Vimy Retirement Plans

As for museum Vimys, there are three. The Science Museum Alcock and Brown one, the England/Australia one in Oz (the original G-EAOU) and the replica in the RAF Museum. When this goes into the NASM whole future generations will learn that the first person to cross the Atlantic by air, non stop was not Lindbergh, as many of them believe, and that there may have been some aviation going on outside the US in the 1920s and 1930s.

I agree too! Similarly with my comments some weeks ago about displaying a Meteor in the US – the Yanks didn’t invent or do everything first!

Roger Smith.

I’ve only ever seen one Vimy, the replica at RAFM Hendon, and I’ve always thought it must be an aincredible sight to see one fly. Even more incredible to contemplate one flying both across whole continents and the Atlantic ocean.

All cleaning jokes aside, having the thing for a season at Old Warden would be wonderful, but I fully appreciate and concur with Melv’s comments. It’s now an important historic airframe in it’s own right, even before the Atalantic attempt, and so in that respect it has a lot to offer as a museum exhibit. Displayed sympathetically and with the right level of background information, I would imagine that it would serve as a hugely informative exhibit.

There is of course the unthinkable scenario of the aeroplane coming to grief during a routine flight some months or years after achieving all it’s goals. What would we be saying then? “It should have been retired after the Atlantic flight…”

I have seen pics of the Gotha and it seemed to br progesseing fairly well. I have to agree with Melv, at the end of the day the owner has the right to determine the A/C’s fate and as Melv says he deserves a rest and so does his bank balance! The A/C is inded a historic A/C in its own right now and deserves to be preseved, the lack of reliable engines means that one day the worst could happen. As for OW buying it and opperating it here, i fear that the powers at b would not allow the loverly beast to opperate here permanently, i doubt approval would be granted for the engines ay the very least. Be thankfull that there are people out there who do spend lots of there hard earned money to allow use to see wonders such as this, So enjoy it while you can and i wish them safe passage on there current exploit.
If you want to see a WW1 bomber fying in the future then try building one yourself and see just how hard and expensive it is, and thats before you get it flying!!!

Hi Melve

I hope we’re not talking about THOSE sort of blue pills – you know the ones that “make a girls day” type pills when guys are feeling a “little down” shall we say.

I say the Vimmy should retire too for all of Melve’s reasons. It was also not all that reliable given the issues it had with the chev engines and the crash in Indonesia and although the BMWs were more reliable I believe they are not problem free as well. So perhaps it should retire and live the good life although the idea of a season or two at Old Warden does appeal as well.

What ever happened to the Yank building the Gotha in the USA – is that still happening – it must be as big or bigger surely and would be quite a sight – imagine both of them !!

Regards
John P

Melv
you’re sounding like an angry old man again.
Ask Matron [Carol] for some of those nice blue pills again.
Otherwise you’ll have to go back in the cowshed again–where it’s dark and warm and you feel safe.

It’s not Raptor’s fault that you’re old enough to remember A&B.

Later
Bridget.

No, not angry at all and didn’t mean to sound that way. The blue pills ceased working years ago so I smoke them now! I know where Raptor is coming from but I think this one is not just a replica anymore, it is a historical aircraft in its own right.

There has never been a British team operating it. There have been one or two British pilots along with Americans and the odd Australian. As for the operation, it has always been under the control of its owner with occasional help from sponsors. This is one of the things that is so good about it, an American team celebrating the achievements of British and Australian aviators and designers.

As for museum Vimys, there are three. The Science Museum Alcock and Brown one, the England/Australia one in Oz (the original G-EAOU) and the replica in the RAF Museum. When this goes into the NASM whole future generations will learn that the first person to cross the Atlantic by air, non stop was not Lindbergh, as many of them believe, and that there may have been some aviation going on outside the US in the 1920s and 1930s.

