WJ244Please check your PMs when you have a minute. Thanks
WJ244Thanks for clarifying that Bruce. Other posts here led me to believe it was on its way out of the doors along with the others.
I must admit in view of the reasons given for disposal of the Storch / Criquet and JU-52 / Amiot I am surprised to hear that the CASA is staying. As Mike J says it has as little relevance to what is stated as the current collection policy than the others.
It does seem that much of the pruning of the collection is to make space for the exhibits from Lambeth during the rebuild there. It does seem rather short sighted to dispose of aircraft to make way for comparatively short term storage of exhibits which will be returning to their original location. Surely it would have been possible to store the JU-52 etc or some other aircraft in the buildings on the other side of the A505 until the Lambeth exhibits returned to London.
On the plus side it should give us an opportunity for better photographic opportunities and better viewing of the Lambeth aircraft while they are at Duxford. There could even be a case for taking them all outside at some time during their stay for an enthusiasts photography day provided the weather was kind. That should bring a few more customers through the doors and make a small contribution towards the costs of moving everything from Lambeth.
WJ244In my view a member of the public with little aviation knowledge would expect to see both allied and enemy aircraft on a visit to the Imperial War Museum. The Storch and JU-52 did a pretty good job of upping the number of enemy aircraft on display and the fact that they were actually post war aircraft built outside of Germany was of little significance to the average visitor – they looked the part to the average punter. The CASA also made a reasonable stand in for a genuine and totally unobtainable HE-111 and the hows and whys of the Rolls Royce engines could easily be explained on an information board to inform those who were interested enough to want to know and the fact that CASA’s were used in the Battle of Britain film would probably have made the aircraft identifiable to many casual visitors.
If genuine WW2 German built replacements were easily available then the disposals would be justified but as replacements are never likely to be available then the disposals appear to be very short sighted.
The average member of the public ie non-enthusiasts comes to somewhere like Duxford to see Spitfires, Hurricanes. Lancasters and their US and German counterparts. They certainly don’t come to be educated about the difference between a Criquet with an Argus engine and a genuine german built Storch or the difference between the undercarriage of an AAC1 and a genuine JU-52 nor would they expect to be told that they need to travel miles to another museum to see a Storch or JU-52 because IWM disposed of their representations of these aircraft because they had minor differences to the true German versions and the wrong manufacturers construction plate. Museums nowdays are operating in the entertainmant industry and sometimes concessions have to be made to total accuracy to maintain the entertainment element and keep the punters coming through the doors.
WJ244Good to see things progressing. It is all very well some saying things shouuld be happening at a faster rate but considering the facilities and manpower available and the fact that, a comparatively short time ago, Sisyphius was likely to end up as pots and pans I think it is a miracle that things have progressed this far this quickly. Please keep up the good work and we all look forward to the day when she is back in one piece again.
WJ244The main thing is that the crew involved in both accidents appear to be Ok.
In the past badly damaged Tiger Moths have been known to be reborn like the phoenix so let’s hope that that is possible for both these aircraft to be up and about again eventually.
WJ244I am pretty sure it was taxied at some shows a while ago so it is possible that it will have another saunter around Old Warden in October and having seen it listed others have , quite reasonably assumed it will be flying. .
WJ244I may have got things a bit confused here but my understanding is that if you have an original build plate with a constructors number you can jack it up put whatever new build bits you need around it provided they are built to the original spec and your aeroplane assumes the identity of the build plate.
If you build a complete airframe to the original specs but don’t have an original build / data plate to attach to it your aeroplane is a replica / reproduction whatever you want to call it.
It is my understanding that it is far easier to get the CAA to accept an airframe with an original dataplate / identity regardless of the amount of new material used and, for some types with more challenging flight characteristics, it may well be impossible to get exactly the same airframe sanctioned for flight if it does not have an original identity no matter how tenuous that identity may be.
