Historic Aircraft.qxp_GAB Master LEFT 11/03/2022 16:18 Page 3
There are several shipping lines from South Africa to the UK every week so by the time the sale closes and the documents are all in place, you can book a ship for about two weeks later. Or, if you’re running late, you can nearly always slide the booking to the next ship. So, you shouldn’t ever actually ‘miss the boat’! Most major ports in the world have similar availability. Once it’s all loaded, the doors are shut and locked with a ‘seal’. This has a unique serial number on it which is noted. Then the container is picked up (literally) and put back on the trailer and driven to the port a few days before the sailing date for loading on the ship.
Transit Time
Transit to the UK changes from voyage to voyage (as with trains, some make more scheduled stops than others) but it ranges from three to four weeks between Durban and the UK. Transit times for other parts of the world obviously vary. The east coast of the USA from London for example can be as quick as 14 days. The west coast, more like 30 days. The shipping company, still liaising with the sales company, will have an in-country customs broker ready for the import who will have all the documents ahead of the arrival time and they will take care of the import customs clearance. Within a couple of days of the ship arriving it will be back on a truck and heading to the final delivery address for unloading. The buyer (as the customer) should have to do very little indeed during any of this process — it should all be part of the overall service if the sales company is experienced in these steps.
Unloading
The maintenance company is usually the place of choice to unload the aircraft. The packing should have included a packing list, a Load Plan and photographs. This way, the arrival will all be a known quantity in terms of an extraction plan. Obviously there is then a work-scope for reassembly, registration and certification ready for flight which the buyer will have been made aware of in the buying stages as part of the planning. As with most things in aviation, a smooth journey ahead should be preluded by the law of the ‘Six P’s’ aka ‘Prior Planning & Preparation Prevents Poor Performance’. Actually most pilots refer to the ‘Seven P’s’ but I obviously can’t write the missing word in a publication! In conclusion: finding an aircraft, and with that, the best example of what you’re looking for, will often need to include looking further afield than your country’s shores. But in the right hands, with the right resource (and never forgetting half a dozen Ps), it can (and should) be a really exciting and interesting experience and forms part of the adventure of aviation that we all love. For aviation is nothing if it is not about getting out in the world and exploring. The team at TASC Vintage has been hands-on connected with some 500+ aircraft transactions. Many of which involve aircraft, buyers, and sellers from all four corners of the planet. If you are looking for that one special vintage aircraft or warbird, please contact TASC Vintage for advice and support.
2 x ME108
For information on owning a warbird or a vintage aircraft, please contact
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More Details about ‘ME108 FOR SALE’! The official build date is 1951, although data plates on components are all 1940s. Some say Nord just assembled the German-made components —which is supported by all the part numbers having the Luftwaffe format. She spent most of her life in the USA as N108J, as part of the Champlin fighter collection. The owner re-engined with a Lycoming in the ‘70s so she could be a reliable everyday aircraft.
£225,000 ■ Lycoming O540 E4A5 20 hrs TT. ■ New Paint in the authentic schemes. ■ Owned by an enthusiast for the last 20 yrs. ■ All totally rebuilt with new Lycoming engines for practicality.
She was flown for years on the air show circuit for me by test pilot Dan Griffiths, and he loves it. He used to tell me, “It’s 90 percent of the fun of a Spit for five percent of the money!” I’ve had her since ‘98, and she’s pretty much been continuously flying since then — apart from a couple of years where she needed an engine overhaul, triggering a meaningful cash call. My co-owner took a year to address the situation, eventually selling me his half so I could crack on solo. The engine overhaul then took about six months. More recently, during Covid, I had her on GRO as the airshows dried up and I focused more on my rotary flying. In short, I think she’s 3,000ish hour TT but she’s only got about 40 hours on a new engine (from
£225,000
WIR SPRECHEN DEUTSCH - ASTRID AYLING: +44 (0)208 549 5024 - Astrid@avbuyer.com
Gama Aviation). I think the prop was new at the same time. She’s pretty much been exclusively looked after by Clive Denney at Vintage Fabrics, who also whips her around the odd airshow and again totally loves her. Panel-wise she’s modern radio and transponder with a bit of a dated Garmin GPS. About a year ago she had a new coat of paint by Peter Medley at Flying Colours and a bit of an interior refresh. She’s pretty tidy. Had some lovely adventures in her, she’s taken me to Malta three times for the airshows, then did six weeks in Sardinia with her on a film. You certainly get attention wherever you go! People say someone usually has to die before one comes available — that’s certainly how I purchased her and if you look at average length of ownership, you’ll see people just don’t let them go. Lyndsey Walton had one I think he kept for 30 years. I’m kind of breaking that rule (I hope). I have a second aircraft, G-OTME, that I’ve just done an identical engine conversion on.
www.europlanesales.com
APRIL 2022 HISTORIC AIRCRAFT EUROPE 51
