[JETFAN]

Re the comment on the "Vintage Pair"; the Vampire in question was a two-seat Vampire T-11. Both it and the Meteor T7 were operated by the Central Flying School. For many moons, back in the late 1960s, a Vampire V (N41J) was flown out of Long Beach, CA painted all-white. Later, it was around for a while based at Mojave spuriously painted as a Royal Navy FOFT "Admiral's Barge". This was artistic license as the real thing was a two-seat Vampire T-22, the RN version of the Vampire T11.
I also saw it in grey/green camo with No. 6 Sqdn's "Can opener" emblem on the tail. There was also an airworthy all-white Meteor NF11 and a Hunter Mk 4 based at Mojave.I once asked the owner of the Meteor why it was painted white and he said it was an attempt to keep it cool in the desert heat as it was so hot under the big cockpit canopy and no air conditioning pack. The Meteor did appear at a number of air shows around CA. I've no idea what happened to them all.

[Nimrod48]

Originally Posted by JETFAN

Re the comment on the "Vintage Pair"; the Vampire in question was a two-seat Vampire T-11. Both it and the Meteor T7 were operated by the Central Flying School. For many moons, back in the late 1960s, a Vampire V (N41J) was flown out of Long Beach, CA painted all-white. Later, it was around for a while based at Mojave spuriously painted as a Royal Navy FOFT "Admiral's Barge". This was artistic license as the real thing was a two-seat Vampire T-22, the RN version of the Vampire T11.
I also saw it in grey/green camo with No. 6 Sqdn's "Can opener" emblem on the tail. There was also an airworthy all-white Meteor NF11 and a Hunter Mk 4 based at Mojave.I once asked the owner of the Meteor why it was painted white and he said it was an attempt to keep it cool in the desert heat as it was so hot under the big cockpit canopy and no air conditioning pack. The Meteor did appear at a number of air shows around CA. I've no idea what happened to them all.

I saw the Vintage Pair circa 1973 at a display at Waterbeach airfield in Cambridgeshire I was captivated by the ghostly sound of the Goblin power plant in the Vampire....such a shame so few seem to have been preserved.