Mk1 Spitfire rebuild

[Mike Kelly]

I was watching the Mk1 Spitfire rebuild on TV with Guy Martin. Martin has a rather annoying way of expressing himself , he talks so fast and he always has a smug look on his face. They let Martin do some of the riveting and other jobs, he seemed to be the centre of the attention , in front of the camera constantly.

The head build engineer said the new propeller assembly cost 150,000 pounds, It was made from scratch. They made the wings by hand using old fashioned manual tools , jigs and mallets to shape the skin panels . They showed the special engine mount tapered bolts being ground to size.

It was interesting to watch but I wish they had filmed the show without the 'celebrity' being involved in it. He had his face popping up in just about every scene shot. Even the test pilot was giving Martin credit for doing such a fine job Huh all Martin did was turn up every few months and tighten a few bolts and smile at the camera

They mentioned the special rivets and the annealing process for the rivets, I wish they had done more of that

[Mike Cecil]

I agree Mike, Guy Martin is difficult to watch. The enjoyment of the Last Flight of the Avro Vulcan is similarly diminished by Guy Martin's inane talking. The saving grace for me was the superb aerial footage in both documentaries.

Mike

[Hanno Spoelstra]

What is Guy Martin’s claim to fame?

I don’t understand why he presents these shows?

[Jesse Browning]

Maybe some merciful individual could screen record the show, then edit out the blabbermouth, then repost it somewhere. Is that legal?

[ajmac]

He is a motor bike racing guy, he is well known in the UK for that.

[Robin Grainger]

Guy Martin, for the benefit of non Brits, is a well known motorcycle racer, he also has taken part in several world speed record attempts.
He is an experienced automotive engineer who works on commercial vehicles and his own bikes. I don't know if you guys are aware of the Isle of Man TT races, but they are run on closed but ordinary roads with stone walls, steep drop offs, trees, town squares and village streets plus a huge climb over a 2000 foot mountain and down the other side into a bend that would give you grey hairs, a total lap of 37.5 miles and dozens of bends and 200 MPH straights. Google it if you have doubts.
So Guy might not be the best presenter but give him credit to have the "bottle", or the "guts" to ride 3 laps of over 100 miles at race speed and with no run off areas like race tracks.
Regards
Rob

[Mike Cecil]

Thanks for the heads up, Robin. An interesting character, and gutsy by the sound of it.

However, maybe he could stick to what he is good at (and the voice of a documentary isn't it).

Mike

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Thanks Alistair & Robin, fair enough - Guy deserves a credit for presenting documentaries about our favorite subjects:

Here’s a taster: https://youtu.be/36FGwPHfDac