The forward belly skin is now complete. With so many access panels and various other openings that had to be cut out and reinforced, it took slightly longer than anticipated to complete. On Saturday, December 4, team member Dave McLeod was preparing this skin for painting so that it can be riveted in place on the fuselage. The cockpit area was also being prepared for paint. Harold Mulder was taping and masking so that the interior green can be applied. The cockpit paint should be completed in the next few days.

Dave McLeod is holding the completed belly skin, the old pattern piece is alongside on the hangar floor. One can see the number of access and plumbing holes clearly in the newly fabricated skin. The forward skin should be riveted to our fuselage once the interior side has been completly painted. This is the final belly skin.

With Remembrance Day ceremonies still fresh in our minds just a few weeks ago, the Y2K restoration hangar was pleased to have a visit from the Aspen Road Middle School on November 15. This grade 7 class from the Comox Valley made its annual visit to our hangar. We are always pleased to show them our project and share with them some true Canadian aviation heritage. The class spent about 45 minutes in the hangar. Duke Warren (Retired W/C and former Spitfire pilot 165 and 66 Squadron RAF ) was on hand and shared some of his very interesting World War II stories with the students. The class, as always, asked some very interesting questions. It was indeed a pleasure to host this group of young Canadians and we look forward to seeing them again. The hangar can always be opened for special tours for students or other groups, call ahead and let us know so that we can schedule a tour guide.

Harold Mulder is masking off the fuselage aft of frame 12. Interior Cockpit Green will be applied over the next few days. Harold is carefuly masking off the area that will wear this standard British interior colour.

We apparently experienced a glitch with regards to our email address over the past few months, this problem has now been corrected. Evidently we were not receiving some of our email from the web site so if you emailed us and did not receive an answer, that’s the reason why. We believe we have tracked down all the missing communications and have answered them. If you have yet to receive an answer from us then please try again. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Plans for our 5th Annual Open House next May are well underway. We plan to outdo our last four events and that’s going to be tough! We will have several Spitfire vets in attendance so stay tuned to our web site for further announcements with regards to this big annual event. We also want you to mark this date down on your calendar. The annual 19 Wing Comox Air Show, will be the first weekend in August 2005. It should be the best ever and we plan to have our Spitfire on display near the flight line. We shall announce all special events on this site or, check the Comox Air Force Museum’s site at www.comoxairforcemuseum.ca

The students and teacher from Aspen Road Middle School visited the Y2K Spitfire Hangar on November 15th as part of there Remembrance Day studies. This is an annual event for the school and the Y2K restoration team encourages all schools to remember the sacrifice that was made for the freedom we all enjoy today. Former W/C and Spitfire veteran pilot, Duke Warren, shared stories about his WW II experiences.

Don’t forget our aviation related fundraising items for your Christmas gift list. We have many quality items that would make a great gift for that aviation fan in your family. Wee have:   hats, t-shirts, gift cards, prints, pilot profiles, lapel pins and the framed limited edition print that depicts the Y2K Spitfires fighting for freedom under the flag of Canada. All proceeds raised are used to support our restoration project. Without your generosity we could not continue.

We would like to extend a very Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year to people all over the world. And we would also like to extend special best wishes to Canada’s Military personnel that are serving around the world in peacekeeping or anti-terrorism missions.

Thanks for your time and support
Pat Murphy and the Y2K Spitfire volunteers