Who cares, what a beauty. Well done team

Cheers

Cees

IIRC the RAFM didn’t want to look the museum like a scrapyard with the Halifax, Hurricane and Gladiator wreckage already on show. It would however be a sensible thing to do to display the tailsection of LK488 (in whatever condition, as is or restored) to at least have some representation of the imporant Stirling. If National Lottery funds could be found then at least a full scale mock up can be made, the technology is available. There was talk about a project other than the Stirling Project to build a GRP Stirling about a decade ago but apparently that came to nought. The time is now to do something about the lack of a Stirling. Some years ago the RAF Sub Aquateam did work on a Stirling wreck in a lake but gave up as there were some missing crewmembers (the more reason to recover the wreck to find them) although the wreck was in many pieces and the polluted lakebed didn’t help things too. The longer we wait the more deterioration will take place on any possible usable wrecks. If a large scale project could be started perhaps it would be possible to gather the Dutch and French main fuselage sections for reference to re-engineer the drawings etc.
Think about what a magnificent sight it will be to see a full size Stirling regardless of it’s construction on display somewhere.

Cheers

Cees

A similar outcome can be achieved for the Stirling, using the RAF Museum parts as a source of extenal dimensions, without dismantling them, or consuming them, or even incorporating them in the finished outcome, where original, re-usable, and available parts exist, they could be incorporated into the FSM, and the rest of the aircraft scaled up from general layout drawings, and photos etc, not unlike the full scale model of the Arrow built in Canada.

Ok then, what’s the use of storing these parts indefinately without doing anything to preserve or restore them. In the past the RAFM has disposed of imporants parts or even scrapped them. In other cases they have supplied a complete Hampden nose section to Canada which they could have used it at this moment for their Hampden project. Similar to the many Wellington parts in the UK. There are possibilities to reconstruct an airframe but there isn’t enough cooperation between various parties to do so (whatever the reason). It would be a good thing if a certain organisation in the UK for instance (BAPC?) would issue guidelines to enable a missing type to be recreatedd in whatever form as long as it is to enable the public to see what it looked like in the flesh. YAM did it and created a Halifax (yes, it’s one whatever you say, it has more Halifax related sections than mock ups and even that can be put right if the possibility would present itself).
Apart from the Stirling Project, nobody is ever willing to undertake such a project. With talking a project doesn’t start, it needs blood sweat tears and a lot of money! This is a very interesting topic but a very frustrating one as well.

Cheers

Cees

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=76078&highlight=Stirling

See this thread for the pics of LK488 bits in storage.

Amazing what’s still left (and would make a good start wink wink )

Cees

Hi John,

I know, it’s the same story all over again. You and your volunteers have already spent decades on gathering all sorts of material that could have been lost because nobody cared at the time (but that too is understandable with hindsight). At least the Stirling Project is doing something about recreating an impressive section of the unsong Stirling. Perhaps the RAFM give in this time and have the tail restored. Even when a substantial wreck is found in fresh water or the wrecks in Egypt, the work is still massive but important.
The Stirling was an important type and needs to be represented in any form in the UK (same as the Whitley).
Cheers

Cees

If is the same airframe, it’s certainly sprouted different engines!

It did having being built with Merlin engines originally but was used as a test airframe, the fins are also different compared to the standard triangular fins.
The success of the Hercules engine installation gave the Halifax the much needed power and gave it a great performance boost.

Cheers

Cees