's more

2011-06-07T13:03:00.001+01:00

2nd container has now arrived so they won't be lonely now.

Spitfire XIV has had an engine run this morning and the Hawk 75 has arrived back from a little holiday in Czech Republic.

That is all for today, maybe.

Flying Legends Build Up

2011-06-07T08:47:00.003+01:00

Received today, a container for TFC. More to follow.

THE TFC Guide to Flying Legends has been updated

2011-05-31T20:15:00.000+01:00

A couple of updates on WiFi access and Flightline Walk arrangements have been added today Click HERE for the guide

TFC Flight Simulation Update

2011-05-28T08:33:00.002+01:00

The DCS: A-10 Warthog has been receiving incredible reviews from magazines and websites, typically "without doubt the best flight simulator ever released" . The DCS: A-10, available as a download since last year, is now available as a product and can be purchased on TFC site HERE

Flying Legends New Style Ladies T-Shirt

2011-05-23T21:40:00.004+01:00

Our new Flying Legends ladies style V Neck long sleeved T-shirt will soon be be available on the web site and at the Legends show in July.

Hawks at Duxford May Display -Pictures

2011-05-23T13:21:00.001+01:00

Stephen Grey enjoying The Fighter Collection's Curtiss Hawk 75

Pete Kynsey preparing for his display in The Fighter Collection's Curtiss P 40B Warhawk

Many thanks to Rob Scott for supplying the photographs

May Air Display at Duxford

2011-05-22T21:15:00.000+01:00

We'll have some pictures later on but just say it was great to see those of you who called in at the hangar today, especially those playing "find the P-47.

We ought to report that as the weather wasn't very Nimrod friendly we had the opportunity to display the P-40 as well as the Hawk.

Today was also the official launch of our latest diversification - The Ladies Collection of FofTFC clothing. Judging by the response in the hangar this will prove extremely popular over the summer months!

BREMONT & THE FIGHTER COLLECTION ANNOUNCE THE APPEARANCE OF “FRAGILE BUT AGILE” AT THE 2011 FLYING LEGENDS AIR SHOW

2011-05-18T14:46:00.001+01:00

BREMONT & THE FIGHTER COLLECTION ANNOUNCE THE
APPEARANCE OF “FRAGILE BUT AGILE” AT THE 2011 FLYING
LEGENDS AIR SHOW

Bremont Watch Company is very pleased to announce that it is extending its ongoing partnership with the Fighter Collection, and will become an Official Sponsor to The Fighter Collections “Flying Legends Airshow.”

Flying Legends is one of Europe‟s finest airshows and has become a by-word for flying excellence bringing together the most exotic historic aircraft and the world's best pilots for an amazing celebration of classic Warbird aircraft.Through a longstanding friendship with the Fighter Collection, Bremont developed a limited edition watch, namely the EP120, encompassing parts of the very Spitfire operated by the collection. This year Bremont will be launching the P51 watch, built utilising parts of the famous “Fragile but Agile” Mustang that was formally operatedby the Fighter Collection. Bremont are pleased to announce that “Fragile but Agile” will be shipped back from the US for the airshow in July to fly in the world famous“Horsemen” routine.

Giles English - founder Bremont “I have been a huge fan of The Fighter Collection for most of my life, both my brother Nick and I were born in Cambridge and used to watch our father fly in the Flying Legends air display as a child. It is wonderful that Bremont is now part of the airshow and that both EP120 and Fragile but Agile will be there.”

Jane Larcombe of TFC and Flying Legends said “ Bremont is a perfect partner for us as they have a
very strong aviation DNA and their wonderful aviation watches are very relevant to
our audience and to our pilots.”

All About: „FRAGILE BUT AGILE‟ – THE BREMONT P-51

Following on from the great success and interest generated by the arrival of the very special and unique EP120 limited edition watch back in late 2008, Bremont is releasing the Limited Edition „Bremont P-51‟, a chronograph chronometer built with original parts of the famous 1944 Mustang WWII aircraft P-51K-10 (serial number 44- 12016), a Pacific war veteran and also known as „Fragile but Agile‟.

