Historic themed BA advert

The end result would have been the same. Everyone would have sat on their collective ass until the last possible moment without doing a damn thing, even if they had 5 years to come up with a plan.

Well I’m not suggesting that everything could have been saved, certainly the largest aircraft like the 707 and VC-10 would have been very difficult to do anything with no matter what. But in the case of something like the Trident, I really feel more time ought to have been given. Someone correct me if my memory is playing tricks, but iirc it was something like three weeks between the disposal announcement and scrapping. Even three months would have been short notice.

A somewhat manky Trident 1 has since been moved from Durham up to NEAM with alot of hard work over a period of months. Yes, Cosford to NEAM would have been a longer trip, but the Cosford example was in much better nick. A Trident 3 was moved from Heathrow to Manchester by road a few years back (some of the same guys doing the recent NEAM move). A few years down the line and NEAM are having to restore an example that’s very rough to begin with.

It goes to show what can be achieved with a relatively large airframe given enough forewarning.

I really don’t understand why the BA collection was disposed of so very quickly, there should have been more notice given so that more preservation efforts could have been considered.

The end result would have been the same. Everyone would have sat on their collective ass until the last possible moment without doing a damn thing, even if they had 5 years to come up with a plan.

Regards the 707, I’d heard it was in deteriorating health even before the BA collection disposal, so it may have had to be reduced to produce in due course anyway…

Quite correct, it was becoming a H&S issue and was quite corroded.
This is the difference between a large airframe that has been kept outside and the TWA Connie at Wroughton that has only been outside 2-3 times for selected open days. Thankfully the 707’s nose has been preserved and beautifully restored in BOAC colours.

I have to say the one loss in the BA collection that made me particularly angry was the Trident 1. Beautifully preserved and maintaned, her electrics were still serviceable and there was a dedicated group looking after her regularly. To have the aircraft reduced to a flightdeck (not even a full nose or forward fuselage) was pretty sickening. I really don’t understand why the BA collection was disposed of so very quickly, there should have been more notice given so that more preservation efforts could have been considered.

Regards the 707, I’d heard it was in deteriorating health even before the BA collection disposal, so it may have had to be reduced to produce in due course anyway…

‘Sole remaining’ has always been unambiguous and has been used in the past as a stick to batter BA with. Out of the survivors the Hamburg example whilst within the airport is particularily well looked after in period Lufthansa scheme. The Tegel example is whole but not preserved and the Entebbe example is an ex BA example that was hijacked to there in 1981.

The appears to be other ‘sole remaining’ Boeing 707’s with RR Conway engines at Berlin Tegel -Hamburg and Entebbe to name three.

None in the UK.
I’d guess the one at Entebbe doesn’t do a lot of good in regards to preserving UK industrial history.

Kev – the premis has always been that the Cosford 707 was the last surviving RR Conway example -its not correct. Preserved or not preserved by BA was never the issue -the issue was of preserving an example full stop.

As for BA -the Viscount was moved to East Fortune in its entirety so I cannot really blame BA for doing that. When you look around at the numbers of BA aircraft preserved in the U.K -it doesnt strike me as a bad effort.

Its also worth pointing out that the acquisition of BA aircraft at Cosford was encouraged – people often level aim at BA over the Cosford collection but I feel the blame lies rather more at the RAFM.

Great to see an airline acknowledge its history and a passion for flight…instead of being a just a bus service with wings.
My last few trips to the UK has been with BA, and I don’t see any reason to change.

We’ve found BA OK as an airline, and they have an excellent archive. However their ‘passion for history’ comes a long way behind a number of other airlines which actually operate vintage aircraft – Air Canada, South African Airways, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus, and IIRC, a couple more. I’ve never flown on a vintage aircraft courtesy of BA; I have flown in a Lockheed 10A with Air Canada and a Junkers Ju 52/3m thanks to Lufthansa. Other airlines actively support museums or have their own, such as Qantas, who flew a 707 from the UK to Australia to go on display.

Some of the ad was also filmed at Old Warden…. and as far as I am aware there was never a Rapide that wore ‘Imperial Airways’ titles!

This point. like some others was covered in the ‘making of’ here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FXqOllhPHs

Thanks to Joe May of Travel For Aircraft for bringing it to my attention: http://travelforaircraft.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/british-airways/

But yeah, overall it’s a good, very atmospheric ad!

And that’s the point. It’s an advertisement; nothing more, and very little real support of heritage nice though the advert is. (Bear in mind that the agency of fast-talking content-light suits will have pulled vastly more cash than the little cash that would’ve gone to Shuttleworth and Duxford.) And then measured against BA’s pulling the plug on their Cosford collection – pocket change, and a quick feel good for them.

Just my opinion, of course.

Regards,

Yes David, but I don’t think any of those are currently owned by BA?

This truly was a case of throwing their heritage away. It might have been better if BA had made moves to preserve just one of the five which were destroyed or reduced to cockpit sections in their entirety. There was an almost unseemly haste in the closing of the annexe to the top hangar in whch the history of BA was displayed by the use of models, uniforms, ephemera and interactive displays.

I doubt the the RAF were entirely blameless in this as I seem to remember that there were to be a reduction in the airframes displayed outside (to the Britannia, Neptune and Hunter on the gate) which has already proven to be nonsense as a Jetstream now resides outside, as will the Hercules, and Nimrod and VC10 should they materialise.

Not BA or RAFM’s finest hour.

Regards,

kev35

The appears to be other ‘sole remaining’ Boeing 707’s with RR Conway engines at Berlin Tegel -Hamburg and Entebbe to name three.

If the Science Museum (did any ever fly for UK airlines?) can keep a Connie

BOAC used Constellations:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/photos-1940-1949/public/en_gb

If the Science Museum (did any ever fly for UK airlines?) can keep a Connie, why not a 707 with UK engines?

Yeah – BOAC operated a number – Euravia and a number of independants did as well.

Some of the ad was also filmed at Old Warden…. and as far as I am aware there was never a Rapide that wore ‘Imperial Airways’ titles!

But yeah, overall it’s a good, very atmospheric ad!

Point well taken…especially the sole remaing 707-with RR engines.
If the Science Museum (did any ever fly for UK airlines?) can keep a Connie, why not a 707 with UK engines?

I think perhaps RedRedWine is referring to the following…..

Regards,

kev35

Thank you. Great stuff.
Great to see an airline acknowledge its history and a passion for flight…

Sorry, but I live 5 miles from Cosford so I have seen BA’s passion for it’s history.

John.
You might find this illuminating.
Regards,
kev35

Thank you. Great stuff.
Great to see an airline acknowledge its history and a passion for flight…instead of being a just a bus service with wings.
My last few trips to the UK has been with BA, and I don’t see any reason to change.

Apparently a couple of weeks ago when shown to staff an eagle eyed BA engineer spotted that they had used shots of a Virgin 747 but not changed the reg which was then hastily changed before release!

The first aircraft having its prop swung looks like the DH.51 that appears a bit later on, it’s a bit confusing as it cuts straight to a Dragon Rapide.
Some of it was filmed at Duxford using some of their airliners, I believe DCWs excellent Dux thread shows various stages of the filming.
I agree with you, an excellent result.

John.

You might find this illuminating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUQJiFARd80&feature=relmfu

Regards,

kev35