COULD THIS LIGHTNING BE SAVED ?

I’m sure with enough time and money it could be, depends whether it’s really worth spending a small fortune on.

Must be some new definition of the word “small” I wasn’t previously aware of!

In fairness though we have seen her long and lingering death for a long time – it’s possibly true that the plight of this aircraft has heightened the travelling public’s awareness of the Lightning and might well have encouraged some to take a hand in preservation elsewhere.
There was never the intention of her being ‘preserved’ at the site – the owner was quite clear about this – her purpose was gate guard/attraction . The others by and large of the F.2A’s were scrapped by the RAF both here and in Germany so maybe we should be grateful for the sight of her no matter how painful it is. Sad as it is to
say there are museum aircraft in the U.K which are only slightly more secure in terms of future. A prime example of this is Hemswell – the group there did their level best to find good homes for the aircraft but the Hunter and Canberra were simply beyond saving as complete aircraft as the corrosion had got a good hold of them.

728 now sits behind a security fence to protect the site, and her from vandals.

Would anyone else agree in thinking this is closing the stable door long, long, long after the 3 legged blind horse has limped away…
:diablo:

I think it’s in the nature of a site devoted to historic aviation that threads will be resurrected from time to time. Good to hear that this Lightning may have a future after all.

728 now sits behind a security fence to protect the site, and her from vandals. I went to see her a couple of months ago, and she’s hanging on (just!).

When I first went to see her the glass in the cockpit was intact bar the panel on top, so being a skinny so and so I threw my bag in and sat in the cockpit. With the nose pointing skywards and wind causing her to shake it didn’t take too much imagination to think what it must have been like.

Richard W

😮 You Bloomin Looney! you must have looked like a right basket case, sat in that tin can all on yer own 😀

MJR

728 now sits behind a security fence to protect the site, and her from vandals. I went to see her a couple of months ago, and she’s hanging on (just!).

When I first went to see her the glass in the cockpit was intact bar the panel on top, so being a skinny so and so I threw my bag in and sat in the cockpit. With the nose pointing skywards and wind causing her to shake it didn’t take too much imagination to think what it must have been like.

Richard W

Tim, you’d have been better off asking if it would be at Legends… 😀 (Cheers mate, keep posting)

And I’m very glad to hear it’s going to be properly taken care of. Good thing Tim posted in this thread, otherwise we might not’ve known, eh Flood?

Lynn

yes this is an interesting thread and should be allowed to reappear from time to time…

Please don’t Tim, you views are very welcome.

Thankyou. I was starting to feel distinctly unwelcome!

Ah a zombie thread… :rolleyes:
Please read all the previous posts – the owner has a history of telling those enquiring after his Lightning to close the door quietly on their way out (or something like that). So unless there is some new news about this one, or you have something totally new and exciting to add to the discussion, please refrain from posting here. Thanks. 🙂

Flood

If it was a Spitty or anything else, this thread would keep going and going….I am more than happy for people to ressurrect threads where there is hope of saving something….

Thats excellent news mjr thanks – will take some tarting though 😮

😀 he he….. indeed, tarting was a slight understatement!

MJR

Originally Posted by mjr
728 does now have a new owner, it will be tarted up and will become a gate guardian to a new industrial site, pending plannoing. Thats directly from the site owner.

Excellent news. Something new to add to this thread after all 🙂

Plazz

😀 no matter how many times you flush this one, it comes back to the surface!
MJR

I’ve got a very funny photo to go with that comment, but i think i better refrain from posting it…. but Oh the temptation….. 😀 :diablo:

.

Thats excellent news mjr thanks – will take some tarting though 😮

If old threads can’t be resurrected then maybe they should all be locked or deleted.

😀 no matter how many times you flush this one, it comes back to the surface!

728 does now have a new owner, it will be tarted up and will become a gate guardian to a new industrial site, pending plannoing. Thats directly from the site owner.

MJR

I have never been one to stick my oar in on these forums and I appreciate that this thread has been done to death, but surely new members to the forums have the right to post what they like whether its relevant or not? At the very least they should be made to feel welcome?

I’ve never read in the forum rules ‘Thou shall not resurrect old threads’

Keep adding your comments Tim 🙂

Plazz

Ah a zombie thread… :rolleyes:
Please read all the previous posts – the owner has a history of telling those enquiring after his Lightning to close the door quietly on their way out (or something like that). So unless there is some new news about this one, or you have something totally new and exciting to add to the discussion, please refrain from posting here. Thanks. 🙂

Flood

A bit OTT Flood. 😡

Thats what this forum is here for is it not? To make a comment on a thread wether it is old or new. I dont see anything wrong with Tims post other than perhaps its intention could have been worded a bit different. Feel free to post Tim.

sorry, I had only just read it.