R J A Taylor……… The CAA are very difficult to satisfy since they mounted the goalposts on castoring wheels ……….
A
I really do know what you mean, Al, things have certainly changed over the past 43+ years – but let’s try to keep hopeful in these ‘belt-tightening’ days. Maybe you need to start practicing your archery skills on some of the ‘Whitehall mob’ – we need a few ‘bulls eyes’ to get them to take some notice of the ‘normal’ members of society in this country !!!
Meanwhile, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens @ EK, after all is said & done, NX611 was only 22 / 23 years old when HAPS succeeded in getting her back in the air, after nearly 2 years ‘effectively’ grounded at Biggin – now, she is some 43 years older than when Neil Williams flew her to the Dambusters Re-union at RAF Scampton (1967) – it really is a different ball-game.
Regards
‘Dick’
R J A TaylorIs it ‘on’ then Dick? Are they going to put her back in the air?
Hi Alan – missed you at the “NX611 – 65th Anniversary” re-union event @ EK.
I’ve had chats with both Fred & Harold on the airfield over the past months following on from the Pantons’ “official statement” in February this year, and there is a real sense of commitment to their plans to make every effort to prepare ‘611 for a return to flying condition. They have already started to resource a supply of spares (oleo legs etc from Canada – from the Nanton Lanc Society) and have already taken delivery of 2 of the 3 ‘new’ (zero-houred) Merlins ordered from ‘Eye Tech Engineering’ in Eye Cambridgeshire and are expecting a third later this year I understand. I also hear that Andrew Panton has managed to source & acquire a ‘Martin’ mid-upper turret, which they hope to fit as a replacement for that currently fitted.
Fred has told me that they will ensure that they have the necessary equipment and spares before any work starts to get her overhauled, inspected etc. He also maintains that “all the work will be undertaken ‘in-house’, in the hangar, at EK” and that “they have a team in place to undertake the requisite work necessary to get her airworthy”. With regards to the potential impact such work would have on the functioning of the Centre (cessation of the much loved taxying of ‘JJ’ whilst the work was being undertaken, etc.) Fred was sure that the visiting public will be able to view the ‘work in progress’ inside the hangar and should provide a different, yet added, attraction.
As far as the ability to fly ‘611 from the current airfield, Fred showed me around the remains of the former ‘American’ extension runway, where ‘JJ’ performed her ‘fast tail-up’ runs for the BBC film ‘Night Flight’ in early 2001, and said that he is confident that, with a little extra length of runway at the western end, the Lanc would be perfectly capable of operating from East Kirkby.
That, Alan, is as much as I’m personally aware – we all await further developments with eager expectation. It’s interesting reading the rather sceptical remarks that have been expressed in other forum threads, in Flypast Forum and others, by some people since the Pantons made there intentions public – but just such comments have been heard before, haven’t they – back in the mid-1960s – when people thought that we’d never get NX611 (G-ASXX) back in the air, following her return to the UK from Australia – HOW WRONG THEY WERE!!!!
‘Dick’
R J A Taylor
Jacko sadly passed away today (27th May).
This ‘Notice’ has been published in the local Lincolnshire papers
JACKSON Kenneth Raymond ‘Jacko’ SQN LDR,MBE,AFC,RAF (Ret’d)
Of Woodhall Spa, died after a short illness on Thursday 27th May, 2010, aged 86 years. Dearly loved husband of Betty. 40th entry RAF Halton. O.C.BBMF. CFI Sherburn Aero Club.
A service to celebrate his life will be held at St Peters Church, Woodhall Spa on Wednesday 9th June, 2010 at 12.45pm.
Family flowers only, donations if desired for The Royal Air Force Association or Cancer Research UK. All enquires to Michael H. Sivill, Funeral Director, Leagate Road, Coningsby, Lincoln Telephone 01526 342779
“Blue Skies” Jacko
R J A TaylorThis article from The Standard explains a little better
Moggy
If this is correct then it would appear to be Halifax ‘LW682’ of 426 Sqn.
Very interesting story of the recovery and the subsequent crew burial etc on this link :
http://users.telenet.be/airwareurope/en/bergingen/halifax_lw682_e.htm
Another : http://426sqdn.ca/remembrances/geraardsbergen.html
So pleased to read of the ‘go ahead’ for this long awaited recognition of Bomber Command – many decades late but ……..
