After an absence of 15 years, a one-day airshow in Prescott, Arizona was organised by local enthusiasts. Perhaps reflecting a certain rustiness of organisational skills, they omitted to tell anyone what aircraft would be flying, apart from a few aerobatic planes and the rarely-seen high performance Cold War F-104 Starfighter jet. Armed with this lack of knowledge, I made the nearly 600 mile (960 kilometer) round trip from southern California in the hope of seeing this one aircraft, but it was not to be - the Starfighter wasn't able to come because of mechanical problems. However, one of the many unannounced aircraft quickly filled the Starfighter's shoes, a British-built Hawker Sea Fury in Royal Australian Navy colours.
British aircraft aren't too common at American airshows, so it was a real treat to also see this Spitfire flying. Unfortunately, it's a replica rather than the real thing, but it sure looks like an authentic Mk IX. The engine isn't the classic Merlin or Griffon, instead it's an American Allison engine of the type that powered the P-40 Warhawk, and the propeller is from a DC-3 Dakota!
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