G-ARUL —

Here’s an extremely rare addition to share with you. I snapped this shot at the Duxford Imperial War Museum Autumn Air Show on 14 Oct 2012 but had no idea of the Levier Cosmic Wind Mk II’s history. Much to my surprise, it dates all the way back to the 1949 National Air Races right here in Cleveland, OH. “Ballerina” was the third of the original three Cosmic Wind built by Lockheed engineers in 1947, and was originally registered as N22C, c/n 103. It was one of only six of its’ type. It was involved in a crash in the UK during a race in 1966 but was rebuilt and was re-registered with the new c/n of PFA/1511. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch any shots in the sky.