DO17 Visit @ Cosford

Took the kids to Cosford today and got the chance to try and peek through the condensation at the DO17. I was actually suprised at the condition considering the time spent in the channel. I spoke to one of the guys there about it and was suprised to learn that it is not as bad as they first thought and they believe that it should only need 2-3 years being conserved in its current location (currently conducting tests at one of the universities). They also have plans to go back for the tail as soon as they can. Even more interesting (well I thought anyway) is that he was suprised there was a question over the identity as he was sure it had been confirmed with data plates.

On the restoration front they still have not decided what they are going to do yet. There was an initial thought that it would be restored completely but then due to costs there was a thought of 50/50 restoration (this could end up being more costly than a complete restoration given the delicate state). There was no mention of leaving ‘as is’ for display….I guess they have a few years to decide.