stuart gowansI was in negotiations with the owner 3 years ago, r.e the swift, I found him a harrier, he then asked me to make the offer in writing which I did, the deal included delivery and assembly of said harrier and removal of swift remains; he then said that he had given the aircraft to his sons, who didn’t want another aircraft . I made him a cash offer of £8k but I never heard anymore; I think its fair to say that they don’t give a monkeys about preservation or money ,and the only people that the swift attracts to their store are preservationists or spotters who ,clearly they don’t want.
stuart gowansWasn’t it the “yellow squadrons” thread that introduced the idea that you cannot prove or disprove non existance ;from a farming point of view there was no reason to make huge fields or buildings at that time (other than for the reason that maybe the “Dutch” were used to large expanses of reclaimed land at home),they couln’t be cultivated by steam plough because the winding drums wouldn’t have enough cable, and the biggest tractors /crawlers were no wider that 6-7ft. It would however be a hell of a lot easier to get to London (or anywhere else in England ) from Norfolk than from france, and if they were able to land armour they could have “blitzkrieged” away to their hearts content ,that being a speciality of theirs! Having said that ,my Mum was evacuated to Norfolk during the blitz and it would have been a sorry govt that sent the nations children into the line of fire ,rather than away from it !!
stuart gowansWe find ‘Mountain’ bikes to be the ideal tool for airfield exploration. You can cover the area fast quickly, particularly useful where the sites are widely dispersed, have 100% all-round viz, and can ride through the wooded bits that a car can’t reach.
Moggy Presumably the mountain bikes also afford a quick getaway when confronted by the chap wearing an old and tatty “viz” tee shirt with the legend “Farmer Palmer says get orf mi land” emblazoned across the front!
stuart gowansWholeheartedly agree with EVERYTHING you’ve said in your above quote.
Willingale, Matching Green, North Pickenham & Wendling (Beeston) evoke so much more emotion for me personally……..
However, being the jaded cynic that I am, I fully expect Epping Forest District Council (money talks) – plus the large & powerful jaws, of any future potential developers(£££), to have their wicked way/pound of flesh…….& turn North Weald into a massive housing/retail park complex.
You can bet your ‘bottom dollar’ on it.
Even if the airfield/enthusiasts/preservationists were fortunate & WON THIS TIME AROUND….the same proposals, will rear their ugly head, time & time again, until the corporate developers, lean hard & heavy, then the bulkhead cracks.
It’s very geographical location, so close to London, blights it’s future.
We may be lucky (sarcasm) – they might do a Hornchurch, & throw in a poncy ‘ Country Park’ for the benefit of all the thousands of ‘new’ residents, located in their wafer-thin, sardine-like new-builds (do you other optimsts on the forum REALLY think E.F.D.C. gives a toss about W.W.2 history ?)
Just hope the M.11 & the A.414 can cope….Shame – 5 years, if not 15.North Weald……R.I.P. (just like Coltishall et al)
So when I am out aimlessly driving around Willingale and Matching Green trying to pickup a vibe, twisting my head round 180 degrees trying to see through the bushes,and ending up in the middle of the road in the process , its you that I narrowly miss each time, coming the other way!!!
stuart gowansYou just gotta be impressed with that!
stuart gowansDave T / Wildcat, sorry for the negative waves!! My concern is not whether you all make a profit , or whether you do or don’t want anything out of it for yourselves, its more to do with the longevity of the Shack’s survival; hypothetically if the museum you are donating it to wants to dispose of it ,once donated they can do with it as they wish ;as a former aquisition & disposals officer (a grander title you could not wish for !!) with a registered museum I am familiar with the procedure, and have regrettably had to send things (aquired by the museum ) to the scrap. If on the other hand you retain title of ownership it will be your responsibility to move it . I think the group was formed for the right reason and as such your actions should be commended but we should all remember that the act of preservation by definition, never ends.
stuart gowansFair point 😉
Though was using the posting more to see if other people showed some kind of interest in saving the nose. See if XL391’s suggestion of it becoming forum project number 2?? But not exactly seen a flurry of activity on this front!
Nor will you; forums are for talking ,and this one takes the biscuit!! many of our preservationists don’t even have access to the internet ,but they seem to be able to aquire and dispose of cockpits and airframes without ebay or the like. As Mark G says its a bit of a lump to move; how many people have seen a vulcan cockpit on the floor? they’re a hell of a lot bigger than they seem 15ft up in the air; incidently the hardest cockpit to move is ..your first one subsequently the rest are progressively easier, as your ability matches requirement on the learning curve !. Whilst I am against sectioning cockpits ( or anything for that matter) I do see an amount of logic in this case, and a travelling exhibit is hugely more enjoyable to own. I don’t believe the owners will scrap it ,because although on the face of it theres 3 ton of alu its what is termed “dirty ally” ,i.e contaminated with steel bolts plastics insulation etc ,the way they work is to smash every thing as hard as they can, and pick out by hand all the “clean” stuff , and that will make the money, but the rest will make half of that, therefor the real scrap value is more like £500- less the labour + plus the seats and controls as an when they can be sold. The advantage of cockpit sections is that they can be owned and maintained by individuals, consortiums and groups are a nightmare as the “shack group” will no doubt discover; everythings rosie in the beginning but after a few years ,and a few changes in locations (nearly always taken on by one or two individuals) the cracks start to appear. This Vulcan isn’t too expensive ,but it is a hell of a lot of work.