Original aluminium metal from the aircraft fuselage is integrated into both the dial and the movement of the timepiece; with the dial itself inspired by the clocks found in the P-51 aircraft. The 43mm hardened steel Trip-Tick case using Bremont‟s B-EBE2000 technology integrates the new rotating „Roto-Click‟ inner bezel that houses four ball-bearings inside the case. As with many of Bremont‟s latest watch designs, the P-51 is assembled the company‟s atelier in England rather than their workshop in Biel-Bienne in Switzerland, and houses a modified Swiss BE-54A automatic chronometer movement that also shows UTC time. The watch will be limited to only 251 pieces and will retail at £7,450.00. The watch is to be first shown at Basel 2011 and released in autumn that year.
P-51K-10 (serial number 44-12016) rolled off the North American Aviation assembly line in Dallas, Texas, on 18 December 1944 and was then loaded on a ship on the 15th January 1945 for an assignment in the Far East. It was to take part in the American campaign to retake the Philippine Islands from the Japanese. On arrival in the Pacific Theatre of Operations, the aircraft was assigned to the 342nd Fighter Squadron of the 348th Fighter Group, which then was stationed at the San Marcelino airbase, just north of Manila Bay. Lt. Bert Lee Jr. was assigned to fly the aircraft. Lt. Lee was credited with two confirmed victories during the war, which accounts for the two Japanese flags painted below his name on the plane – one was a Japanese A6M “Zero” fighter near Manila and the other a twin-engine "Betty" bomber. A lot of his missions in the P51 were ground support, in what was then Indochina.

Lee and his Mustang both survived the war. Following its time in the US Air Force, „Fragile but gile‟ then spent time serving with both the Swedish and Israeli military before being overhauled and operated for many years by The Fighter Collection, based at Duxford in the UK. Recently, the Mustang was again treated to a major overhaul by Steve Hinton‟s Fighter Rebuilders at Chino, California having been acquired by the Friedkin Family‟s Comanche Fighter Collection.

The Bremont Watch Company is a British company that was started by brothers Nick and Giles English in 2002. They offer a range of highly developed aviation inspired timepieces of exceptional quality and high aesthetic value. All watches are built at their atelier in Switzerland.

Bremont had the honour of being awarded the Walpole Award for Best Emerging British Luxury Brand at the 2008 Walpole Awards for British excellence which took place in November 2008.

News from LockOn and TFC Flight Simulation

2011-05-13T21:02:00.001+01:00

The Virtual Red Arrows are pleased to announce that they have secured their first booking of the year for a live flight at the UK's biggest Flight Simulator Convention Weekend in May.

Some of the team will be at the event hosted at the Weston Super Mare helicopter museum in the UK.

We will be flying a live 9 ship show displayed at the event and streamed live on our livestream channel: http://www.livestream.com/vralive
12:00 GMT (Use Time Zone Converter to calculate your time)

The VEAO Typhoon will also be displaying live along with a demo of DCS:A-10C

If you're in the UK or visiting, please come along and meet the team and see the event.

For more details, please click here:
http://www.fscweston.co.uk/

P-47 All wrapped up

2011-05-06T16:50:00.000+01:00

Fighter Collection P-47 being wrapped up ready for ??

Flying Legends 2011 - Flyer

2011-05-04T10:29:00.006+01:00

Message for Friends of TFC Members

2011-05-02T18:21:00.002+01:00

A Message for Members of Friends of TFC - We've added some more archive video material from 1992-96 available through the link on the right hand side of the Members welcome pages.

Hawk 75 Test Flight and Video 29/04/11

2011-04-29T23:10:00.001+01:00

We are pleased to report on an extremely successful day for the Hawk 75.
Pete Kynsey found some gaps in the cloud today. There is a video report available to view at http://fighter-collection.com/hawk2011-video.html - we cannot post the video direct to the blog due to technical issues at present.

(Thanks from Fof TFC to Steve and Pete for help with video today)

Update: Members of Friends of TFC can watch the longer version through the Hawk link HERE

27/04/11 Engine Test

2011-04-27T21:47:00.000+01:00

With thanks to Brian who managed to avoid the noisy car stuff going on at Duxford

P-47 Update

2011-04-20T08:52:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Fred and all at Team P-47 for these latest pictures.

P-47 stands on it's own feet again

2011-04-18T16:26:00.000+01:00

The P-47 became an aeroplane today when it gained a propellor and sat on it's own wheels again.

Our resident man with a camera is on holiday but we hope to get some photos as soon as possible.

