Welcome to the Spitfire Restoration Project-Friends of SAAF Museum.
In early 2015, it was decided that the SAAF Museum in conjunction with the Friends of the South African Air Force Museum (FSAAFM) and hopefully with the help of dedicated partners and sponsors, to restore Spitfire 5518 to static condition, with the possibility of making her airworthy once more in the future.
Spitfire 5518 arrived in South Africa in 1947 and served in the Cape and at Waterkloof Air Force Base before being decommissioned. She then served as a gate guard at Waterkloof for a number of years. In the early 1990s the South African Air Force Museum motivated the restoration of an iconic Spitfire to flying condition to serve as the star attraction at Air Force Air Shows to promote the Air Force and aviation amongst the youth. 5518 took to the skies in 1994 as 5553 "The Spirit of Reutech". Unfortunately she crashed at an air show at Zwartkop in 2000 and was consigned to a container.
Ian Grace and Col Tony Smit (a former Officer Commanding and intimately involved with the first restoration), over the past few years, started lobbying for Spitfire 5518 to be rebuilt. After a number of presentations to the Museum Council, the go ahead was given to the Pretoria Branch of the Friends of the South African Air Force Museum to manage the project on behalf of the South African Air Force Museum.
Company Details
- Employees
- 5
- Address
- Cnr Old Johannesburg Rd And Godiva Rd, Valhalla, Centurion, Pretoria,gauteng 0185,south Africa
- Industry
- Aviation And Aerospace Component Manufacturing
- NAICS
-
Aerospace Product and Parts ManufacturingAircraft ManufacturingAircraft Engine and Engine Parts ManufacturingOther Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment ManufacturingGuided Missile and Space Vehicle Propulsion Unit and Propulsion Unit Parts ManufacturingOther Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing
- Website
- spitfire-restoration.co.za
- Keywords
- Spitfire, WW2, South Africa, SAAF Museum, restoration, aviation, engineering, education, aviation artisans.
- HQ
- Pretoria, Gauteng
Spitfire Restoration Project - Friends Of The Saaf Museum Questions
Spitfire Restoration Project - Friends Of The Saaf Museum's website is spitfire-restoration.co.za
Spitfire Restoration Project - Friends Of The Saaf Museum's LinkedIn profile is https://za.linkedin.com/company/spitfire5518restorationproject
Spitfire Restoration Project - Friends Of The Saaf Museum has
5 employees.
View email and phone details for 5
employees at Spitfire Restoration Project - Friends Of The Saaf Museum.
Spitfire Restoration Project - Friends Of The Saaf Museum's industry is
Aviation and Aerospace Component Manufacturing
Spitfire Restoration Project - Friends Of The Saaf Museum's top competitors are
Canadian Grenadier Guards,
8th Man Rugby Museum,
South Africa Chinese Museum,
Robben Island Museum,
The Great War Flying Museum,
The Cape Heritage Museum Npc,
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum,
Pretoria Art Museum,
Museum Of African Design,
Durban Natural Science Museum.
Spitfire Restoration Project - Friends Of The Saaf Museum's categories are Aviation and Aerospace Component Manufacturing
