I have often wondered why the Shackleton was never cleared to fly on the civil display scene. The last developement of the Lancaster line, it still must be considered less ‘complex’ than the Vulcan or a vintage fast jet. It seems to have flown safely under the ‘experimental rules’ in the US. Allowing a company like Air Alantique to operate it under a special licence would surely not be any more risky.
mmitch.

A Merchantman is preserved in ground running condition at the Brooklands Museum, Surrey. I had the pleasure of seeing it run the Summer before last.
mmitch.

A useful website is:-
http://www.bomber-command.info/
I had a link for the Bomber Command Assoc. but appears to be down. There are also some squadron assoc. links on the RAF site.
mmitch

The Shackleton at Duxford is the most sad sight there, closely followed by the Victor. Are they beyond restoration now?
mmitch

Ironic isn’t it that the P51 in the American Air Museum at Duxford is a replica because a ‘real’ one was too expensive!
Another American aircraft that has served the RAF well is the Hercules and there are none preserved in any UK museum yet.
mmitch

There were nearly 23,000 Spitfires produced. The book ‘Spitfire the History’ by E.B. Morgan & E. Shacklady contains the serials, service and fate (if known) of nearly all. I bought it in 1987 but it was recently updated. I doubt any website has this level of detail.
mmitch.

I don’t have a problem with a different overall colour scheme. I remember the red Spitfire and Hunters. It’s the advertising slogan ‘from wing tip to wing tip’ that puts me off.
Foxy Lady is a one off at the moment and deserves better than that. Her yellow/red scheme is the one she wore at work and suits her. Would ‘Vulcan to the Sky’ accept XH558 having her wings covered by a ‘Red Bull’?
mmitch.

There is (was?) one displayed in the RAF Museum. It was near the ‘crew in a dingy’ display. I can’t recall any details except that it seemed rather shallow for the open sea.
mmitch.