P1B June Newsletter
Number 9... Number 9... Sorry, I'm a lifelong Beatles fan. If you know, you know.
I know I say this every month, but thank you! Restoring a 1950s Mach 2.0 Cold War fighter is not for the faint-hearted. But - and it's a massive "but", in the words of P. Diddy - it's worth doing, and every one of you can take credit for playing a part.
Thanks from all of us at Callsign Collective. I reckon some of you might even be up for a New Year's award. A gong, perhaps...
On the personal thanks list, who do we have?
John the Rocket Polisher and his sidekick David - great work this month as ever.
Some of our sponsors: MRA, who are just the best, with the best driver, Ian. I still think we can do a sequel to Thomas the Tank Engine called Ian the Truck Driver.
Rustins, our polish suppliers. Jet Art Aviation for help and advice. And our newest helpers, Aces High Gallery. Caroline, you have been a star!
Who else? Simon from The Aviation Bookshop, Steve Goodwin who's been a big help, and now a few people who are on the naughty step...OK, I won't name them, but be sure that we know where you live and we will find you and hunt you down...
Oh, I almost forgot Mike from Aircrew Interview and Steve from 10 Percent True. Links below
Lots, actually.
We've spent hours looking at clock springs. (I've spell-checked that and it's definitely correct.) One of us had the bright idea that we should do a limited-edition P1B watch... and we will, but it needs to be 100% right.
With more springs than a watchmaker's window, we have put the idea on ice for a while as we focus on getting match-ready for Goodwood. We still need to contact Winnie Baygo for accommodation (!) I have visions of Barbara Windsor and Sid James in Carry On Camping.
As we said in our last newsletter, May was a big month. Apart from being my birthday - and yes, you can buy me a coffee on the links page ;) (jokes) - it was D-Day, or rather P-Day, for moving the P1B.
Thanks to Giles and Julian, who got the old girl out of the barn, (not a euphemism!) It was then up to Ian and MRA to get her to RAF Manston.
The museum have been utterly amazing, and John and Jeneane are definitely on our Christmas card list. Moving a big fighter is not easy, and Ian is the master. Not a scratch, so well done all round.
Once in its warm, pigeon-free hangar, Rocket John - or John the Rocket Polisher - got to work. I have a feeling that was his nickname at school.
So it's once again time to make a brew if you're in the least bit normal and don't want to hear the next part.
When the P1B was put into the RAF Museum around 1970, clearly they had lots of manpower and she was buffed up nicely. Some frankly bloody idiot decided to keep her shiny and thought it would be a good idea to cover her in varnish.
I can well imagine some corporal saying:
"Bloggs, go down to stores and get ten gallons of boat varnish."
And so the saga began.
Covered in a thick, sticky goo, the varnish got harder and harder and then, after a decade or two, decided to go yellow.
Nothing really worked.
Rich now has a serious lung condition and the P1B nearly beat us.
We tried dry ice, but that was more expensive than Nicola Sturgeon's husband's weekly shop.
So it became a really slow, painstaking job to get the varnish off without causing any damage.
To cut a very long and very dull story short, we are making progress.
The nose is a work of art and the fuselage is now looking like it did in 1958.
And crucially, we have kept all the original stencils and paint. We don't want it looking like a museum piece.
Polishing a Lightning is a bit like milking a lama. You need to rub very, very gently so you don't take too much metal off.
