mass cull of Volunteer Reserve Squadrons .

Not quite they were Royal Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons

It is very easy to be critical of the situation with the aircraft that have gone to Bentwaters or Sproughton.

All of these aircraft have had to be purchased by the dealer which ties up a fair amount of Capital.

Look at Black Mike £38,000 to purchase and move, so the costs to Everett Aero for XT597 would have been similar to acquire and move to Bentwaters.

The alternative, and considerably cheaper option, would be to chop off the cockpit on site and scrap the rest.

Eventually some of these will find suitable homes, even at £75k. Look at the Harrier and Tornado from Jet Art.

What, in my opinion, was wrong was that the aircraft could not be added to the collection at Cosford.

Let us be grateful that Everett’s are prepared to tie up their capital in moving and keeping these airframes.

Some must be within the reach of the museums as is evidenced by the arrival of the Jaguar and Dominie at Newark.

The last time I saw Steve he had pretty much finished with aircraft scrapping as there was too much Health and Safety/Environmental Paperwork to be filled in as part of any tender.

I think he still has the yard as he mainly supplies bits for Film & Television work.

Last time I was there was just after he had cleared the Mig 27 from Foulness. The centre section was just inside the yard

Steve would have sold the Phantoms were it not for the scarp and remelt clause in the tender which was strictly enforced. The Tiger Phantom which Steve wanted to keep caused him big problems with disposal sales.

Many of the cockpit sections were cleared as the environment agency wanted them stored on concrete and not where they were.

Photos from a visit yesterday;

Previous newly arrived trams not in evidence.

Could be because they are in the new building at the side of the main display hall

Considering Leeming’s Javelin connections (228 OCU during the 50s and early 60s) I can’t see why they’re disposing of it. Have the hierarchy no sense of history and what is fitting in the present?
Jim

I very much doubt that sense of history plays a role in the disposal.

In a risk averse culture the gate guards are seen as a potential safety risk

Disposal to non professional museums is also considered risky as they may not be capable of producing the appropriate risk assessments, dismantling plans, have suitable insurance in addition too trained and competent personnel.

This also applies to commercial airframe disposals as much of this was required when G-ARPO was moved from Teesside Airport

The time is approaching when there will be no gate guards and no airframes with ATC units unless they are plastic

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sale-of-phantom-aircraft

This is the disposal Document

F8 WK968 at Odiham?

And there was a decaying kit of parts that once was TT20 WM224 at North Weald (early 2000’s?) – was that scrapped or saved?

WM224 has been at East Midlands Aeropark since 2003

A Bit more digging from http://rcaffingal.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/blog-post_25.html

He was on No 4 Bombing and Gunnery School

Course 19: May 26 – July 5, 1941

Wing Commander W.D. Van Vliet presented wings to graduates.

+(AUS.400029) Laurance David Orbuck, +(NZ403573) Gordon McDonald Frostick, +(NZ403558) Selwyn Charles Orme, +(R/74283) Harold Bryan Livingston Gittins, Argentina, Kenneth Frederick Hampton Hale, (R/56265) Hubert Brooks

Details of the loss of the aircraft are on the link below on Page 34

http://www.awm.gov.au/catalogue/research_centre/pdf/rc09125z022_1.pdf