Truro Model Builder

Could do with some more bandwidth to sort out the website issues. Still, we can look forward to it crashing on Thursday.

According to the excellent Wings Over Ireland: The Story of the Irish Air Corps (Donal MacCarron, Midland Publishing 1996) all airworthy Spitfires were repainted before they were eventually withdrawn from use in 1960/1961, with the probable exception of 160. This aircraft had been written off in 1957.

Glad to see you gave it a good bite of the cherry then. Indeed. Or, as Gerard Garrett was quoted on the back of those Target novelisations, 'Doctor Who, the children's own programme which adults adore.'

I remember one at a Fairford show conducting the marching air cadet band with its sink plunger. It also had a water pistol hidden in its gun stick which caught one or two people out.

At this time of year I often think of my grandparents, Pearl and Dean, but to me they will always be Grandma and Grandpa-pa-papa-pa-papa-papa-papa-papaaaaa...PA!

I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.

About par for the course. Remember, this is the same management that reduced the length of the Sunderland's wing float struts so that they could open up the space around it for private functions.

The Bristol 188, thankfully, is not on the list.

But under that thinking, nothing in the Flight Test hall is relevant; not the TSR.2, the Short SB.5, the Fairey Delta 2, the EAP. Neither is the Eurofighter DA.2 at Hendon. Neither too are the ex-Swiss Venom or RDAF Catalina, or the Italian CR.42, or the Afghan Hind, or the Cold War MiG-15, MiG-21 and MH-53M, or any of the Japanese or Luftwaffe aircraft. So none of them ought to be in the RAFM's collection, should they? Meanwhile the Devon and the Jetstream, along with others on that list, most assuredly are RAF aircraft.

This is the list, along with the justification given: Auster Antarctic WE600 Relevance Avro 707C WZ744 Significance Bristol Sycamore XJ918 Duplication DH Devon C.2 VP952 Significance/Interpretative potential DH Moth G-AAMX Relevance Fairchild Cornell II 15252 Relevance/Completeness Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-8/U1 WkNr.584219 Significance/Duplication Gloster Meteor F.4 EE549 Significance On loan to Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Gloster Meteor T.7(mod) WA634 Duplication Gloster Meteor F.8 Prone Pilot WK935 Duplication Hafner Rotachute III P-5 Relevance On loan to Army Flying Museum Hang-glider (civil) Relevance Hawker P.1052 VX272 Significance On loan to Fleet Air Arm Museum Hawker P.1127 XP831 Significance On loan to the Science Museum Hawker Hunter F,1 WT619 Relevance Hawker Hunter Mk.3 WB188 Significance On loan to Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Lockheed SP-2H Neptune 204 Relevance/Environment NA B-25J Mitchell 44-29366 Relevance NA P-51D Mustang 44-73415 Duplication/Completeness Panavia Tornado XX946 Relevance SA Jetstream T.1 XX496 Relevance/Environment Slingsby Sedbergh TX.1 VX275 Relevance Sopwith Tabloid replica 168 Originality/Significance Supermarine 517 VV106 Significance On loan to Fleet Air Arm Museum Vickers Vimy replica F8614 Originality/Significance Westalnd Dragnfly HR.1 VX595 Relevance/Significance So, after now seeing the list, I have now formed an opinion: What in the name of God are the incompetent twerps running RAFM thinking of? Firstly, I can see the disposal of one or two listed aircraft (the Moth, for example) as understandable. But, to want to get rid of the likes of the prone-pilot Meteor and Avro 707, and even the Devon and Tornado prototype, especially under the reasons given, is just plain bonkers. The Neptune and the Jetstream are listed as 'Environmental', which means they've been left outside for so long that they aren't fit for anything, and will probably be scrapped. I can understand questioning the relevance of the USAAF B-25, but if so why is the B-17 not classed the same. How relevant is the civilian-marked Ju 52? A lot less than the record breaking Hunter and Meteor at Tangmere, I should think. Interesting that 'originality' is listed as a justification for the Tabloid and Vimy replicas... better not look too closely at most of the WW1-vintage collection, then. And in terms of justifications, what on earth does 'completeness' mean? I understand that these airframes will not just be palmed off to just anybody, but the list -and the justifications- seems very bizarre. As to what I said in an earlier post about throwing the baby out with the bathwater? I don't think these turkeys could run a bath in the first place -let alone a museum.

I have a vague idea that there is a Facebook group, and it's also worth dipping into the 'Heads Up' section on the UK Airshow Review Forum. UKAR is a shadow of its former self but some things get picked up.

Without being able to see the list it is difficult to form an opinion, but I agree that the test and research aircraft is one of the main reasons for visiting Cosford and it would be horrendous to see the collection broken up. Some of RAFM's exhibits do have a tenuous link, such as the Swiss Venom, RDAF PBY and Dutch Neptune, and I forget how many Spitfires it possesses. Some rationalisation is not a bad idea, but there is the danger of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. And whatever goes, must do so to a good home.

Banzai!!! Sorry, I'll get my coat. But seriously, once again it impresses the necessity of keeping a lookout for other aircraft, no matter if you believe yourself to be in the right.

Unfortunately the situation is what it is, and the MoD has belatedly realised we need the capability now. The two airframes to be converted are stored white tails that have only flown their initial flight tests. They have not been fitted out as airliners and have not been used by any commercial operator.

My wife accused me of being stupid. "Well, you're no rocket surgeon either!" I snapped back at her.

So it would seem. https://airpower.airforce.gov.au/APDC/media/Events-Media/Seminars/SMR15-2015_09_01-Advise-and-Strike-The-Development-of-the-E7-A-Wedgetail-SQNLDR-Glenn-Salmon_Transcript.pdf

It's a regular joke every year that I buy my family their presents on Christmas Eve from the petrol station just around the corner. Well, guess what this year...

Chris Rea will be saving a lot of petrol this Christmas.

No, the Mildenhall closure plan is now abandoned. The RC-135 detachment will remain there, and not move to Fairford, where it was anticipated that 51 would join it. I suspect a move to Mildenhall is now in the planning. Meanwhile, I bet there's a lot of joy in the households of 8 Sqdn crewmembers at the thought of a move to the north of Scotland. And if you though Rivet Joint is bad, it is preferable to Airseeker.

Well, that one has gone straight to the top of the 'best Hawk schemes ever' list.

I can understand the practicalities of basing the Wedgetails and the Poseidons at the same location in terms of maintenance and training, but with No.5 Squadron disbanding and No.51 Squadron likely to relocate to Mildenhall to take advantage of the USAF's Rivet Joint facilities (and be able to take off with a full fuel load), Waddington is going to become a very quiet place. And so much for the ISTAR centre of excellence.

Just shut up and take my money! G-BFFJ Sikorsky S-61N by Martin Schofield, on Flickr

It likely was, but there are lots of pages of listings to get through and so any error is on my part. I have found Mr. Robertson to be a faithful and accurate companion.

The impressed 504Ns were: AX584 ex-G-ACZC AX871 ex-G-ADBM (originally K1055) AX874 ex-G-ADBP (originally K2353) AX875 ex-G-ADET (originally J8533) BK892 ex-G-ADEV (originally H5199, but now operated by the Shuttleworth Collection as a 504K) BV208 ex-G-AEMP (originally J9017) BV209 ex-G-ACPV (originally K1250) Information from British Military Aircraft Serials 1878-1987 (Bruce Robertson, Midland Counties 1987)

Beautiful work, as always. Has anyone else noticed that existing Mk.IX/XVIs are nearly always painted in dark green/ocean grey? It is rare for them to appear in anything else, which is a shame as they certainly wore many other colours in service.