stuart gowansNot everything on the mkVII was better than the mkV or the mkIX ,the trailing links on the U/C legs were not carried over, either because they weren’t as good at controlling side loads i.e directional stability ,or more likely the sheer complexity of the U/C door ,which compared to the mkV & mkIX ,must have been a nightmare to produce, as they don’t seem to contain any parts common to the other types. The doors I have carry the inspection stamps for Southampton, however I don’t know if they were all made there.
stuart gowansWasn’t the weight reduction on th DB’s achieved by the use of magnesium alloy on the big castings (as well as the small ones)? Anyone who has gazed (in wonderment?)upon a British injector pump of the 1930’s vintage ,could be forgiven for thinking it was a donkey engine ,the sheer bulk of them for so little performance!
stuart gowansDave T, the 2003 event was the poorest event in terms of attendance but still enjoyable; 2004 was better; r.e attendance and positioning 2005 was a good turn out and brilliant weather but the site was efectively split in two. Both Bill Fern and Nayland Moore regularily bring “work in progress cockpits”, David Collins Hornet project is also in that catagory. I personally think that “work in progress” cockpits are more interesting as they give you the option of exhibiting a different cockpit every year (always assuming that progress is made!).It’s true some people have come one year and never again, I don’t know any of these people personally, so I cant ask them, but one exhibitor who has attended for a couple of years has intiimated that he might not attend this year on grounds of transport costs (I hope he changes his mind). however I don’t think anyone has felt unwelcome ; my first attendance was 2002 and I didn’t know anyone there, but the lure of free food and all the (free) beer you can drink was too strong!! not to mention the Flypast goody bag ,and all the cockpits of the aircraft at Newark are open free to the exhibitors as well. My advice is take a chance ..I did. 682al , don’t get me wrong ,I thoroughly enjoyed 2005, but the positioning was not good ; plus the fact that if substantial numbers of exhibitors were to turn up ,they couldn’t be accommodated in that location.
stuart gowansMy only concern is that this event gets bigger and better every year; the positioning of the cockpits in 2005 was inferior to that of the previous year ,and I know that most exhibitors agree with me on this point.If the lease prohibits an aero jumble on the old site, surely the most obvious thing would be to put the cockpits in the 2004 position, the areo jumble the otherside of the fence (where it was 2002/3) and the interiors in the new hanger as per 2004/5 ;that way everybodys in the same location, and those aerojumblers that also have a display, 682al, et al ! (sorry about that!) can be part of the overall display. Those of us that can remember the 2003 ‘fest will remember less than ten cockpits attending (notwithstanding the permanent exhibits) ; the average mileage must be something like a hundred miles (many have double that), and it was disappointing for exhibitors and visitors alike ( and presumably Newark museum as well,with regards to the loss of “gate” revenue );there is roughly four times as many cockpit owners listed in the ICC directory as those who regularily exhibit at this event; and I for one would like to find out why these people don’t have the inclination to attend ,only for the reason that if “we” are doing something wrong, whether its the timing of the event or the lack of travelling expenses or whatever, it should be addressed so that the event might grow. I have to say that all the museum volunteers I meet are very helpful and friendly etc, but I’ve yet to meet a trustee,director or committee member ,let alone one who wants my opinion.
stuart gowansI don’t think that Bill oSUllivan has any say on the date or indead the location within the Newark site ,I think he just has to make the best of a bad job; no doubt that “committee do all the “planning” which is why I started a similiar discussion on the ICC website this early in the year, in the hope that some of our thoughts might filter through to those in the know ,in the next few months; every year we say something to Bill in an attempt to improve the event, but by the time you turn up its a bit late for that year ,and a bit early for the next! as for the dates of events clashing that will always happen ,there are events of one kind or another on every weekend (aviation or othewise) but when I was involved in event planning ,we tried not to clash with other local events and big shows wherever they were.
stuart gowansPerhaps the researchers at the Beeb know more than we think, they may for instance be thinking of a derivative of the swept wing bomber (b12/36)that was Mitchell’s last design ,with a top speed of 360 mph in 1936/7 they may well of thought it must have been jet powered! as for the E type its derivative of the D type likewise the db5 (db4) and according to “Top Gear the” Delorean was styled by Ital in Italy ; wasn’t the inventor of the “DM” German (martens)? Reluctantly I voted for the Spitfire as it was the only revolutionary British design.
stuart gowansI’ve also got a prop hub that I need help to I.D ,its from a merlin (I know that because the shaft was still in it !) its 15 3/4” across the “shoulders” and each prop”quadrant” is 8 3/4” dia and the center boss is 11 1/2” long; stamped into the base of the blades are the following numbers,301899, 70662, 57413, 1724, (thats one set of numbers per blade) there are a few other numbers in the base of the blade but are illegible. Any help would be greatfully received . (this hub is not for sale not even if its Spitfire!)
stuart gowansThe remains of the other replica is in a shed “somewhere in kent” as I was looking around it this thursday evening ,I think it is available for sale or trade.
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