XM172XM173 – Back to the subject in hand
Hello all,
Back to the subject of XM173.
A brief snippet appeared in the latest Flypast magazine informing all that XM173 is in safe hands and resides near Warton.
The piccie shown was from MSS Holdings Ltd ..it said so on the bottom! She has had her wintips & tail cut for road move but they will be replaced by the finest craftsmen so youll hardly be able to tell!
I can now say that MSS Holdings Ltd are the new owners of her and at the moment, she risides in stasis in the factory carpark area.
He will soon be moved on site (now that the wheels revolve after 15 yrs static!) to a place where she can be renovated and repainted before going on a more permanent ‘public display’ at the entrance to the factory. She will remain in 56 sqn Firebirds colours.
You will be more than welcome to come see her when the time is right. In the meantime, she may well be out of sight in the factory being worked on so, i suggest you contact MSS Holdings first if you want to ‘arrange’ a look see if it is possible or not
XM172XM172 & XM173
Well Chaps,
Read with interest your missives on Mr Clarkson … like him or not, XM172 is still alive and not a heap of crushed metal as was the ‘want’ of a certain Airfield Director until i stepped in to buy her and move her on to safer pastures.
XM172 now resides peacefully in my garden up in the Lakes … (viewing is fine but by PRIOR arrangement please…if you turn up on the day and im there, then thats OK i will gladly show you her … But if im not there, then theres NO access other than a look over the wall from the road) …my avatar is of her in situ in case you hadnt noticed!
XM173 appears in the new edition of flypast with official notification from her new owner ….. and yes, she is near Warton. The plan is for her to be available for viewing (after years and years of being out of sight at Bentley Priory) after some restoration work. Until then, she is parked up in a secure area carpark on an industrial complex with limited access. Her wing tips and tail were cut off for the road move.
Just for your general info, ‘Retro Aviation’ now owns F6 cockpit section XS932 as ‘Lakes Lightnings’ have parted with her.
Fly Safe, as always
XM172A great man indeed.
I fully concur with whats been said about this Great British Hero!
I was there at the lake sides of Coniston back in Dec 66 & Jan 67 as a 9 yr old with my Dad Bill, watching Campbell do his practices and eventually, that last fateful run!
Something i will never forget …. but as Iccarus found out to his cost, pushing the limits is a risky business with little to no middleground!
Donald Campbell … a Great British Hero for sure.
XM172XM173 is now safe in the north
Hello all,
Thanks for the million emails to tell me XM173 had been dinked at South Mimms …. it is anoying but nothing really on the big scale of things.
Barry parkhouse did a grand job of moving her and she now resides safely in Lancashire.
Im not at liberty to say where just yet as the owner will give me the green light to go public soon…. I do have lots of pics of her in her temporary storage area which i will release as and when im allowed.
The ultimate plan is for good folks like you out there to be able to see her up close and personal by prior arrangement…. a bit like the arrangement i have on folks wanting to see XM172 up close.
Watch this space ….. BIG THANKS again to all those out ther watching our back.
XM172Rescued from the SKIP!!!
Just to follow on the ‘Skip’ connection, and to hightlight aviation travesties, a certain Heritage group rescued the original wind tunnel models of the Lightning P1, F6, T4 and TSR 2 from a skip at … (unspecified airfield)… some many years back as the removal truck turned up to take it away.
Just imagine !
Anyway, they are now safe and sound and on public display at Bae events im happy to say.
So what else out there of major aviation importance has just been dumped?
XM172Huey 509
Hello all,
Yes we are looking forwards to attending this superb event for the first time in an aviation capacity and NO, this isnt the furthest south we’ve flow Huey 509 …. we displayed at JERSEY in 2007!!!! Cant get much further ‘South’ than that! …. and yes, we flew here there and back!
We were also at the Military Oddesey in Kent having a fun time with the Vietnam team!
Huey 509 is available to attend events but im afraid it does cost as she is 100% privately owned and is Mr Connolly’s pride and joy. Do take a look at our website and tell us what you think ….. http://www.huey.co.uk
Fly safe,
XM172XM173 on the move from Bentley Priory
Hello all,
XM173 has left Bentley Priory and is loaded up ready for a road move north through Sunday night/Monday morning.
She is presently at South Mimms in a secure holding area with a view to moving out up the M1/M6 starting out from South Mimms at 21:00 Sunday night arriving at its final location in Lancashire by 09:00 Monday.
The strong winds have caused problems for this ‘all weather fighter’ (to quote Damien… Ha,Ha ..nice one matey!) with regards to the crane lifting involved so, weather permitting, it will be waggons roll and another Lightning takes to the road comming home to the North.
