P1B April Newsletter

There are projects that move with noise and spectacle and then there are the ones that advance quietly, piece by piece, driven by persistence, luck, and the occasional well-timed detour!

Project P1B sits firmly in the latter category. Progress isn’t always obvious from the outside, but behind the scenes there’s a steady rhythm: conversations, recoveries, unexpected finds, and the kind of small victories that, over time, build something rather special.

This is one of those updates.

What’s happening?? Well, behind the scenes quite a lot. Now that we have safely got our wings under cover at the RAF Manston Museum, our next big event is to get the fuselage moved. Once that’s in situ we can mate the two together.

In early April the team embarked on the Anika Rice challenge - a round Britain whizz… well, round Lincolnshire. Anika was sadly busy that week so it was a solo mission. There was a lot to pack in, with the cost of diesel more than a 5-star cognac, planning was meticulous.

First stop was a meet-up with one of aviation’s true legends… Anthony Parkinson - known as Parky to one and all. About 3 months ago he contacted me and asked if he could help Project P1B. I knew he made some extremely good wooden aircraft models - they are massive - and I wondered if we could get one done of P1B. I supplied him a few images and, crucially, the design of our pin badge logo.

Parky contacted me a couple of times with a few questions and by end February he said it’s ready! I tried to combine a few other commitments and headed into deepest, darkest Lincolnshire - in fact so deep I was in Woodhall Spa.

Pulling up to Chateau Parky I was greeted by the man himself and offered a brew. We chatted for a good hour about “ze good old days” when we flew Phantoms in Germany - we both flew exchange tours and both flew the Tornado F3. Parky, a tad younger than me, also flew the Typhoon and is now one of the world’s highest-hour Spitfire pilots, the ultimate gentleman fighter pilot.

After boring each other to death Parky asked if I wanted to see the model? Well, I confess I almost blubbed. The model was huge and utterly stunning in every detail. Not only had Parky built a massive P1B perfect in every detail, he had also made a fantastic Union Jack Lightning flash base to display her on at any angle - it’s utterly superb and will take pride of place at Goodwood. We are all extremely grateful.