As two TSR.2s, and several parts, exist, then no.
I would say Short Stirling is the main extinct type that I would like to see back, it’s such an important aircraft to RAF history. The Heyford would also be a great old machine to see.
As they have already been mentioned though, I will say a pre-war airliner, such as the H.P.42 (is the replica project still on the go?), or de Havilland Albatross.
Oh, and a production Wyvern S.4 would be great to see!
Are there any plans or dimensions available or is it a letter to the FAAM and another trip to Yeovil ?
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Certainly worth contacting FAAM Yeovilton to see if they have plans, or even the chance that they may have a turret in their store, but don’t forget that Avenger XB446 on display doesn’t have a turret, being a later AS.5 and ECM.6 conversion.
Hi Nick, not sure how much you can walk around the site, but would be interesting to see a now and then treatment.
Re your St Merryn pics there is a recent good thread here somewhere by Wyvernfan covering comparative now and then airfield pics.
Edit, here, http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=121733&highlight=st+mawgan
This is just my take on location, and orientation of, of the photo.
Orange dashed lines field of vision, red ‘X’s the Seafires, and black ‘X’ the Firefly.

RNAS Culham / HMS Hornbil 1946 by jamtey71, on Flickr

RNAS Culham / HMS Hornbil 1946 by jamtey71, on Flickr
Apologies, I don’t know the source of the aerial photo.
You might enjoy this ‘Flight’ article about 1832 RNVR at Culham,
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1948/1948%20-%200259.html
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1948/1948%20-%200260.html
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1948/1948%20-%200261.html
It’s Culham Nick, not Culdrose or Merryn.
The woods is the copse to the north, the westerly set of three hangar bases are still there, the evidence of the line of four to the east of the copse has all but gone.
I would say the picture is taken by the easterly set of four hangars, note spacing between them, two close together, then larger gap and one of the second pair to the far left, also the fact we can see woods both sides of the dispersal would back that up.
I will try and post up a 1946 vertical when I get on my other ‘putor.
I would put money on that shot of Seafires being at RNAS Culham, it had an array of three Fromson hangars bordering one side of the woods just like that, and another array of four fromsons just around the other side.
St Merryn wasn’t that heavily wooded that close to the airfield and was more open than that, I’ve got the hangar list somewhere but I can’t recal that it had many, if any, Fromson types either, mainly Mainhills.
Lovely shot!
Great write up thanks, it seems possibly that the Supemarine design was allowed to drift (partly with to do with some unfortunate events) along, at a time when full steam ahead was being afforded to the Short design?
Even if the Woolston factory hadn’t been bombed, wouldn’t it all have been a bit too late for the 317 at that stage?
Looking at the bomb cell arrangement in the diagram Chris kindly provides, it seems more exagerated than other bombers of the time with bombs being housed well outboard of the wings, I take it the dropping order of the bombs would have to be crucial to minimize effects on trim?
Retractable turrets would have been advanced at the time, but one would think that the advantages of reduced aerodynamic drag would be negated by extra weight and complexity.
Fantastic news and progress Rich, must kind of feel like a major hurdle crossed!
Also, the single Tutor display that I’ve witnessed has been very good, I’m not a particular fan of the type, but the display shows off what the right pilot can do with the aircraft.
I guess a new owner can always elect to be part of the team as well?
They are interesting performance claims, but quickly checking on Wiki I was surprised that the older, heavier, and longer Stirling has the same speed figures as the Lancaster (still two years away remember).
The thing that strikes me as odd is the reasoning given for dropping the 317, it is given as because of the death of Reginald Mitchell and the bombing of Woolston.
As a huge talent as he was, Mitchell would have been heading teams (inc Joseph Smth) of designers, draughtsmen, and engineers, Supermarine were also parented by Vickers, who very capable with large bomber and other aircraft designs.
Woolston, and the incomplete prototypes, was bombed in September 1940, well after the B.12/36 Stirling had first flown and deliveries just started.
Could the design not have been picked up by the remaining Supermarine team, or Vickers (and I appreciate both were busy!) – or could it be that the claims for the 317 were too adavanced for rapid production when needed at that vital time?
I have seen drawings of the Supermarine 317-318 with a more ‘normal’ wing planform shape (not disimilar to B-17), twin fins (did it go single to twin or vice versa?) and a tricyle undercarriage.
It’s an argument with little foundation to it, the 150 ft wide C Type was already in design (1934, first examples built 1935) by the air Ministry specifically in anticipation for the larger aircraft still on the drawing boards, the aircraft themselves were not required to be kept, or even daily serviced, in hangars. Hangarage was mainly for repair and mods, with the major strip downs being conducted by MUs/CWPs on ASUs dedicated to the job, which had the 150′ sheds and were seen as more than adequate.
The 120ft A Type was older generation, I mentioned it as point thay were in existance at the time, but they were suitable at places like Upper Heyford, they were wide enough for 115′ spans.
If the aircraft would have had to be housed in a hangar with a shorter span than itself, the expediant way of dealing with it would be to put the aircraft on dollies and wheel them in sideways, as happened to Lincolns when the stations they were at only had the shorter span Bellman/T2 type hangars.
It’s nothing to do with ‘what people think’ in the time I’ve been looking into AM buildings (particularly of that era) I have never seen evidence that aircraft wing spans were ever specified to be of a certain width to fit into buildings.
Even the latter V Bombers were able to be serviced in the C Type sheds (and indeed narrowr B1 sheds) quite happily.
I can understand the AMs preference for 100′ spans in the reasoning in the other posts, but not building led.
If anyone can provide evidence that hangar sizes dictated aircraft design, I would be interested in seeing it.
Rainbow Aviation are listing one of the Black Star Rebel L-29s, G-DLFN, for sale on Facebook.

L-29 Delfins G-DELF, G-BYCT & G-DLFN 6 Sep 12 by jamtey71, on Flickr
Thanks for the clarification on the spec requirements Schneiderman.