Canberra to the skies

Excellent news.
One of the considerations in choosing this airframe was apparently the number of hours remaining.
Any chance of seeing it fitted with a pair of Napier Scorpion rockets again I wonder?

Pete

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36352330

Bunsen Honeydew- you’re right to highlight the second part of the EU directive on deactivated weapons, if this piece of legislation is agreed and rubber stamped in the quite disgraceful way the first part was by UNELECTED bureaucrats in Brussels then there will be no “weapons platforms” allowed. The term applies as equally to a Canberra as it does a Sherman tank!

That is so no one has the means to overthrow the bar stewards. EU for ever and ever.

As lovely as it would be to see the iconic Canberra once again fly I fear that it won’t become reality.

Even after the AAIB report into the Shoreham crash is published (and I’m sure we all know what the conclusions will be) there will be no let up in CAA approach to airshows.

For whatever reason the CAA are now viewing the airshow as a thing to be taxed out of existence. In a small way I help to organise a small airshow of around 10-12 aircraft, CAA approval cost circa £2,000 for 2015. The proposed charges for 2016? £25,000, although this has now been phased in over the next three years it will still be implemented. They even want to charge for aircraft on the airfield that don’t even take part in the display. Want to fly slightly lower? then the costs start to increase, how on earth is that aiding safety? Sad to day I would suggest we all go to as many airshows as we can this year for the simple reason that they simply won’t exist very soon. I would love to be proved wrong but don’t think I will be.

Bunsen Honeydew- you’re right to highlight the second part of the EU directive on deactivated weapons, if this piece of legislation is agreed and rubber stamped in the quite disgraceful way the first part was by UNELECTED bureaucrats in Brussels then there will be no “weapons platforms” allowed. The term applies as equally to a Canberra as it does a Sherman tank!

Given all the recent controversy, will the CAA let them display it?
Even if the recent restrictions don’t apply, I’d certainly ask about future vintage jet policy before spending a lot of money on an aircraft the authorities may not let fly.

And lets not forget part two of the EU Firearms directive which might mean they all have to be scrapped or sent overseas to countries outside the EU or to Germany, which has refused to implement to directive

A few more from Airbase Coventry 2010

…….will the CAA let them display it?
Even if the recent restrictions don’t apply, I’d certainly ask about future vintage jet policy before spending a lot of money on an aircraft the authorities may not let fly.

Apart from Hunters, which are currently grounded as a precaution pending the outcome of the AAIB investigation re. Shoreham, no other vintage aircraft which were flying beforehand have been forbidden to fly since. Neither has there been any suggestion that the CAA would forbid any other type from flying. The new requirements centre around safety, and in particular crew currency and experience, and for some vintage aeroplanes that might make life difficult due to the small number of hours that some of them fly (although I am confident that the CAA is open to discussion regarding such circumstances) – the main issue for most operators is going to be the cost of maintaining crew currency.

The flying restrictions currently in place forbid displays featuring an aerobatic element, again there is nothing that suggests that the CAA wouldn’t allow any vintage aeroplane to fly or display – the Canberra in particular is an aeroplane that can be displayed very effectively without doing anything approaching the current temporary restrictions. After the Shoreham investigation is finished, the restrictions are quite likely to be at least partially relaxed.

I think too many people are jumping on the bandwagon of predicting the end of vintage jet flying and death of airshows. The future will probably be more sparsely populated by vintage jet aeroplanes and airshows (mainly down to increased costs for operators and shows which were only just keeping solvent to start with), but I see no particular reasons to be unduly pessimistic.

From their thoroughness and past dealings with the CAA with the Vulcan, I would say VTTS are probably better placed to gain the necessary permissions to fly and display the Canberra than most other operators 😉

Given all the recent controversy, will the CAA let them display it?
Even if the recent restrictions don’t apply, I’d certainly ask about future vintage jet policy before spending a lot of money on an aircraft the authorities may not let fly.

Sea Vixen is apparently flying and displaying ,as long as there are no aerobatics involved why not,no more dangerous than a Spitfire doing aeros.

Given all the recent controversy, will the CAA let them display it?
Even if the recent restrictions don’t apply, I’d certainly ask about future vintage jet policy before spending a lot of money on an aircraft the authorities may not let fly.

Cracking photos. Please keep them coming 🙂

Rob

All I can say is good luck to them. If another iconic British made aircraft can be seen more regularly in the skies, and at whatever airshows we have left, then it is a good thing.

Thank you Rob, here’s another one taken at Coventry 2010.

Lovely photo!

Rob

WK163 at Farnborough 1998

Meant XH134 was at Waddington

PR9 deffo at Sywell in 2014, cos we booked it and I was in a Hughes 500 ABOVE it when it was displaying! TT

She was at Waddington in 2014 with the Hunter…

Definitely wasn’t 😮

MidAir’s PR.9 might have been……… :rolleyes: but Temora’s certainly wasn’t. Think you need to re-read my original comment in relation to which Canberra I was referring to.

It’s kept live, but don’t think it’s flown for a good 5+ years or so. I know there was a web rumour going around a couple of years back that it might never fly again due to operating costs as well as a possible corrosion issue.

She was at Waddington in 2014 with the Hunter…