Cosford Museum Aircraft

It is a shame to possibly lose another Comet,,but perhaps the airframe doesn’t quite tie in with the Museum’s direction or focus.

Or perhaps they are hidden cost to maintaining a large display outdoors. The environmental systems..the heater or humidity controls will add up I guess.

How about “adopt a plane in the UK”..we have programs like that in Canada with regards to helping Zoos feed their animals..sounds like you could adopt a few airframes and help museum staff.

I’m sure they must have some sort of reason but what advantage could they gain from scrapping it? Key buildings get ‘listed’ to protect them from harm and unwanted developement, prehaps there should be a similar scheme put in place for historicaly significant aircraft?

The ex-Dan Air Comet at East Fortune will be scrapped fairly soon , only the cockpit will be retained as an exhibit , I was round here on Saturday and she looks in good shape , no signs of major corrosion , 2 heaters inside her and 2 dehumidifiers – I wonder what the reasoning is behind scrapping her , as the last Comet in Scotland an effort should be made to retain her.

Smiler, I know exactly what you mean, which is why I’m delighted to see organisations such as the RAF Museum and the IWM start to think more about getting their existing exhibits under cover than acquiring even more airframes while the rare ones rot. I know it’s largely down to cost and planning permission, but I still don’t think enough organisations are taking hangarage seriously enough, or are tackling the obstacles with enough conviction.

OK, I take it back. I was looking more at the airframe side of things (guess that’s the trouble with being an engineer). I can even accept why the IWM built the american hanger.

I just find it very depressing to hear about lot’s of new american preservation projects when the plight of many early british aircraft is going unnoticed. How many of these pioneering jets are to be seen siting outside exposed to the elements? I just find it frustrating.:(

“Fair point but I personaly wouldn’t class her as part of british heritage. I’m just fed up of seeing lot’s of money ploud into american aircraft whilst the british examples are in the main left to fester in fields.:( “

I have to agree to a large extent with Steve Young. The B-17, and Sally B in particular, are a significant part of our aviation heritage. The B-17 may not have been used in large numbers by the RAF but it did play its part. It must also be remembered that the B-17 was operated massively by the USAAF from airfields throughout East Anglia. How many B-17 bases were there? With something like 3,000 personnel per station. They lived alongside the British people sharing their heartache and fears. A significant number of Americans married British women, a significant number more had children with British women. They lived their lives and flew their missions, from Britain. And many never returned. More lie buried in Madingley Cemetery. Sally B is operated as a flying memorial to the crews of the 8th AF and in particular the crews of B-17’s. An independent BBMF if you will. To me, that is why the B-17 is a part of our heritage. We must not only think of the aircraft and their crews but also on the impact they had on the British way of life.

Regards,

kev35

Here’s a piccy of the Lyneham gate guard taken in October ’98. For anyone interested in the comet,this site is worth a look…

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/8803/fcometpi.htm

With regard to the Hatfield site,the land is owned by the University of Hertfordshire.It was apparently agreed quite a while before the airfield actually closed down that BAe would donate the site to the University.The current redevelopments do include some domestic housing,but much of it will be new buildings for the Uni and I’m lead to believe that only a small part of that will be a campus site,so there wouldn’t be too many folks in general area on a daily basis.
My brother was head of the Student’s Union at UHU last year,and he got to see the plans for himself,which is where my info comes from.The hangar is listed and will not be demolished,although I don’t know what they plan to do with it.My idea would be to use the place as a dual museum and engineering dept.,the students working on the airframes as part of thier course.Just an idea…
As for the Trident which used to be there,she was chopped up last August.I managed to get a look round her on my visit in July and came away with one or two instruments from the engineers panel which now make excellent paperwieghts.

Fair point but I personaly wouldn’t class her as part of british heritage. I’m just fed up of seeing lot’s of money ploud into american aircraft whilst the british examples are in the main left to fester in fields.:(

And now there’s the news of another Comet looking like it’s going to get the chop. Would it face the same fate if it were a Dakota I wonder? (and before anyone says it, I know it’s a bit larger than a dakota but it’s only a static airframe and not that much bigger, it’s better built aswell.)

Originally posted by Smiler
How many more B-17 flying fortresses do we need to get back in the air?:rolleyes: (Flypast magazine is just as guilty of this with Sally B, I’m sure they could have found a british aircraft to sponsor in britain!)

