Good decision to go when you did!…..barriers going up today (5 April) round the 707, which also has the effect of drastically limiting photography of the Valiant (and if that’s the UBAS car park, students are clearly more affluent than you may believe)

Blummin ‘ek… 😡 They’re not wasting time, are they. Here yesterday, gone tomorrow! 🙁

Andy

Whilst I accept that different organisations are involved, it is a sad inditement on the state of airliner preservation in this country that whilst a wingless, wheel-less, tail-less, engineless fuselage has all this care lavished upon it (not complaining/criticising this effort in its own right), the only Trident 1 in preservation, the only passenger configured standard VC-10, and the only 707 preserved in the UK (only RR powered 707 preserved anywhere?), are effectively going to be chopped up.

Andy

Do you know if the work did start on the cordons today?

Inspired by the threat of imminent destruction, I’ve just been up to Cosford to inspect said exhibits as it may be the last chance I have. No cordons round any of them, in fact very few people showing any interest in them at all, except a group being told all about the Trident – I wonder if they were told it was going to be cut up soon (somehow I doubt it!).

I have to say that I didn’t think any of them looked that bad – OK, a bit of cosmetic attention needed to the 707 and VC-10 in particular, but there’s far worse looking aeroplanes in other museums. Clearly if Cosford want to perpetuate an image of every exhibit looking as close to pristine as possible these airliners challenge that approach, but otherwise I think that they add interest to an otherwise rather unexceptional and mundane collection at the museum (the experimental jets aside). IMHO it is a travesty that the last passenger-configured VC-10 (no RAF example can make up for that), the last compete Trident 1, and possibly the only preserved Conway powered 707 in the world, are to be sacrificed – spending the money that is being directed towards the Vulcan at Brunty on these airliners would be a far better use of funds IMO.

Andy

PS: Nice to capture the Valiant complete and in the sun before its blocked into a tightly confined building for all eternity too!

I feel sorry for the investors, actually no I don’t, they were taken in by the hype as much as anyone else but should have known better.

Sorry, but who are this “everyone else” that were supposedly taken in by the hype??? :confused: :p

Andy

I’ve never seen any actual reference to a Jetstream ever actualy being acquired and having modifications made to it for A1.

Sorry, I don’t give people wriggle room like that…

“Alpha One Airways now employs 10 people. Scheduled services commenced between Edinburgh and the Isle of Man on 14 December, initially with an eight seat Navajo Chieftain turboprop. Alpha One’s first BAE SYSTEMS Jetsream 31, 18-seater debuts on 30 January. Once the Edinburgh route is firmly bedded in, Alpha One will look to develop other routes. It is interested in Leeds and Cardiff, both from the Isle of Man.”

Halstead now says “A new CAA directive has forced us to get traffic collision avoidance systems fitted to our aircraftearlier than we had originally anticipated. As a result our fleet (sic) has had to remain in the hanger at Coventtry whilst the work, which costs upwards of £150,000 per aircraft is carried out. Both planes are nearing the completion of the fit and will be re delivered to the airline within the next few weeks”

Its all in this topic, posts 395 and 417 in particular:
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51072&page=14&pp=30&highlight=Alpha%23post871179

All the Jetstreams into the UK recently have been being tracked quite well by various spotter groups due to the large number being flown across the pond for BlueIslands and Eastern, all of which have gone to Biggin and Humberside for their mods.

Indeed, I am aware of that, and that’s precisely why I asked the question – are/were the Jetstreams at Coventry, or was that another figment of someone’s imagination?

Andy

Well not all E+ seats are pre-allocated, so worth asking at checkin. I think, if I had evidence I was originally in E+ (i.e a printout with seat allocations), if they couldn’t put me back in E+ at checkin I’d have a little to say to them – politely – about how if they’d taken E+ from me and it wasn’t available now, I’d be happy to accept business class instead 😉

Andy

No meals on domestic UA flights – just buy-on-board snack boxes that don’t contain anything that is remotely healthy (but then, you are in the USA!). Booze is also buy-on-board, soft drinks and hot drinks complimentary.

Andy

PS: Check out channel 9 on the IFE – should be available on all equipment except RJs but occasionally its switched off