Seems a shame really that no effort is being made to keep it airworthy, but it just doesnt have the public pull of Concorde, Comet or Vulcan.
Reality is that its current operators have probably run the component lives to the end and now it requires a big financial input.

Richard

This video http://www.3sat.de/mediathek/?display=1&mode=play&obj=32329 is a very in-depth account of the engineering work that is going into this aircraft, it must rank as one of the most costly restorations ever carried out. The engine test stand is brilliant and the use of modern technology is interesting. Commentary in German.
Give yourself some time to watch it as its goes on for a while. I had the ‘havnt you got something better to do’ line aimed in my direction.

Richard

British commercial aircraft never sold as well as those from the US because ours were always built to our own home operators requirements.

Richard

I always thought it was just the Junkers way of doing it, having carried it through from its early metal designs. It was a simple arrangement to build and maintain but was getting near its useful life with the JU87.

Someone will come along with a better reason I am sure.

Richard

Very well done, its been too long being without an airworthy one.

Richard

It really is amazing the level of work they are doing to bring this a aircraft back to life, the way they seem to have an endless pot of money to draw from in times when other projects are seeing cuts.
Incidentally it’s a STARLINER, or was when they started work.

Richard

The comets in the last picture are probably XN453 2e and XV144 2e although XX944 was a 4 and was also around , with Hastings WJ327 next to them.

Richard

I found the second programme the better of the two, mainly because it involved aircraft types I have had involvement with.
They did the usual thing of laying it on thick about how the types were designed for the specific requirements of BOAC, BEA and Politicians, which was then deemed to produce aircraft that were handicapped when trying to sell to the rest of the world.
I believe in an evolving market a huge degree of luck is involved if you get something right, our problem is the domestic demand was always going to be small, compared to America where a mediocre design could still sell in large numbers.

Richard