National Cold War Exhibition, RAFM Cosford

Planemike -its the RAFM so ideally a Britannia that saw RAF service would be most people’s first port of call! It was acquired to represent the BOAC examples in the BA collection firstly. The difference it makes is that it means that effort that should really be directed at getting the Kemble example undercover is spread thinly amongst all of them.We cannot preserve all of them in the long term so to my mind one RAF and one civil example undercover should be the aim.

Its such a shame they couldn`t squeese a Shak in the somewhere. I always thought it missing along with a Buccaneer…. The big Tarp/canvas sides at either end of the building are only meant to be opened a few times otherwise it shortens the life of them i believe.

The RAF Museum’s Shackleton is displayed under cover in Manchester.

Its such a shame they couldn`t squeese a Shak in the somewhere. I always thought it missing along with a Buccaneer…. The big Tarp/canvas sides at either end of the building are only meant to be opened a few times otherwise it shortens the life of them i believe.

I didn’t like to mention Kemble, if its still there..

Tony – I feel housing the Britannia isn’t really the way the RAFM should be going! It is suffering from corrosion and looking at the past disposals of airliners from Cosford it’s really hard to see what the RAFM hope to achieve with it as a former civil freighter that saw no RAF service!

What difference does it make that, that particular Britannia did not see service with the Royal Air Force: other Britannias did? This is an important British aircraft and it would be wonderful to see one under cover. Think I am correct in saying none is preserved under cover so all are ultimately doomed to a life of decay and corrosion.

Planemike

Tony – I feel housing the Britannia isn’t really the way the RAFM should be going!
It is suffering from corrosion and looking at the past disposals of airliners from Cosford it’s really hard to see what the RAFM hope to achieve with it as a former
civil freighter that saw no RAF service!

Hercs didn’t always park their props in a ‘+’ therefore it’s hard to argue that the RAFM is wrong, even if it wasn’t standard practice.
Looking through pictures on the net it seems that ‘202 has been displayed with props in both positions.

As no doubt fellow pilot Moggy C will corroborate, the correct answer is that if you don’t park your props just “so”, many puppies will die. Who’d want that on their hands?

Nimrod looks the business

Well done Cosford the nimrod looks the bizz 🙂

props the initial reply I got was there wasn’t a standard formation for RAF Hercules this was from someone who didn’t do RAF service and sent me two images of single C130’s down route. After I bombarded him with many examples of Brits and Hercs at Lyneham all nicely lined up and at RIAT etc, he then changed the story to ‘ It Helps water drain’ well if the Prop is in X formation and the drain point is straight down the blade so in X formation the spinner has to fill up with water and gunge till it overflows.

Also Looking at the before shots of XV202 with the orginal engines all props were + formation. When the RAF team fetched 4 expired grey engines & props from Bruntingthorpe, during the fitting they have nut and bolted the turbine so the no longer turn and the X formation appeared.

My orginal email was not to complain but to enquire why this had been done and after the reply basically telling me I was wrong, (6 years at Lyneham on A Line)
well red rag to a bull springs to mind.

I hope when XV202 (A-Line A/C) is due a re-paint someone corrects this issue

I am sorry to keep sounding off here and this will be my last but if you google RAF C130K hercules you will see exactly what I am on about, To me its like seeing a Aston Martin in Pink (Very wrong)

Future wish list…

Be nice to see a big glass dome a bit like the Eden project one housing the Herc, VC10, Nimrod, Brittania, Neptune etc…

Believe the Herc props are parked as they are to aid drainage..

Taken on the Saturday of the MB centre open week

Amarok, the Nimrod is in sight the moment you walk out of the Visitor Centre! Neptune directly ahead, Dominie to the right, Nimrod to the left. Looking good!

Hadn’t seen the Brit in Transport Command markings either, also looking impressive!

Doorway issues aside, I love the place and it does a grand job. I’ve posted it before on here but worth telling again. I took my son there when was 8 I think, we sat in the cuban missile crisis room, did the tour etc and had a fun day. Towards the end he said “so dad, a cold war, isn’t a real war, but one that they get other people to try and fight for them in other countries”

one 8 year old educated and interested….. can’t be bad !

as an aside, I love the Vauxhall “spy car” from Berlin !

Don’t get me wrong, I find the building itself impressive and it contains a wonderful and informative collection. But I do have just two things I hate about the whole thing.
1) That God awful design for a doorway. I just can’t understand what the architect was thinking, let alone the fact that it got through a safety inspection.
2) The Medium Stressed Platform in the Belfast, an aircraft that they were never dropped from. Its not even standing on roller floor so how on earth did they get it in there, let alone expect to get it out? It would be better displayed in or near the Argosy or Hercules, both type which have droppped them.

Now don’t get me going on the Props on Hercules XV202 I have finally recieved an acceptance of my original emal on the X formation is wrong 🙂
that said how is the Nimrod looking ? and where have they parked her ?

Don’t get me wrong, I find the building itself impressive and it contains a wonderful and informative collection. But I do have just two things I hate about the whole thing.
1) That God awful design for a doorway. I just can’t understand what the architect was thinking, let alone the fact that it got through a safety inspection.
2) The Medium Stressed Platform in the Belfast, an aircraft that they were never dropped from. Its not even standing on roller floor so how on earth did they get it in there, let alone expect to get it out? It would be better displayed in or near the Argosy or Hercules, both type which have droppped them.

Best that can be said for it, a great collection of aircraft are in the warm and dry…….. Enough said.

Planemike

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION!

😀

When has the inside of a military aircraft ever been ergonomic? Those struts are an archtitectural nudge at what lies inside 😉

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As Jeepman points out this is the view the public see as they enter the building (or exit it in an emergency as its also a fire exit).