Another WW1 arrival

Another nice pic Tim, many thanks!

The aeroplane still looks like a glorified Meccano kit at the moment, but will post some more pics as the fuselage comes together.

Hi The Blue Max,

I’ve found yet another view I took of G-AWYI at Sywell – from a different angle. I’ve found my original records of the visit and can now confirm this and the earlier picture I posted were taken on 8 March 1969 (and not 1968). Hope it’s of interest as a further reference for your rebuild?

Thanks Consul, great pic. Good to get as many images of her as we can. Yes rebuild is progressing well, im sure we will share some images when we have somthing to show.

Yes, you’re doing better than us. Neither Matt nor I have had a chance to see it yet!

It was originally scheduled for October in a number of BBC regions, but due to a special documentary on the Asian earthquake disaster, it was rescheduled to next year. The one exception was the East Midlands region which had scheduled it into their programme a week earlier. Sorry we couldn’t warn anyone, even the feature’s producer didn’t know it was going out.

I gather we’re down to do some further filming for the updated version in the New Year, so I guess Matt and I have a challenge on to make sure the aeroplane looks a little further advanced between the shoots!

I have already seen the Inside Out programme -it was on about a month ago – being screened again?

Wow, nice picture Consul!

As well as the picture, which is the first stills view I’ve seen from that angle, the date too is of particular use, as the actual dates of first flight and its delivery to the film company were some of the things that had disappeared into the mists of time.

Looking at this it was quite early on, because the aeroplane still has its stub exhausts, replaced later by a stack to prevent (I suspect) the exhaust fumes making Charles’ eyes water!

It’s obviously not too long after the first flight – as there’s still a bit of unmelted snow in the background. There was a bit more around for the first flight (see below), it must have been blooming freezing in the cockpit!

Yes, restoration is still progressing steadily. We don’t intend to shout too much about it until we’ve got something to show for our efforts. At the moment the airframe is stripped, to pretty much its ‘lowest common denominator’ point. It can only get better from here!

Those in the BBC East region, keep an eye open when Inside Out returns to our screens in January, there’ll be a bit on the BE in one of the opening programmes of the new series!

GASML asked months ago if anyone had reference photos of the Tiger / Be2C “replica” which Charles Boddington et al had created at Sywell in 1968 and has this year been recovered to the UK after years in the US. At long last I’ve found the slide I took of the machine on 8 March 1968. Hope this angle is of some help if the restoration is still ongoing?

You would get a few from here, there has been alot of interest lately. Also the Aerodrome website.

have already asked that question and the swines arn’t intrested unless they get over 2000 requests :dev2:

Hi Sherlock. So far there has been no trace of “Wings” ever being released onto VHS. I have copies of some of the episode’s that were recorded of of TV Gold but other than that it appears to have been lost to the BBC irchives!!
Maybe we could badger them to release it onto DVD!!?

well hello their everybody

from a tired sherlock

i have trecked around the internet now for many years looking for a vhs or even dvd copy (i should be so lucky) of the bbc series wings.

i have now landed at your forum and this thread will anybody be able to help me please did the said series even make it to vhs or was it one of many tv shows culled down in the bbc archive.

please please help if you can

Cheers, I thought it may have been that plane but couldn’t recall what its name was.

Thanks for the photos Ben. Great to see these relics surviving of such a good TV series, representing not just the WWI period of aviation but also a golden period in television drama too.

I seem to recall in the opening credits of the series there was a much older plane, which may have appeared in the first episode too. Was that a Shuttleworth plane? Or a Magnificent Men replica? It was real primitive like a Wright flyer or something similar

im fairly certain it was the Box kite at Shuttleworth, which of course is a Magnificent Men Rep, so both realy!

Note that the tail’s falling off the BE (replica) model.

Just like the real thing !!

Now thats spooky!!!!!

Thanks for the photos Ben. Great to see these relics surviving of such a good TV series, representing not just the WWI period of aviation but also a golden period in television drama too.

I seem to recall in the opening credits of the series there was a much older plane, which may have appeared in the first episode too. Was that a Shuttleworth plane? Or a Magnificent Men replica? It was real primitive like a Wright flyer or something similar

its a SCALE model….!

great project Steve…..:)

Note that the tail’s falling off the BE (replica) model.

Just like the real thing !!

For Dave – as requested photos of the WINGS models – of note is the fact that the BE2 model is a model of the replica, not an original so continuity was acheived in filming….

All the best

TT

Yes, thanks Consul.

Also I wonder if any American viewers might be able to help.

‘The Crate’ (thanks Ben) flew as N1914B until a take-off accident in 1977.

We acquired the results!

Attached image is a souvenir postcard from an airshow in Atlanta, Georgia. Any more info anyone?

Thanks Consul, that would be great.