“Food for thought and tin hat time – the amount of money given by the HLF to get the XH558 flying would have more than covered (excuse the pun) the cost of a basic building like Hangar 2 at Newark, to get the Hastings, Shackleton and Vulcan inside a single structure.”

I have to agree with you. I know people will give money to what they want and I know that the HLF decides where that part of the lottery pot goes but to be honest, this is why I will put a few quid in the Newark pot every time I visit (and I live quite close by) and I won’t put any money towards a flying Vulcan because (Warning Selfish Incoming) I’ve already seen it fly and I saw Vulcans fly when they were in RAF service. (This does not in any way denigrate the amazing effort to get the Vulcan back into the air) I’d rather walk around an environmentally controlled hangar and see a variety of large ac (say a Hastings, Vulcan, Shackleton and Canberra) in good clean preserved conditions with an interpretive display including video footage of real examples flying so that visitors could see what the ac looked like and sounded like in flight. HLF money would then be used wisely to preserve these ac for generations. On another website I saw another quote about VTTS which basically said that there are some people who think that the only thing missing from the British Public’s life is not seeing a Vulcan flying. I tend to agree that there is a little more to the historic aviation scene that XH558. Sorry for the thread creep but I think other museums and aviation centres might not attract HLF as easily in the future. I hope I’m wrong.

I thought that is was generally a very good programme and quite moving in parts. It brought into focus the slim divide between the joy of aviation and the high risk of mortality . The 2 brothers would have probably attracted a far larger audience than some dusty aviation enthusiast (not all aviation enthusiasts are, by definition, dusty of course) and the programme needed to be aimed at the largest possible audience. The scary part for me is that I served in the RAF for the best part of a quarter of its existence but I’m sure several people who visit these pages will beat that easily!

In the 1980s I was based at RAF Church Fenton, an RAF station that once hosted Hornets in the late 1940s. I’ve always been impressed with this sleek aircraft and, of course, would love to see one in the flesh, flying or not. However, I tend to feel very pessimistic about many of these historic aircraft restoration projects (even some of the US-based ones) as the World is moving on and the recreation or rebuild of such types like the Hornet and others is becoming increasingly a pipe dream for people who want to (and, more importantly, can afford to)live in the past (including me!). I think it’s a long shot and I hope I’m wrong.

This is just more proof of what happens when old aircraft are left outside to the elements. Anyway, it does seem that action is being taken and not a moment too soon. I don’t know much about this particular aircraft but I presume that it is being dismantled for spares etc. I guess its beyond hope for saving as a complete aircraft. Will it be going to Coventry as spares for their “live” Shack?

Antoine de Saint-Exupery? He crashed into a vineyard at La Marsa in August 1943 as old leg injuries prevented him from applying full force to the brakes. ‘USAAF Colonel Harold Willis … was furious to learn that the Frenchman, 43, is 13 years older than the upper age limit for P-38 pilots’.

He wrote the novels Night Flight and Flight to Arras, apparently…

A famous French pilot and writer; he also wrote, “The Little Prince.” I had heard of him before I attended Legends in 2011 but Bernard the Commentator told all us about him anyway. Clearly he’s still telling everyone the same story(ies); which, at a lecture, might be interesting but at an air show, where the aircraft and their air and ground crews are the stars, it’s like listening to a dripping tap you thought you’d repaired. (My opinion anyway.)

Well I hate to say it (probably again) but how many more will follow that route in the next 40 years….

Looked at some photos of XM607s jet pipe exhausts yesterday, they don’t look pretty.

Tim S

I would have to agree entirely with these views. Indeed, this Herald is just one of the many supposedly preserved airframes in the UK which will disappear over the next few years as the weather, deceasing interest in heritage aviation generally (with some very strong exceptions) and the lack of covered accommodation take their toll. Large airframes are going to be at risk but, as some others have said, several of the smaller types will go the same way unless they are in secure, covered accommodation. I’m sure museums will do their best to tackle this threat but I think many airframes that are outside now won’t be there in 10-20 years time.

