“6A/780 – Indicator, Engine Speed, Electrical Generator, Mk.4”

It’s the device that, driven by the engine, generates the signal that drives an electrical engine RPM indicator.

Talk of the value of these aeroplanes while in service is irrelevant. The issue of their MoD disposal cost however IS relevant, to a degree, because it does have a bearing on their subsequent ‘worth’. When operational they were performing the duty they were designed and originally purchased for. That service is now complete, so as far as the MoD is concerned they are nothing more than scrap. They now have a new ‘life’ as potential museum exhibits and therefore a new worth on which their ‘service’ value has no bearing.

Similarly comparing these airframes to a “live Hunter or JP” is pointless because they are not “live” Jaguars. The only valid comparison is to consider one alongside a similar static Hunter or JP – take the two Hunters that were recently sold via eBay for starters. They went for around £3,500. Now’s here the big BUT – there are most certainly not 31 Hunters sitting around on a disused airfield (with more on the way) awaiting buyers. In fact there are none. So there’s a bit of a ‘supply’ difference there which will influence what people are willing to pay. At the moment it may well be a buyers market where Jags are concerned.

Yes, everyone did have a chance to bid on these airframes and that in itself means that they have taken the first step in arriving at their ‘new’ market value.

So, is £6k about right? No, for these particular airframes I don’t think it is. In fact I think ‘about right’ would be half that.

So, will this aircraft sell? I wouldn’t be surprised. The advantage, for the seller, of selling via eBay is that the audience includes people who know no different. Remember Mr Ollerenshaw and his Vulcan?

were they made of steel?

No.

They were made from a resin-bonded paper material. The modern generic term for it is SRBP – Synthetic Resin Bonded Paper.

“Apparently as he flew back toward Britain he saw a train and, as he was convinced it was carrying ammunition, he decided to fly low and machine gun it.”

My understanding was that on his last sortie Gibson was acting as Master Bomber flying a Mosquito B.XX. If so, then what exactly did he use to “machine gun” this train then? Did he take along his own personal Lewis gun which he poked out of the DV window perhaps? 😀

And what’s with that shot anyway… did they really pull the tail down to the deck in order to generate enough angle-of-attack lift to launch?

Yup. Big heavy aircraft on small carriers with relatively low powered catapaults etc….

Did the same with the Buccaneers too.

If anyone has any hard facts about this could they please contact me, the aircraft does not belong to the Intrepid Museum and they have no right to dispose of it.

Whether they are “hard facts” or not I don’t know, but this is what Octobers Aircraft Illustrated has to say,

“Former Royal Navy Scimitar F.1 XD220 is perhaps the one aircraft that doesn’t fit into the museums collection. This is one of only three complete Scimitar survivors, and the restoration staff feel that it needs a good home somewhere indoors. The aircraft was gifted to the US Government by the Royal Navy, which means that the US Navy has custody of it. This apparently makes transfer of the airframe to another party somewhat difficult.”

I say transfer it back to the UK where it belongs. I’m afraid the logic of the thought process that saw this rare aeroplane swapped for a Phantom and shipped to New York defeats me to this day. What the hell were they thinking?

There is a guy who buys from me occasionally, who will buy something, and then put it on his website for up to ten times what he bought it for.

Hmm, I suspect I know exactly who you mean Bruce, and “ten times” is sometimes a conservative estimate! The true indicator of course is the length of time those items subsequently stay for sale on his website – some are there for months, years even. Says it all.

I really don’t ‘get’ the grumbles about last-second bids on eBay. There used to be a regular seller who ended his auctions at some random time in the last 5 minutes. He said “I hope this returns the auction process to the person that bids the most money rather than the one with the best sniper program”. In my opinion the bloke was a complete fool who had no understanding of the way eBay works. Complain all you like about snipers, the simple fact remains that whoever bids the most will ALWAYS win the auction no matter whether they bid 2 seconds after it starts or 2 seconds before it ends.

I always bid very late. The technique has served me well and I will never apologise for it. The only times I’ve felt any guilt is the odd time when I’ve used an unattended sniper program, because I’ve been away at auction end, and found that I’ve outbid a friend! That sometimes takes some explaining!

I really don’t see the fact that the winning bidder in this story bid 20 seconds before the end has any bearing on the issue. If the seller sold the aeroplane by other means, then why on earth let the auction run its course and produce a ‘winner’?