Cheers all, fly safe.
XM172Lightning XM173
Firstly, BIG THANKS to JagRigger for posting pics of XM172 back at Colt when she came down off the pole! Id not seen those pics before (got any more??)
Anyway, XM173 will be road moving from Bentley Priory on 26th or 27th Jan!
She will go up the M1 then onto the M6 to Preston. More details when i have them.
XM172Lightning XM173 on the move shortly
Just to say that Lightning XM173 will be leaving Bentley Priory sometime around the 21st to the 25th January.
I will let you know nearer the time.
XM172Starfighter for sale
Oh, forgot to mention …theres an ex Luftwaffe Starfighter comming up for sale … i think the owner is looking around 7K.
I have reason to believe there are only 3 in the UK.
XM172Aircraft in garden
Funny to read some of the above comments about the Missus and her rection to an aircraft arriving in the garden!
2 simple rules really chaps …Firstly, get rid of the Missus if shes not into aviation and secondly, get a girl with her OWN airframes! …I did!
We now have a complete Lightning airframe, Lightning F1 nose and Harrier T4 nose in our garden used as birdboxes.
My girlie owns the Harrier nose and recently, struck a deal on complete airframe Hunter WT711 (soon to be moved from Coventry to snuggle up next to the Lightning).
She is priceless as im sure you’d agree and no, shes not for sale!
XM172Fly the Flag and be proud
I ALWAYS fly the RAF Ensign from my home from the 8th Sep through to the 21st Sep each year in recognition of this proud moment in British aviation history in respect of ALL those who served in whatever part of the defence of Britain…………i am 20 yrs ex RAF so im a ‘crab’ through and through and the B of B is particularly important in my bias opinion!
Yes, people do ask whats it for and i do tell them ….. to date, 99% are in support of it being remembered more actively so, i support the instigator of this thread 100%…………….Hurrah! …Well Done Sir.
Fly Safe, as always
XM172The Birth of ‘Lakes Lightnings’
Morning Pagan01 et al……. regarding your question about my ‘gallery’, yes im proposing to set up a website called ‘Lakes Lightnings’ (lakeslightnings.co.uk) in the very near future.
Its NOT active yet but will be soon.
Damiens site ‘Thunder and Lightnings’ has some recent pics of my bits n bobs on the move etc..so i commend it to you for a look see!
Im happy to have PRE ARRANGED visits to Spark Bridge (by mobile or email) to see my collection of Lightning ‘stuff’ although T5, XS420 is at FAST, Farnborough and will remain so and my ‘other’ Lightning airframe is still on loan and under ongoing purchase….. more on that later!
XM173 is loosely connected by association with Lakes Lightnings and will be moving from Bentley soon as ive said before.
Speaking of Lightnings with a pulse, when is the next Brunters fast run day???
Fly Safe
XM172XM173
Hello all,
Just to follow on from Runsky’s post, XM173 is in pretty fine shape with minor issues such as the spine condition.
I was thru her the other day and her insides are fairly dry and reasonably corrosion free. As for the cockpit, about 80% to 90% complete with no stick top and a few bits missing here and there. Seat is only about 40% to 50%.
She sports a pair of Firestreaks on launch rails!
Runsky doesnt want to go public yet as to where she is going to end up except to say, she is ‘going home’ to her beginnings so to speak! …watch this space.
The wings have NOT been cut but regretably, it appears she may have to have her wings clipped like XM172 for ease and speed of transport.
Bentley Priory closes in early 2008 and turns into exclusive housing development however i gather there is a serious move afoot to aquire some parts of the Priory building for Aviation preservation….dont know much more than that at present.
As for timescale, XM173 may be on the move by months end so watch for a movement posting in due course!
XM173 is becoming an ‘honoury member’ of Lakes Lightnings!
Fly Safe, as always
XM172Elvington Huey
Well i enjoyed Elvington and want to say a public THANKS to all those who set it up ….. shame about the weather but there you are …good ol’ Blighty for you!…British Summer! Still, Saturday was a full (flat ) display day whereas Sunday suffered somewhat but still got about 90% of it in!
Anyway, regarding the Huey, it was not firing blanks or any thing like that. Its 50 cals are gas powered with NO moving parts or FOD …just spark plug, gas mix, big bang and a six inch ‘blue flame exhaust gas’ out of the barrels! …Sounds good and VERY real doesnt it!!! … i know, … been there, done that ….
Someone said ‘military’ aircraft in a previous post above …. cant get much more military that this …. 108 combat missions and 559 flying hours in Nam! REAL Bullet holes and all …… Hope you liked her … http://www.huey.co.uk
Cheers all, fly safe
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