Hi Andy

Thats looks like great fun i must try it some time 😀

Scott C

Scott, yeh its a real blast, what else might you do on a summer Saturday ?? 😉
Its not the stort of thing that can be done in the middle of winter though, thats why this Q shed is so important

Oh and Ive found another shot from the air of the Hangars,

Cheers

Nice piccies Andy. The F2A in your photo is XN726 and the F6 I think is probably actually F2A XN795 but I cant really get a good idea of the colouring from the photo. XN795 was a development aircraft and went to Shoeburyness in bare metal. Both had their cockpits removed by Nigel Towler along with T5 XS421, but you probably know all this. 🙂

Thanks for the info, your probably right about XN759, its was in a worn grey paint scheme if my memory serves :confused:

And yes your right the cockpits ended up with Nigel Towler

Thanks for the input
Andy B

I thought scampton would be a better place. Why would she not be able to be properly dismantled? it would be a dam shame for her to be cut up for transport

Peter, when you say ‘properly dismantle’ you speak of a massive engineering task in hours, know how, kit, transport and of course the all important cost, its like all these things who gonna stump up the thousands of pounds to do anything like ‘just’ dismantle, reassemble and ‘then’ get running again a Lightning with all it in built complexities, look at our two they were flown in complete and we have one hell of a time maintaining them.
I think is a step to far at present, sad I know but a fact:(

Last time I spoke to Charles Ross at our annual dinner in June I did ask about 724 and he didnt see a problem with its future.
But things change.
She wont ever stretch her legs again but she never did, even when the runways were in place, they only ever taxied her up and down the apron, the runways were always closed off with banks of earth across their entrances.
Its all down to money as usual

Cheers
Andy B

Hi, when we were last up there in March this year in a snow storm (the place never changes) 🙂 to get some detailed shots and measurments of the Q shed that stands on the hill all alone and cut off.
It was apparent from our walk across the site that its pretty much all been turned back to farm land, they were just breaking the last of the perimeter tracks up and using the Q shed as a large plant store and mess room for the contractors.

The hangars are still there and leased out for storage, with XR724 parked outside, even the ramp infront of the control tower is no more, the tower its self was pulled down in the mid 90’s due to some scum bag setting fire to it. 😡

The housing was used for rehousing homeless persons which has done it no favours at all.

Heres a shot taken a few years ago, by now I would say most of it is ploughed ready for next years crops.

I came away thinking that it was probably my last visit to this once proud and lively fighter station that I spent so many hours stood outside at crash gate 3 and on the base when we were heavily into buying 728, mind you if you strain your ear against the wind you can just hear that ‘weeeeeee phut’ of a lightning starting up and smell of burnt avtur, arrrhhh memories.
All gone now 🙁

I was there at the end also, will be posting a load of piccies from that era over on the QRA thread soon.

Good memories, always wet and dark though Binbrook 😉

Andy B (LPG)

Will the CAA not class it as a complex aircraft? If they let a Concorde fly in private hands why not a lightning?

Personally, i don’t think we’ll ever see concorde fly again for the reasons listed in above posts plus think of the insurance!

How about ground running one a la Bruntingthorpe? At least it will be ‘alive’.

J man

Just add my thoughts here, would love to see one at Brunty but we are over stretched as it is, the current A/C dont get all the attention they need.
Keep them where they are.
Just to add about Lightnings flying in the UK which has been covered many times here, we the LPG have no plans to go anywhere near this issue, we will keep them running for as long as possible then retire them to their own Lightning Museum (the QRA hanger) for all to come and enjoy.

Good luck to the Concorde crew 🙂

So are we, 🙂

Has got to be the best one yet
Staggering

😮