Smiler, I’m a bit unsure of how to respond to this really. Yes, I do agree with you that sponsorship of a British-designed, British-built, and British-operated aircraft would be more appropriate, but in all honesty the B17 needed the funding at the same time that FlyPast were able to provide it. I’d much rather see the money go into keeping her airworthy, than watch her deteriorate and lapse into disuse while FlyPast waited for another ‘more suitable’ candidate.

Besides, Sally B has been operated within the UK for the last 25 years as a living memorial to the thousands of young Americans who gave their lives so far away from home. She’s the last flying example in the UK of the thousands of her kind which flew and fought from here during the war, and which helped to secure our freedom. I hope this doesn’t sound too pompous, but I really do think that makes her as much a part of Britain’s heritage as any home grown aircraft.

British Canuck – you’re asking a question that’s vexed me for a while too. Seems to me that although they are very well intentioned, the BAPC don’t really have a lot of clout. If it’s a group formed by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts, but without any real power, I wonder what purpose they serve. They don’t appear to be able to do much about organisations or individuals whose preservation motives aren’t quite so noble, although I do hope someone can prove me wrong.

What stand does the British Aviation Preservation Council take with regards to this subject. As a group do they lobby museums or government to step and save historical significant airframes from being scrapped? or are they a monitoring group who provide information and services to those in the aviation museum fields? I have read some goods things about BAPC but I am not sure what role they play.

Yes well sadly as a nation we seem to go to great extents to destroy our heritage. In fact, when it does come to aviation, the great british public seem more interested in preserving american aircraft!

How many more B-17 flying fortresses do we need to get back in the air?:rolleyes: (Flypast magazine is just as guilty of this with Sally B, I’m sure they could have found a british aircraft to sponsor in britain!)

It would indeed be very appropriate for Lyneham’s Comet to go to Hatfield and be housed in the fight test hangar that remains on the site of the former airfield. Unfortunately the land around is to valuable to be used as a museum, I would assume that houses or supermarkets are going to be built. Once the houses are sold the new residents will object to anything that may mean other people visiting their street to see ‘a smelly old airplane’ and will soon have a petition for scraping the aircraft and turning the hangar into a swanky wine bar.

I think that the Mosquito museum had plans to move to Hatfield, and use the extra space to expand their collection and they would have been happy to obtain the Trident that was scrapped there several years ago, all this came to nothing when the local authority allowed to the airfield to be closed and used for building. The County has lost not only part of the nations history but also a very valuable amenity.

DOUGHNUT

Despite now living in Chesterfield, I’m Hertfordshire born and bred.
Broke my heart when I went through Hatfield last year. Couldn’t find anything in Radlett, either.

The Comet arrived by road at Lyneham so I guess it can be moved on a trombone trailer. I would love it to go to a new collection at Filton where it could possibly be housed alongside a
Concorde and other worthies.

It’s the mighty struggle against the soul less bean counters!

I don’t know how easy it would be to transport a Comet 2 by road as although the wings will come off (with a fair bit of work!) the fueselage is all one piece. Though maybe it could be slid into the back of a large american transport?

I can’t believe another major UK museum is considering chopping up an early mark Comet.This situation with outdoor airframes is getting ridiculous,there has to be some sort of push to get hangars built on existing museum sites,or to establish a museum or collection in existing vacant hangars,even if it can’t be opened to the public for the time being.
I know there’s probably very,very little chance of it happenning,but Hatfield would make an aproriate home for the Comet,and various other airframes.I can think of atleast a dozen ‘at risk’ airframes which would have an appropriate home at Hatfield.The surviving hangar on the site is absolutely HUGE, it seems absolutely ridiculous that a vast indoor space like that is vacant whilst aircraft rot outdoors.I visited the derelict Hatfield site on my way back from Legends last year,and it struck me that the guys at the IWM would kill for hangar space like that.

Comets and others

I guess the Herc’s are more representative of the work that RAF Lyneham do now.

How easy would a C2 or Mk2 Comet be to transport by road? It would be a shame to lose other complete historial airframe. The earlier mk’s of Comets seemed to be much more sporty in apperance..must be the shorter fuselage.

I am wondering how long an airframe left to the elements would last in the UK with minimal maintenance or perservation? Those larger outdoors exhibits will all be at risk! Only two Comets are stored indoors in the UK at this time.

Sadly it sounds like the another Comet is heading for the chop. If the Comet is to be replaced by a C-130 then maybe another home can be found for it. Any suggestions ?
Last year Air Atlantique donated a C-47 Lyneham so perhaps the Comet could be offered to Air Atlantique and join their small collection at Coventry.

DOUGHNUT

An on site contact says the Comet at Lyneham is due to be replaced by a Herc in the near future.