Expensive engine Job

[G.Dawes]

Today I was at Headcorn and there were two spitfires and a ME109( Spanish Merlin Job) They were doing publicity filming.
The 109 was doing a low pass and pull up along the runway at 200+ and a zoom when there was a lot of black smoke and a horrible sounding engine missing, he zoomed up dropped the gear and came back on the reciprocal heading did a deadstick landing on 10 keeping it dead on the centreline pulling just off and stopping clear, beside me. There was a lot of oil down the cowling. The audience clapped him It was a brilliant landing as those were not the best planes at keeping straight with fan going.
I do shudder at the forthcoming cost though probably £30000 just to take the donkey out and check and ten times that to rebuild the Merlin and prop .

[G.Dawes]

I heard today that there was a rod through the side of the case, even more expensive now.