I agree it would be good to see it but I think its value as a museum exhibit is now more valuable than its flying life. I joked about flying the Alcock and Brown one, of course no one would but this one, in its time, will be almost as historic. A 1919 bomber that flew the England/Australia route, England South Africa and hopefully recreated the Alcock and Brown flight. That is one seriously accomplished aeroplane and should that even be risked again? I am not sure it would. I would love to see it again. I have been lucky enough to photograph it and fly in it, and I would love the opportunity again, but it will has done its job and it is important that such an aeroplane should be properly preserved for future generations.

And Peter deserves some time off!

I can see your point and if you haven’t seen it then you are missing out but this is one that deserves its retirement, it has earned it.

Melv
you’re sounding like an angry old man again.
Ask Matron [Carol] for some of those nice blue pills again.
Otherwise you’ll have to go back in the cowshed again–where it’s dark and warm and you feel safe.

It’s not Raptor’s fault that you’re old enough to remember A&B.

Later
Bridget.

I just thought that there are a few Vimys in museums already, and as this one is capable of flying it would be a shame if it went the same way and the next generation could not see what a WWI bomber looked like in the air.

The british team I was talking about was the team that operated it in the mid-1990s.

There has never been a British team operating it. There have been one or two British pilots along with Americans and the odd Australian. As for the operation, it has always been under the control of its owner with occasional help from sponsors. This is one of the things that is so good about it, an American team celebrating the achievements of British and Australian aviators and designers.

As for museum Vimys, there are three. The Science Museum Alcock and Brown one, the England/Australia one in Oz (the original G-EAOU) and the replica in the RAF Museum. When this goes into the NASM whole future generations will learn that the first person to cross the Atlantic by air, non stop was not Lindbergh, as many of them believe, and that there may have been some aviation going on outside the US in the 1920s and 1930s.

I agree it would be good to see it but I think its value as a museum exhibit is now more valuable than its flying life. I joked about flying the Alcock and Brown one, of course no one would but this one, in its time, will be almost as historic. A 1919 bomber that flew the England/Australia route, England South Africa and hopefully recreated the Alcock and Brown flight. That is one seriously accomplished aeroplane and should that even be risked again? I am not sure it would. I would love to see it again. I have been lucky enough to photograph it and fly in it, and I would love the opportunity again, but it will has done its job and it is important that such an aeroplane should be properly preserved for future generations.

And Peter deserves some time off!

I can see your point and if you haven’t seen it then you are missing out but this is one that deserves its retirement, it has earned it.

I just thought that there are a few Vimys in museums already, and as this one is capable of flying it would be a shame if it went the same way and the next generation could not see what a WWI bomber looked like in the air.

The british team I was talking about was the team that operated it in the mid-1990s.

Which British team is that? Do you mean the American individual who put his hand deep into his own pocket and paid to have it built? It is his decision whether anyone else likes it or not and the aeroplane has done more than any other Vimy. Let’s just take Alcock and Brown’s out of the Science museum, after all that only did the Atlantic, not the England Australia and South Afican flights as well.

The aeroplane deserves the rest. If this offends then get started on a new one. I don’t mean this personally but Peter McMillin deserves the success AND a rest!

Has anyone thought about writing to the British Team who brought the Vimy back from Australia and flew it around the airshows in 1995/96? I would hate to see a perfectly airworthy aircraft put into a museum when there is someone with the experience to keep it flying!

I would suggest anyone who would like to see it kept flying contact the team and show your support at: [email]info@team-merlin.com[/email]

The more people the better!!

Thanks guys,I have to admit I see Melv’s point about it not being such a shame in some ways,although as Damien says it would be good to see her at a few shows before she’s grounded,OW in particular. Anyone from OW reading this? 😉

We’d need to get AndrewO a ladder though…

Well he’s heading the wrong way.

You going to tell ‘im?

That has always been the intention. When I was in Petaluma a few years back when they were having the problems with BMW, I interviewed Mark Rebholz for my “Flying Viz” series and he said his ambition was to get across the Atlantic and see the Vimy safely into the NASM. This was also the intention of Peter McMillin who has sunk vast amounts of his own money into this and wants it to be preserved. It will have more than proven itself over about ten years. A shame perhaps but in other ways perhaps not.