I always wondered what on earth a Herald was doing in the collection of a wartime airfield collection but I presume it was the Handley Page link with the Halifax. The vintage car left outside instead of being garaged is a very good analogy. The work done by the folks who look after Lindy is amazing but only possible through constant vigilance and constant work on their charge.

Going back on topic now

Does anyone know how work (if any) is progressing at Lyneham.???

This presumably dictates when whatever is left at Cosford to move, will be moved down to Lyneham. Presumably that’s if the plan is still to transfer all the airframes that are at Cosford.

I would have thought that would be a perfect time to retire the JP from Technical Training?

Tim S

This was the situation at the time my “clock” stopped a few weeks ago when I took redundancy and retired from the MOD Civil Service. My previous HQ was Cosford so I made a few visits there over the last couple of years. So my knowledge of the situation now may not be up to date.

The Jet Provosts have all gone, there are none used for ground handling training now as far as I know. (I saw a couple of JP airframes leave Cosford on the back of low loaders around a year ago now). On my last visit in October, only Jaguar aircraft were in use, some of these were airframes transferred from Cranwell.

After the faff (and believe me, it was a faff for me, both when wearing a uniform and afterwards as a civvy) with all Defence Technical Training going to MOD St Athan under a PPP with Metrix as the chosen contractor group, it transpired that this was deemed as unaffordable (not least by the incoming Government in 2010) and the dream of a brand new Defence Technical Training College at St Athan, incorporating the Red Dragon superhangar, was killed off in October 2010 and an in-house format was chosen instead. Bearing in mind that no solution seems to be affordable in these strange times, progress since has been somewhat slow. The “in-house” format turned out to be a recycled RAF Lyneham, now MOD Lyneham and the Defence Technical Training Team moved there at least a couple of years ago I guess. I’m certain the next thing that happened was the erection of a “sod off” fence around the whole base.

Initial plans were for the Army technical training schools at Bordon and Arborfield to move in first and then the RAF aeronautical technical training school from Cosford to move and finally the aeronautical part of the RN technical training from HMS Sultan by 2020. To my knowledge, only the Army units have moved or will move to Lyneham in the near future as Arborfield is too close to Reading to resist not being sold for housing development; they may have moved out already, I’m not sure. I’ll have a sniff on the Net.

RAF Cosford will undoubtedly try to retain its aeronautical engineering training at Cosford (and why not?) and, as part of a “strengthening” and savings move in 2012, all RAF Engineer Officer Phase 2 training relocated from RAFC Cranwell to Cosford. A “double move” to Lyneham so soon would not only anger the Trade Unions. Current Govt policy (whatever that’s worth) is still that all Defence Technical Training will decant to Lyneham.

Having gladly spent much of my RAF career “following the flag” I decided that there was no way I’d move any more and attempted to hold out for another MOD Civil Service post in the Cranwell area but voluntary redundancy has proved to be too great a temptation and I’m not young enough to be “peed around” by a shrinking Defence environment any more so I pulled the “yellow and black” which gives me more time to read items on sites like this on the Internet!

I apologise if any of this information is incorrect but this is how I saw it, how it directly and indirectly affected me and what I was told up until last month.

I visited a couple of weeks ago shortly after the Dominie had arrived and prior to its engines and cowlings being refitted. I’m really pleased to see that the NAM finally got one of these very representative training jets. I believe that makes 3 preserved, one as a GG at Cranwell, one at the RAFM Cosford and now NAM’s. The latter is of course, the only one which will be under cover, at least for now.

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I also found a photo of Dominie XS730 at RAF Finningley after I’d had a pax trip in her. I also managed to cadge a Dominie Navex to Norway and back (day trip) during my tour at Finningley but don’t seem to have any photos!

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I must say that, during my latest visit to NAM, I was very impressed with both the variety and condition of the airframes and other related artefacts I saw, although I’m well aware that keeping airframes in such good nick can only really be done for so long without covered accommodation. Nonetheless NAM never fails to impress me on each visit and no, I’m not a member, just a very satisfied customer!