“WE WILL REMEMBER THEM” – WE DO REMEMBER EACH & EVERY SINGLE ONE.
Richard
R J A TaylorSynhcro pair i understand.
YES :
RED 6 – Fl Lt Mike Ling (Ejected & Hawk crashed on land– In hospital with dislocated shoulder) &
RED 7 – Fl Lt David Montenegro(Landed damaged Hawk)(uninjured).
The injured pilot has been named in “Daily Mail Online” (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1260069/RAF-pilot-parachutes-safety-Red-Arrows-collide-mid-air-Crete.html) so hope families already informed. That site has shown rather thoughtless photos of the injured pilot being wheeled into hospital which might easily have revealed his identity to those closely associated with him. Very irresponsible in my mind!!
Still that’s the press for you I suppose.
Not sure yet which of the Hawks was being flown by each pilot.
R J A TaylorFollowing on from peppermint jam’s visit earlier in the year, I visited today and firstly must thank Richard Mason, my very personal guide and a knowledgeable person, ……………………
So to the Whirlwind replica, I do not know the name of the person who built this, I am sure someone does ? but a few of my many views ….
Thanks Keith for posting the photos of the replica Whirlwind cockpit section at the Fenland Museum.
The person who spent some 18 months or so constructing this cockpit in the garage of his home in the small village of Weeting, just NW of Thetford, is Ray Wood. He is a long-time buddy of mine; we were both closely associated in the 1960s/70s with the preservation of Lanc. NX611 (now ‘Just Jane’ @ East Kirkby) so he has a long proven interest in historic aircraft.
Ray moved from Holbeach, Lincs. in 2007 and soon decided he needed to start some sort of ‘project’, something a bit different to his other passion, that of ‘aviation art’, Over the years he had managed to accumulated a large quantity of (surplus) wooden kitchen doors and other wood remnants (I won’t say from what!) and always thought “they’d come in handy sometime”.
Not long after moving into his new home he was set upon the idea of trying to create a replica of his long-time favourite WW2 aircraft, the twin engined Westland Whirlwind, using his stock of wood and other bits and pieces of material he had in his garage (the car had no chance of getting in there !!!).
Over the course of the next 18 months Ray toiled undauntedly away inside his garage and you now know the handsome result of his efforts. He sent me a few of his photos during that period which showed some of the stages in the cockpit’s construction. I was never really amazed by the many unlikely bits of wood, plastic etc. that he managed to utilise in making the various pieces of equipment, guns, etc as he was able to transform everything into realistic replicas of the originals.
Here’s a few of those shots – I’m sure Ray won’t mind me sharing with you as they’re a testament to his skill :
Enjoy.
Richard
R J A Taylor
We’ve recently had a ladder donated to us under the suggestion that it is a Lancaster nose ladder.
Under closer inspection we cant see how it can be.
Any ideas as to what it is off? Stirling perhaps?
Hi Andy – believe it could well be from a Lincoln.
This image appears in an article in the current edition (June ’09) of Flypast. on P.72 (c. ‘The Collection’) and clearly shows a similar ladder to the one you’ve been donated underneath the nose section of a Lincoln in South Australia (circa May 1955).
I trust I haven’t unwittingly broken any Forum rule by reproducing this image on Flypast’s own site. :confused:
Hope it helps.
Richard
R J A TaylorIn order to set the record straight. The reason for the departure of MJ627 from East Kirkby was the level of insurance cover needed in order to keep the aircraft in the hangar. With the insurance, ground equipment and fire cover and a couple of other contributing factors the cost became prohibitive. ………………………..etc.
Nice to chat with you again at EK on Easter Monday Andrew – I was rather reluctant at the time to mention the latest ‘speculative’, and not very complementary, remarks that had appeared on this Forum in respect of MJ627’s departure from East Kirkby.
Thank you for taking the time to set the records straight once and for all – this has been the subject of other similar threads on here and frankly I’ve become sick of such comments from rather uninformed contributors.
Thanks to all “The Team” for a very enjoyable Easter weekend at EK – especially Monday’s “Emergency Services Day” event.
Chat again soon.
Richard (or ‘D1CK’ to all those who know me from NX611’s past)
R J A TaylorThat’s exactly what I was thinking Richard, the two incidents seem too coincidental, and according to that well researched site, there wasn’t another accident like it. But according to the post, both the Sqn and serial would be wrong. The log book would sort it for sure.
