Beaufighter for sale!

I think possibly in your eagerness to get another significant historic aircraft up in the air you may be letting your hearts rule your heads. As one who is professionally involved with historic aircraft restoration/re building, can I bring you back down to earth for a minute? While Steve has done great work in the Beaufighter project as he said, he has worked as a volunteer & as such is restricted to the hours he or anyone else is available for work. When using commercial premises for housing restoration projects it is always difficult as it takes up floor space & most companies look to floor space to earn income. While a restoration is carried out with paid workers planning can then, to a good degree, work out how long a project will take but with an unpaid work force who can only put in a limited amount of hours then that will eventually become a problem as the work becomes very slow so maybe the best thing to happen to these projects is to be sold on to someone who has the funding to restore/re build in a commercial way then It should get completed in a sensible time scale. A project of this size soon becomes a hole in the ground to pour money into believe me! I think Steve would be the first to agree with me here! I hope it will be sold to someone who will take on the project with the intention to restore to flying condition but with the CAA’s requirements for restorations being updated all the time one wonders how wide the goal posts will be in 2 years time let alone 5 to 10 years! Where as at the moment it is possible to build new structures to existing patterns if there are no drawings I can see the time coming when if you have no drawing you can’t make the part! As to having ‘a whip round’ for the project, You would need an awful lot of £5 notes to make a dent in it I can tell you, then everyone who has donated gets shirty because they think their £5 has bought them the right to decide what colour it should be & where it goes etc etc! I’m sure some of you will disagree with me but most of this is fact not romantic fiction.
Cheers……….

You learn something every day! only till today i found out about radial engined Lancs. I think the Lanc looks better with Merlins. i think the next Flying lanc will be Kermits, so that wil be a Packard Merlin powered one.

I think it would look weird seing a Lanc with a Radial engines. I feel the same about seing Halifaxs with Merlins? i would love to see a Halifax fly tho, but no hope of that!

Interesting thought that.

Somehow I think that if a Beau was restored with Merlin engines I’d feel a bit shortchanged. The ‘classic’ Beau looks really stubby and pugnacious, the inlines seem to alter that look a lot.

However I would like the next flying Lanc to be a radial engined one. That would make a nice contrast – but I suppose we need four engines for that.

I’m off to post a poll.

Moggy

Originally posted by Moggy C
I do indeed, though it’s a while since I’ve flown anything with more than one engine. But hey, for a Beaufighter I’d fund the renewal myself, even if it meant selling Mrs Moggy 😉

Moggy

But can you get a move on? I’m not as young as I used to be and 100 year old Beau pilots are a bit of rarity.

Come on Moggy where’s your get up and go(don’t tell me, it got up and went) anyway I think you’d do as any kind of Beau pilot has to be a rarity these days. So you will do for me but the main problem with getting a Beau in the air again has got to be the distinct shortage of Hercules engines unless you want to go for a Merlin engined one

Any news on the Beaufighter, has anyone got any pics of the restoration of the Beau?

As I’ve said before, I don’t know what the intention is, and even if I did I’d keep it to myself because I believe that’s a private matter, but my gut feel is that Willow’s right and that she’ll eventually go to the most suitable owner.

At the end of the day, these old aeroplanes were here before most of us, and given the care and attention they deserve, they’ll be here after us. So it’s important to find a good and caring home for her. Imagine the outcry in twenty years time if (for example) IWM were to take her on, restore her, and sit her out on the pan until she crumbles like the Victor / Varsity / Shackleton? Extreme example I know, but you see my point?

Oh, and there’s one other thing, which I know is a purely selfish point of view, but I’d dearly love to see her fly one day, and be able to look up and know I played my part in getting her there. I really don’t think I could ever get the same feeling if she was in a museum.

DOUGHNUT,

although I agree with your principles, I wonder if, in this case, the existing owner is only prepared to part with the airframe to someone who will carry out his dream and make it fly.

While I agree with you that it should be on display on British soil, the time for that passed when the RAF sold it. It is now privately owned, not state owned and sadly, as we all know, that means that it will go where the money, or in this case prehaps the right owner, is.

Even if that is overseas.

Willow

how about that lol!

RO-V – Richard branson-Owned- Virgin plane

Originally posted by SteveYoung
Sorry to get nit picky, but I only actually stated that she’s the last Mk1.

In fact she’s not a C, she’s an F. It’s only a small point, but one I find very important, in that she’s the sole surviving example of the RAF’s first true radar equipped night fighter, she has an actual and verifiable operational history, and as such is a very significant aircraft.