As Bruce said the main thing is to enjoy the sight of these magnificent aeroplanes up in the air while we still can and I for one will be making every effort to get to at least one Shuttleworth show before the end of the season to see the Albatross and RE8 in the air.
WJ244Over the years I can think of many other sites in this area of Essex where no residential development was allowed until a developer dangled a substantial carrot in front of the council. In modern times the rule seems to be “never say never”.
The basic facts seem to be that what appears to be an intransigent local council and a sitting tenant on a peppercorn rent can, between them, effectively prevent Stow Maries becoming a going concern as an airfield.
I admire Russell Savory for his commitment but sadly in the long term I worry about the future of the site. It is extremely unlikely that any future owner would be prepared to run the place at a loss so the very long term outlook may well be a return to dereliction or use as development land. Both outcomes would be a great shame and sinful in terms of the loss of an important aviation heriitage site but, to be honest, even if I had won the Euromillions the other night, knowing the restrictions currently in place, I would be very reluctant to part with money to buy a site that currently seems to have great potential to become a millstone round the owners neck.
I honestly hope that at some point someone in authority takes a common sense approach and more landings and proper but appropriate hangars are permitted so that the place can keep its unique character but also earn its keep for the owner so that the future of the site for later generations can be secured.
WJ244I am not over familiar with the replica is she a scale one?
I may be wrong but from memory I believe the Isaacs Fury is around 3/4 scale. It is a homebuilt and I assume plans are still available.
The full size Fury looks stunning. With this and the new arrivals at Old Warden we have a fantastic end to the season in prospect for biplane enthusiasts.
WJ244Sorry can’t help with the dimensions but, once you have the dimensions. then if all else fails any local signmakers with a vinyl cutter should be able to make some up for you.
WJ244Thanks for the pics. I have got some similar rather dark ones of my own but I didn’t have a very good quality lens then so they aren’t that great. I never did manage to visit when the CASA 211s were present.
Some of the aircraft seemed to move around a bit occassionally. The “Luftwaffe” CASA N9+AA was parked right beside the car park fence at one time and I also have some pictures somewhere of B-17 G-FORT parked by the fence as well. There was also the Dan Air Comet acquired for the proposed museum. I turned up one day to find that the Comet had gone except for the mainwheel bogies which were still on the hardstanding exactly where they had been when the rest of the Comet was attached as if they had cut the U/C legs and left the bogies behind.
WJ244I visited with a friend to see the P-47 and the P-51 that became G-PSID shortly after they arrived in the UK. They were locked in a hanger with a couple of very agressive dogs for company but we managed a peek through a small window in the doors. We then drove around the rest of the hangars to see the Fleet 80? and anything else interesting with a Rolls Royce in pursuit but it never actually caught us up so we managed to avoid the legendary tongue lashing from Mr Arnold. Blackbushe was an interesting place in those days but it was a shame that it was so difficult to get to view the real treasures that were kept there and I always longed to get proper access to photograph the Casa 352s, Spanish C-47s and the B-25s that were out on the field.
WJ244We used fairly large amounts of it on the nose Seahawk XE489 at Southend to fill dents in the sides of the nose. In the car world at that time large quantities of filler were regarded as a bodge for repairing dents and filling holes on old bangers so it didn’t seem right to use it. I got the job of rubbing it down which seemed to take forever because it was spread over a large area.
From other posts here it seems to be much more acceptable now so you just have to go with whatever suits your pocket and skills. The main thing is to produce a presentable end result.
WJ244When I read “fireball” I feared the worst but it seems the pilot was incredibly fortunate to escape at all and, given time, I hope he makes a full recovery
WJ244Very pleased to see someone has bought her with a view to flying her again.
I am sure one of the party pieces from her airshow act (and one of the more popular parts for the public with no aviation knowledge) was to fly around with one undercarriage leg up and the other down. The hydraulic system was split which made it possible to retract/extend each side independently.
Best of luck with the restoration/overhaul and I really hope you can get her sorted and back into the air soon.
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