James – If the Lanc in the photo was with 38 Sqn at the time of the crash wouldn’t it be sporting that Squadron’s Code Letters ‘RL‘ and not just the single letter ‘V’ ?? What’s your view on that theory ?
Richard
R J A TaylorEvening all,
I have been asked by a very good friend of mine to post this pic to see if we can find some info about it.
The picture from his grandads collection, he was aircrew (wop/ag), this is the Lanc he served on while on 38 Sqdn post-war in Malta, serial SW 336, a Lanc GR.3 coded ‘V’.
Any info would be greatly welcomed.
Kindest regards,
John.
John – do we know for certain the serial of this crashed Lanc. as being ‘SW336’ ?
On the link http://www.aviationinmalta.com/Default.aspx?tabid=495 there is a list of crashes on Malta during the period 1950 -1959 and there is a mention of an incident on 28-9-1953 when Lancaster GR3 ‘RF308’ of 37 Sqn. “SWUNG ON TAKE-OFF, UNDERCARRIAGE COLLAPSED”.
Viewing the crash photo you’ve posted this could fit the bill – the undercarriage has definately collapsed in the shot. Any thoughts ?
Richard
R J A TaylorSir Leonard to you! Otherwise known as ‘Len the Plough’ after that episode. Thank goodness we had the half-track to drag it out.
RB
SURE BRINGS THE MEMORIES FLOODING BACK DOESN’T IT ALAN !!! Great Shot – looks like one of Martin’s on that fateful day at Lavenham (19th April 1969).
Here’s a shot (not very good I’m afraid – taken off the 8mm cine film I took on the occasion) of NX611 as she was about to be towed back on to the peri-track by our old workhorse, the half-track. “Len the Plough” is just to the left of the half-track as he ran round to take a concerned look at his attempt at ploughing up farmer Alston’s field.
Good to see you again at the 2005 re-union Alan – even though I had a hard job at first recognising you without your old bobblehat !!!
Good times (mostly) eh !!
‘D1ck’
R J A Taylor
Does anybody know what happened to the Reflectaire FA330.
Foggy
Good question !!! I’ve been trying for some time to discover where the FA330 that we (HAPS Ltd / Reflectaire Ltd) ‘owned’ (until approx 1970) actually went.
See Post No.39 on Page 4 of this thread http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=39098
The last I saw of it was when it departed RAF Hullavington, Wiltshire, on the evening of Thursday 25th June 1970 on the roof-rack of a Ford Anglia van purportedly en route to the home of one of the then ‘Reflectaire’ directors. It was intended that the aircraft was to travel by road the next day to arrive in time to see Lancaster NX611 fly in to Blackpool Airport from Hullavington. To my knowledge the FA330 never arrived at Blackpool – and I have still to discover what precisely happened to it. I do know for certain it was not part of the assets of Reflectaire at their ‘Liquidator’s Auction’ at Blackpool Airport in April 1972 – although there was a “Rotor assembly from a German auto-glider” listed in the auction catalogue.
I’m unable to quote you the construction number of the precise example that we ‘owned’ so I can’t confirm which of the aircraft is currently on display in the UK (not sure if it’s the Cosford or Duxford example) so anyone out there with a definitive answer to this mystery please get in touch. It’s quite possible that it’s in fact the current FAA example in store at Cobham Hall (The museum’s reserve collection is housed in Cobham Hall – A new temperature/humidity controlled building funded by the Heritage Lottery fund).
– http://www.fleetairarm.com/exhibits/planes.asp?plane=119 the dates certainly correspond with the sad demise of Reflectaire. The Torbay Aircraft Museum connection also fits as Keith Fordyce did acquire certain items that went up for auction at Blackpool in April 1972 !
Richard
Here’s a (not too brilliant!!) b&w shot I took in 1969 of the FA330 on trestles inside the old control tower at Lavenham
R J A Taylor[QUOTE=The Yokel;1321318]Evening all
Had a day at East Kirkby today. Appologies if this has been asked before but how long has a C47 been parked behind Just Jane in the hanger ? Andy/QUOTE]
THIS LINK (http://www.ruudleeuw.com/dc3-n5831b.htm ) MIGHT GIVE SOME VALUABLE INSIGHT INTO PATRICK (‘PADDY’) GREEN’s HISTORIC C.47 Reg’n N463DC (c/n 19345) “DRAG-EM-OOT” (ex N5831B /C-FKAZ/CF-KAZ (RAF / RCAF) TS422/ (USAAF) 42-100882).