Please believe me Steve I also want what is best for the Beaufighter in question, by your own admission it is an important airframe. Thus it should be looked after and presented to the public in the safest and most appropriate way.

I do not wish to get into the “fly or not to fly” argument, I would love to hear a Beaufighter, let alone see one fly. But I feel the most important thing is that it remains on British soil, and the best hope of that is the project being acquired by a major UK museum. Assuming the RAFM does not want it, after all they already have one, and did they not sell X7688 in the first place? Then surely the IWM is the next logical choice.

If I have something to sell I go talk to the most likely buyer first.

DOUGHNUT

Originally posted by Graeme C
the beau could have a red V on the side or something.

It’s certainly possible, given that the squadron and aircraft identification codes on early Beau 1F’s were in red. We’ve never actually got to the bottom of what her code letter was on either 153 or 29 Sqn’s, so who knows? Maybe one day she could be flying in an authentic (and correct for the aeroplane) scheme as RO-V of 29 Sqn? Not EXACTLY what you had in mind Graeme, but… 😉

And on TFC’s, I understand she comprises major portions of Aussie Mk21’s A19-144 and A19-148, which were actually British-built Mk IV’s, JL135 and JM146 which were transferred to Oz and re-serialed.

Neilly,

Space isn’t an issue, she’s currently in kit form, and Skysport have managed to work around her quite happily for the last sisteen years while they’ve had a myriad of jobs going through. Although if she was to become aeroplane-shaped while at Skysport she’d present quite a challenge. It ain’t the biggest hangar in the world… 😉

I’m actually quite glad that my posts have come across as being a bit ambiguous regarding the reasons why she’s up for sale. In truth, I don’t know the exact reasons, nor do I really want to. Tim’s business is Tim’s business, and I’m happy to respect that as I’m sure you can appreciate.

Steve

i thought the beaufighter was the first purpose build nightfighter? i hate seing planes in museums, if a plane wasnt built to fly it shouldnt have wings and a propeller u kno? what is the possibility of virgin sponcering aircraft, the beau could have a red V on the side or something.

I was thinkin, virgin should get a vulcan as a subsitute to the concord! paint it all white and put a union jack on the tail lol!

i cant wait for the tfc beau to fly!, but tim’s example is a british build 1, i think the TFCs example was built in Australia?

Hi Steve,

From your posts, it’s not clear why Tim has put the Beaufighter up for sale. It seems, from what you said earlier, that it was more a place to keep it rather than financial. If this is so, how about contacting Elvington Museum. Tony Agar has been there for years restoring his Mosquito & there’s plenty of room in their large hanger. I’m sure a Beaufighter would look great there, too.

I’m with Moggy on the restoration bit, don’t mention the static!!!!!:p

Cheers,
Neilly

Originally posted by DOUGHNUT
Steve states that the Beaufighter is the last mk1c

Sorry to get nit picky, but I only actually stated that she’s the last Mk1.

In fact she’s not a C, she’s an F. It’s only a small point, but one I find very important, in that she’s the sole surviving example of the RAF’s first true radar equipped night fighter, she has an actual and verifiable operational history, and as such is a very significant aircraft.

Ian, I have no idea about the price. I’ve never asked. I would suspect it’s subject to negotiation, and therefore a delicate subject which Tim wouldn’t necessarily want out in the open.

As for all the suggestions which have come up through the afternoon as to who should take it on – Branson / IWM / Peoples Front Of Judea… Has it occurred to anyone that the present owner may actually care very deeply about the aircraft, and may be quite particular about where it goes, who it goes to, what they intend to do with it, and what it’s ultimate fate will be? Just one for everyone to ponder while they’re busy deciding what to do with (what is STILL) Tim’s aeroplane…

What sort of price are Skysport asking?

(Sorry if I someone has already mentioned the price)

It’s been tried before with another rare British aircraft but with no luck I’m afraid, that could have timing however.

YAK FAN

My point entirely, if we wait for some of these long term restorations to fly we will all be six foot under.

Better to restore and display today than to store and fly tomorrow, especially if tomorrow never comes.

And its not Skysports fault that they can not have visitors, its a working business, and that the law.

Alex Smart – DReam on!!!!!!!

DOUGHNUT

Beaufighter for Sale

Perhaps we could get the support and money from Richard Branson.
He looks as though he may have some spare cash now if the concorde deal has not happened.

Any one know how to get him on side?

If so we could well have a flying Beaufighter before its too late.

Originally posted by DOUGHNUT
I can think of two or three American collections that would be happy to spend a bit of money on another British aeroplane, take to bits and let it join a very long line of other aircraft stored, out of sight awaiting restoration.

and of course the aircraft is so visible with it’s present owners