It is never going to be a crowd puller.

Is that why we preserve aircraft?

Please don’t discuss, but for me there is a massive amount more to it than that. So – crack on folks and good luck!

& I am an aviation enthusiast

I see also some Danish Thunderjet bits there too: oh to have a bit more spare cash. OK a lot then.

…I get pretty peed off with people getting injured or killed in stupid b. accidents

If the DH.82 pilot is the chap I flew with, he had significant military flight time, not to mention his considerable experience in Moths. I therefore find it highly unlikely that he’d have been the cause of a “…stupid b. accident”.

Meanwhile my sincere condolences to families and friends. I shall await the full report before being so disrespectful as to apportion blame before any facts are known beyond here-say.

Apologies if that sounds rude but I have a very soft spot for Compton Abbas and all those who are involved in its running.

Possibly.

Further info:
126554 was from a cancelled batch, so either 131554 (stricken from Litchfield Park storage 27th August 1963 as an MP-2F) or 135554 (stricken from Davis Monthan storage 6th November 1968 as an SP-2H).

I’ve double-checked and these seem to be the only possibles. 135554 seems to be the most likely/only one!

See here for 131554: http://www.cloud9photography.us/US-Squadrons-USN/US-Navy-Fleet-Composite/VC-8-REDTAILS-pictures/i-NXbFJWW – late in the service of 131554, but still no tail boom.

Baugher has this on 135554:

135554 (MSN 726-7011) Accepted at Burbank 22 Nov 54, Lockheed Burbank Nov 54 to Mar 55; NARF Jacksonville Mar 55;
FASRON-109 Jacksonville Mar 55 to Jun 55; VP-18 Jacksonville Jun 55 to Jul 57; NARF Norfolk Jul 57 to Aug 57;
NARF Alameda Aug 57 to Mar 53: NADC Johnsville Mar 58 to May 64 (not listed as P2V-7S; listed as *Y/P2V-7″
from Aug 62, YP-2H from Nov 62, NP-2H from May 63); NWC China Lake May 64 to Jul 64;
NADC Johnsville Jul 64 to Jan 68; to storage at MASDC Davis-Monthan AFB 27 Jan 68; SOC 6 Nov 68.

Photos here:

http://www.vpnavy.com/p2/nadcp2_01_25oct2003.jpg
http://www.vpnavy.com/p2/nadcp2_01_16jun2006.jpg
http://www.vpnavy.com/p2/nadcp2_03_10dec2006.jpg
http://www.vpnavy.com/p2/nadcp2_02_10dec2006.jpg

Apologies for all the edits: I’d say it has to be 135554.

Difficult to see which is ‘inside’ and which is ‘outside’ on that panel: it may be that the ‘blister’ flange is the wrong side to be a PBY?

Early Minis? All Minis have a common gearbox/sump arrangement! Except the modern minis, which aren’t Minis of course 🙂

They’re not of all that much interest as heaps of wreckage corroding into dust in museums, and we’re not really losing much original material by rebuilding them simply because there wasn’t much left to begin with. Compare the loss of some lumpy corroded aluminium with the pleasure and interest gained by seeing an airworthy Spitfire I, Hurricane or Mosquito, and to me there’s little contest.

Well I’d have to disagree there: an original ‘heap of wreckage’ is often more interesting/pertinent than a ‘rebuild’ which contains nothing but the spirit of the original. Let’s not kid ourselves that “comparatively low proportions” survive in these replicas because we know that many contain zero per cent of the original.

I’m certainly not agin anyone building replicas – more power to them in fact – but I do take exception to our global aviation heritage being treated like it is the personal property of those who recover said ‘heaps of wreckage’ and theirs to do whatever with after they’ve pretended to ‘rebuild’ it.

So in MY opinion (please note that when responding), I very much would prefer to see the wreckage AND the replica. But that never seems to be an option does it?