As Andy (“nx611_1945” ) has added in another thread on this forum (http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=85967) the aircraft is being hangared at East Kirkby over the 2008/9 Winter period for annual maintenance checks etc. and expected to remain there until approx. March/April 2009 – so still plenty of time to get over there and admire this great addition (if only temporary!) to the LAHC collection.
I only wish that we could have had some pre-arrival information posted on the LAHC website to give more people the chance of seeing the ‘Dak’ fly in on Remembrance Sunday. Let’s hope we get a chance when she’s scheduled to depart – ‘ANDY P’ PLEASE NOTE !!!
Richard
R J A TaylorSPIT,
Halfway up the picture on the left, where the taxiway curves to the left, just before the curve starts, on the left.
The dispersal that NX611 used to park on in 1968/9, by the threshold of the runway at the bottom left of the picture, is long gone.
RB
LAVENHAM
You may be interested in these B&W shots of Lavenham that I took on 27th August 1969 (from G-AWUX) on a photo ‘jolly’ to photograph the airfield from about 2000ft. The first shows the majority of the runways still in place at that time and you will be able to pick out the very dispersal you refer to, with Lancaster NX611 clearly in view in the bottom left, just up from the NW/SE Runway No.3. The control tower complex is located off to the left of the perimeter track just before it curves to the left, half way up the photo from the Lanc’s position.
The second shot is a close-up of that dispersal, taken from about 500ft and
the third is an aerial shot of the Control Tower and various outbuildings which were utilised by Reflectaire Ltd (then owners/operators of NX611 and other historic aircraft etc.) for undercover storage of various of their aviation & wartime vehicle collection during their time on the airfield (1968/70).
I was privileged to have been actively & personally involved as an employee / preservationist of Reflectaire at that point in time, living a great deal of the time in the old control tower (not to be forgotten – this was no comfortable hotel I can assure you !!!) and had many opportunities to ‘hitch a lift’ from pilots of visiting light aircraft to the airfield, so I got to know the airfield and surrounding countyside from the air quite well. It’s really awful to view the gradual and relentless destruction of the historic “home of the 487th Bombardment Group” over the years since those memorable days.
As you point out there is now very little left of the runways or dispersal areas for today’s visitors to view, but there is still one thing that the bulldozers can’t destroy and that is the very special atmosphere which still pervades the whole airfield site whenever I return for a ‘dose of the old days’. I am sure that this is also very evident to others who make the trip, especially to the veterans of the 487th (and their relatives) who make the trip down memory lane from across the ‘big pond’. At least the renovated control tower has been given a new lease of life and stands proudly as a poignant memorial to all those who flew from this airfield.
Hope you’ll excuse this latest trip down memory lane – those of you who have been fortunate to have visited the old airfield site in person will, I am sure, know what evocative emotions I am trying to describe here.
Richard
R J A TaylorHello Everyone.
I have had some correspondence back and forth between a chap from East Kirkby museum and he has asked that I post the following on his behalf of the Musuem. Unfortunately the newspaper got hold of the information before the Museum wanted it to be made public.
Following on from this statement, Peter – I’ve just been watching a local TV news broadcast from East Kirkby on ITV’s ‘Calendar’ programme. In this we saw Andrew Panton giving a response to the question of whether ‘Just Jane’ would be returning to the skies. These are his words on the subject :
“We’ve had the study and some costings and some quotes and things like that and so now we’re in the position where, if we were to say yes, we wanted to do it, we can put everything in place and start on it. We know the aircraft’s capable, we’ve got engineers who can do it, we’ve got companies who are able to provide the parts and things like that.”
The reporter then went on to say “It’s thought it could take just over a year to complete that work”
Make of that what you will, but it certainly seems that the Panton family are actively considering their options. We will just have to be patient until a final decision is actually made by the Pantons.
Like you Peter (in FM213), I am one of the lucky ones to have been fortunate enough to have actually flown in a Lancaster (post WWII) – my experience, as I’ve mentioned earlier, being to have been in the air onboard NX611 (1969). Unforgettable isn’t it !!!!:):)
Richard
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