The terrible Varsity crash was at Marchington in August 84 when the aeroplane was on a photo-shoot. One of the engines failed, and in the attempted landing at the Staffordshire gliding site, it impacted nearly inverted.

I remember reading the crash report, but the only detail I recall was a problem ‘with the diaphram’ ( in the fuel supply system I think).

I think it was refuelled at Leicester Airport with Avtur instead of Avgas, but not sure. I know the photographer that was shooting it went it went down!

Time for a few more Meteors to delight your eyes after a gap of about five months.

Glyn

1 NF11 coded Q
2 F8 WH450
3 NF14 WS793 of ETPS coded 5
4 NF14 WS777 of FCCS?
5 T7 G-AKPK taken during 1948
6 F4 RA490 fitted with Metro-Vick F2/4 Beryl axial flow engines. Probably
taken about 1949 and possibly with NGTE.

Another great selection Glyn, but

1. NF11 coded Q is actually a TT.20 of 3/4 CAACU at Exeter.

Did you know this Bristol Freighter being discussed is a genuine Vietnam War veteran from it’s service with No. 41 Squadron, RNZAF? I hope it returns to it’s military colours once in preservation to reflect this rather than some dull civil scheme.

I’m sure most of us are aware of this. It was NZ5907 in RNZAF service and has the glazing on the front of the nose doors, which makes it a Mk.31M (military) variant. I have photos of it in its original silver/white and camouflaged colours, whilst in service. Of course it all depends on who sponsors it as to what scheme it ends up in and here in UK we will be just pleased to see it return in whatever scheme?

Ditto to Spey III – three slides – three colour schemes -but two are taken by me if you want to use them?

Oh surely, you don’t mean these?

Auster queries are a sore point! Often questions like this come up and all we can do is direct them to the Auster Pilot Club, simply because there is NO book with production lists and histories available! I have been nagging a well-known Auster historian about this who is ‘supposed’ to be doing a book, but it just never happens. Therefore I am hoping to do this myself, but gathering all the information will be a nightmare! 😮

One other thought – VH-WBA is currently a Fairchild Metro?

Here we go again….spend oodles of spondoolies making a big aircraft airworthy, fly it all the way across the Atlantic for what…just to sit outside and rot in the British weather! 🙁 It really is so sad to see the Bristol Aero Collection struggling to keep the last airworthy Britannia up together at Kemble with no hangar, Concorde is rotting away at Filton and now we have a potential Bristol Freighter joining them. I just wish either the Government would help out or some lottery money could be applied for to save these last surviving icons of our British Aircraft Industry?