Dominie Being Acquired

The Dominie was moved into Hangar 2 yesterday, more details in here and a couple of photos in here! :applause:

Further good news has reached me from Newark this afternoon – earlier today the Dominie tail plane was fitted; a photo has been added in here!

I suspect that a move into Display Hangar 2 may be fast approaching!! 🙂

Thank you for your kind words T T and I’m pleased that you enjoyed your visit.

NAM is sometimes faced with difficult decisions about what goes undercover and which aircraft is next to receive attention, but I know that all decisions are made with the best of intentions.

The Dominie acquisition has attracted a lot of positive feedback and I suspect it will become a very popular part of the collection.#

By the way, nice photographs! 🙂

I visited a couple of weeks ago shortly after the Dominie had arrived and prior to its engines and cowlings being refitted. I’m really pleased to see that the NAM finally got one of these very representative training jets. I believe that makes 3 preserved, one as a GG at Cranwell, one at the RAFM Cosford and now NAM’s. The latter is of course, the only one which will be under cover, at least for now.

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I also found a photo of Dominie XS730 at RAF Finningley after I’d had a pax trip in her. I also managed to cadge a Dominie Navex to Norway and back (day trip) during my tour at Finningley but don’t seem to have any photos!

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I must say that, during my latest visit to NAM, I was very impressed with both the variety and condition of the airframes and other related artefacts I saw, although I’m well aware that keeping airframes in such good nick can only really be done for so long without covered accommodation. Nonetheless NAM never fails to impress me on each visit and no, I’m not a member, just a very satisfied customer!

The second engine has been fitted with its cowlings; work is underway to reassemble the tail plane in preparation for fitting and one of the leading wing edges has been fitted – looking good!

Now that the ‘Big Draw’ event has finished a ‘warm’ undercover display space awaits! 🙂

I know that the delivery of the panels will be appreciated – as for toasties, I’ve been converted onto Paninis!! 😉

I have a couple of panels that need dropping off . . might pop up for lunch – can never resist the cheese and ham toasties!!! 🙂

Both engines have now been refitted and one has already had the cowlings refitted, there’s a photograph in here!

Elsewhere on the NAM website there is a mini-appeal for some Dominie spares, any leads or suggestions would be appreciated. 🙂

Changes to the HLF funding criteria and more pressing requirements for the museum’s long-term day to day operation saw the priorities change.

By strange coincidence NAM’s current charitable fund raising campaign received a nice boost today through being featured on the Museum Development East Midlands website. Hopefully it will give things a bit more of a boost! 🙂

Currently there are two grant streams being pursued in support of this project; once this project has been delivered further hangars will no doubt beckon again on the Southfield Site.

Looking forward to seeing the Dominie fully assembled!

Re- the Gannet, did anything ever happen with the plan to build another hangar? I seem to recall NAM were going to start a fund raising campaign some years back, but it all went quiet?

From looking at the two new photographs in here it would seem that the work has started on refitting the Dominie engines!

Brian I find when taking photos through glass or perspex put the lens up against it, it cuts down the reflection, if not irradicates it totally, a soft rubber lens hood helps too against it.

Some interesting recollections there scotavia – thank you.

During the HANG (History of Air Navigation Group) North visit to the museum last week I was told a story about a Canberra flight from Cyprus to the UK that took place without navigation avionics and relied on tried and trusted geometry (pendulum and protractor) plus a bit of ingenuity.

The ingenuity being the combined use of ‘Mk1 eyeball’ to locate intersecting contrails over Nice in southern France to identify a waypoint where several commercial air routes met over the city!

A brilliant story, which saw the crew make it back to the UK safely.

I understand that NAM will be looking to develop the navigation / training themes still further. When the Dominie goes inside there will be six former FTS airframes displayed under one roof at Newark – a fact that has already been acknowledged as a major milestone by the museum’s near neighbour’s at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

No news on the engine fitting, but a fresh photo of the Dominie on ‘terra firma’ has been added to the Dominie album in here! 🙂

It is good news to have a Dominie indoors at the same location as a Varsity indoors. During my time at Western Radar Aberporth West Wales we would provide a service to navigation exercises, on one occasion we had a stream of Dominies and also Varsities, the latter being a touch slower .But no navex stream was slower than 5 Sea Princes . On rare occasions we would watch a Nav trainer loose the track or miss a turning point, it was not our job to correct them and usually after 10 minutes a correction was made, made me wonder if someone got a smack with a nav ruler. I have a vague memory of a film where a young Anthony Newley? was training on a Varsity ? navex with blinds covering the windows. He is asked where they are and then shown they are over Blackpool tower, miles from where he thought !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Flight_%28film%29

Subject to the vagaries of the weather I understand that it is hoped to fit the engines to the Dominie sometime this week!

I agree, but having been part of the group that had to make the decision I can explain the rationale.

It was viewed from a national perspective, using the NAHR listings.

Although displayed inside, NAM’s Gannet was only listed as Significant; mainly due to at least one AEW3 being displayed inside at a national collection.

At the time of the decision, there were no Dominies displayed undercover. This will not only help preserve the type, but it should hopefully see XS726 awarded National Benchmark status.

A similar logic was used back in 2003 to help secure a major HLF Grant, when designing Hangar 2 around moving the Varsity inside.

The only sad aspect of all this is the poor ol’ Gannet going outside 🙁

I’ve got a photo somewhere of the Argosy cockpit but I’ll get a decent snap of it on Saturday 😀

Brian

Belated thanks Jon , much appreciated . I asked Jon to post this for me following the confusion between XB261 and XL149 which arose around Post#32 and then Jon posted his own photograph of XL149 and Pen Pusher his of the cockpit instrumentation in Post#52 which does look complete even though the seats could do with a good dusting down . The only cockpit section I missed was that of Argosy XN819 which as TwinOtter23 told me later , is tucked away in the Small Objects Dispaly Hall !

David Thompson has asked me to post this picture he took of XB261 on Monday 15th September –

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Jon