New Merchandise - Introductory Offer to Members

2011-04-18T11:54:00.003+01:00

We have introduced a ladies V Neck long sleeve T'shirt, white, with our famous indian head and Flying Legends logo. We are now taking advance orders at an introductory price exclusive to Friends. Here Friends Shop

Competition Time...again

2011-04-17T22:13:00.000+01:00

There's another chance to have a go at winning one of TFC's unique prizes in a new competition in the Members Area. Click Here to enter.

P-47 Update

2011-04-13T20:36:00.001+01:00

The prop has just arrived back from overhaul. Progress continues!

Mustang snarls

2011-04-03T21:09:00.000+01:00

What better way to spend a Sunday morning

The Friends of TFC Guide to Flying Legends 2011

2011-04-02T18:10:00.000+01:00

With just 97 days to go until Flying Legends 2011 we have launched our new guide to what is happening, where it will be and how to make the most of your week end. This is intended to help those visiting for the first time as well as the Legends veterans amongst you! We'll keep the link on the right active up to the event itself so you can always access the guide. For now you can also click HERE . We will be adding information on attending aircraft, people and some trivia too!

And The Winner is.................

2011-03-29T14:33:00.003+01:00

We had lots of correct entries for the March Members Area competition. The name drawn out of the 'bone dome' was Milena Farska. Well done Milena , your prize will be in the post shortly. The correct answers are: Harvard, Spitfire MkV, Bearcat, Staggerwing & Hellcat. There were so many entries we decided to add a bonus prize of 'No Time on the Ground' and the name picked out of the 'bone dome' from all the entrants was Les Bray. Les your prize will be in the post shortly.

March 28th Update

2011-03-28T21:31:00.000+01:00

Quick news update from the Hangar.

After the refitting of the engine to the P-47 as reported last week, undercarriage retraction tets commence. This week is possibly a propellor sort of week, come back for more updates on this.

The Hawk 75 went outside to blow the cobwebs out of the engine today.

At the weekend Volunteers were busy with ground equipment , the tow bar for the P-47 being a priority along with refurbishment of one of our GPU in readiness for the coming airshow season - good one Pete!

Our display screen is still running as well, We should have some updated material running - much to the relief of the engineers

P-47 News

2011-03-21T14:29:00.000Z

Monday and another day of action in the hangar with the arrival and fitting of the engine to the P-47, more on this in the next edition of Fighter Log.

In the hangar today - another exclusive

2011-03-20T19:19:00.001Z

Sunday 20th March - Friends of TFC are proud to unveil their new display screen. Visitors to the hangar today were able to see the exclusive preview of Flying Machines TV trailer for Flying Legends 2011. (see below). The screen was also running archive material of TFC and examples of TFC's flight simulation software.

Members Area Competition

2011-03-15T10:19:00.001Z

Just a reminder that this aircraft identity competition closes on 28th March, so there's still time to enter.

Message for Friends

2011-03-09T08:23:00.002Z

We noticed that a number of e mails we sent you recently failed to reach you. This is probably due to mail boxes being full. We also cannot reach a number of new On Line members with their access details due to mail boxes being full. Time for that spring clean!

2011-03-02T20:24:00.002Z

The Flying Bulls P-38 and Corsair will be at Flying Legends: 9th & 10th July, Duxford Airfield

The Fighter Collection are pleased to announce that the Flying Bulls will be making their first and only UK appearance at Flying Legends with their P-38L Lightning and F4U Corsair, more information and video of the P38L Lightning click HERE

P-38L "Lightning"

Photocredit: (c)Jay Miller/Red Bull Photofiles

Chance Vought F4U Corsair

Photocredit: (c)Cornelius Braun/Red Bull Photofiles

Tickets for Flying Legends 2011 can be purchased online at www.iwm.org.uk/duxford or by calling the box office on 01223 499 353.

Competition Time

2011-02-23T22:18:00.002Z

There's another chance to have a go at winning one of TFC's unique prizes in the new competition in the Members Area. Click Here to enter.

We Have a Winner

2011-02-21T17:40:00.002Z

The winner of the Friends competition in the Members Area is Rob Brindley. We had a number of correct entries and Rob's name was the first to be drawn from the 'bone dome'.

The correct answers are:
Harvard
Hawk 75
P-40B
Hawk 75
Corsair

The next competition will be announced soon.