My Dad flew the Seafury in Korea, from HMS Theseus. He was shot down, 90 miles behind enemy lines, trapped in the aircraft for 2 hours and then rescued by two very brave Americans, who were awarded Military Crosses. He recovered from his injuries, but was paralysed in one leg, yet managed to stay flying in the Royal Navy, retiring eventually as a Captain.
I'm no aviator, but I'm British and I have to say I got a lump in my throat as i saw her take to the sky once more. A great story of a great aircraft - many thanks to all those who are taking such good care of her.
Absolutely Superb! What a Great Guy and GREAT plane!! I really felt I was testing the plane with him! Keep up the good work and ABSOLUTELY "Well done" from the UK
It is amazing to see all the little details and complexities of these machines... and to watch someone who knows not only all these little complexities, but how to make things better is simply poetry in motion.
Beautiful. Thank you to Ken and to all the keen American flyers, who look after so many restored British aircraft like this. It's lovely to see them. Sadly in the UK too few of our great aircraft get preserved (can you believe, no-one has saved & restored a Concorde ?)
Excellent video. Really enjoyed the whole thing. What a great airplane. Congrats all around for your thousands of hours of hard work and your co-volunteers.
What an Airplane, I was working in Toowoomba Qld and saw Guido Zuccoli's Sea Fury "Baghdad Express" VH-HFG often take off or land over our workshop opposite the Airport...Unforgettable sight and sound. We done on your resto.
Beautiful and perfect test flight execution - I was in flight test for many years, and this shows the flight test professionalism that is required, and expected, from taxi tests, and squawk corrections, to high speed taxi tests to rotation and flight, with two chase aircraft observing - the only real difference is that this aircraft did not have the benefit of flight test downlink telemetry, and chase wasn't a pair of T-38's (wink wink) . The USAF did not entrust the F-117 Wobblin' Goblin black jet, either test or operational, to anyone but the best. Kudos, many happy hours behind the stick.... just lovely.
You Sir and your family have done a great job and I I have enjoyed your videos thank you for your time and hard work to the beautiful plane you have shared with the community.
Congrats on this achievement. It must be appreciated that Considerable effort and financial commitment is necessary to get a classic a/c like this back in the air. It does not seem like a simple aircraft. .. note the owners detail on the gear switches..."wired in parallel"...Wow that's a reflection of required knowledge to own and maintain. Many believe that the Fury is the ultimate piston powered a/c so we understand your choice!
Oh Wow! Can't believe nobody has commented. I first fell in love with Sea Fury's in 1986 at Reno when the Sanders won the Unlimited Gold. I've had a signed (by the artist and Sanders Family) print framed on my office wall of Dreadnought for many years. It is great to see such a detailed account of another fine AC flying again! Will watch this one again I am sure.....and pass along to many other enthusiasts.
Aside from a couple hiccups, that looked like it was a fantastic first flight after restoration. I'm not as into the Sea Fury as some folks I've met, but I really just enjoy hearing those big radials and love to see (and hear) WW2 war birds in the air.
It is said that envy is one of the seven deadly sins but so be it. I love the sound of those big radials. Never had the privilege of being in aviation but I do love it from the ground. I know the sound of a radial from inside my house. I know when one is flying nearby. Found an old P & W R2800 years ago in a junk yard. Got a cylinder off if it and made my brother-in-law a table lamp out of it mounted on a cherry hardwood base with a brass ID plaque on it. Gave it to him for Christmas. He was/is a B17, B25 & B26 buff.
Kudos to the aircraft designers of that era--they literally found the upper limit of propeller-driven aircraft! Even today's turboprops w/ carbon-fiber airframes and CFD-tweaked wings can't catch these sleek fighters of yesteryear.
Oh man...LMAO! I feel bad now...I was flying that Piper Archer behind you guys on the taxiway...what are the odds of that??? We thought you guys were taking a while and now I know why! IT WAS ITS FIRST FLIGHT! Sorry guys! I would have been more patient if I knew this!
for info. the picture featured at 19:06 - My dad has that picture and he thinks (TBC) he took it? He may still have the negative... he's going to take a look and also see if he has anymore of this A/C. He flew as a passenger from RNAS Culdrose in this A/C in 1952 over the wreck of the Flying Enterprise that floundered January 10th.
Two things might of happened on gear not locking quickly. They either did not charge (nitrogen) the hydraulic accumulator, or the accumulator leaked during the flight. The gear went down on just hydraulic juice only, not good. Modern airliners charge the accumulators automatically with apu air pressure.
Landing gear issues for this plane should be similar to the Hawker Typhoon/Tempest. I have seen RAF training film for aircraft fitter maintenance of the gear, microswitches and associated hydraulics. They did extensive ground testing of the aircraft while it was suspended on jacks to prove the proper up and down landing gear operation. Maybe those films (which are on RU-vid) could help you; who better than the guys who maintained these birds in war time to show you the way?
Can you put solid spars in the wings? They would have to be custom made, but it would solve the problem. It might also solve the problem of anyone trying to restore F6F hellcats and Corsairs. It wouldn't be historically correct, but keeping these old birds flight worthy is more important than that!
Outstanding! Everyone thoroughly deserves their happy faces. What I don't know about Sea Furies would fill a library, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and imagine that SOP for lowering the undercarriage is *not* select "Down", then yaw left/right to get green lights? Just kidding. Even I know it's not SOP.
I would love to see a comparison between the Sea Fury VS Corsair VS Hellcat VS Bearcat in the category of multirole strike fighter or Fighter/Bomber. I suspect it will be between the Sea Fury and the Corsair but maybe not.
Chances are 4 blade prop maybe more suitible gor owner's intended flying versus naval carrier combat demands. Extra blade equals greater speed, but also fuel flow increases every turn of that blade. Owner doesnt need the speed. He prefers gas savings and increased range.
To see if an accumulator is leaking use a bottle of nitrogen, hose, high pressure gauge, and a goose neck adapter. Fill the accumulator with the proper amount of nitrogen; then use snoop leak detector or just dish-washing soap and water all over the accumulator. If the accumulator is old, it is probably leaking someplace.
🇦🇺 thank you for keeping them flying. There is a RU-vid clip of about 12.5 minutes showing RAN sea furies being waved to the keeper on our tiny ex ww2 carrier in the run up to Korean War. We may not have made it that year but at least the panel beaters had work. I remember being driven past a scrap yard in the late 50s piled high with sea fury fuselages. This was a time when the Australian governments killed our aviation industry while at the same time volunteering us into any imperial wars that happened to on the boil - anti 'communist' that is.
