Moggy,I can’t help thinking you give the arsonists too much credit. I’m really not sure at all that it had anything to do with class jealousy or whatever you wanna call it.In the area where I live,we’ve had problems with vandals and arsonists trashing bus stops and burning cars.There’s no particular reason for it,they just do what they feel like doing,and more worryingly a large proportion get clean away with it.They seem to see it as a bit of fun to while away the hours.

I’d agree that the Cosford example is pretty disgraceful considering it’s in the “care” of a national museum,but one or two others are also a cause for concern.I visited the North East Air Museum in Sunderland last week on the site of the old RAF Usworth airfield,now largely occupied by the huge Nissan factory complex.Out in one corner of the museum site is XL319,and having spent all of her time outdoors since she arrived,she’s not looking at all well,despite the best efforts of the museum staff.There’s a considerable amount of corosion in various places,and the the engine exhaust nozzles have virtually ceased to exist!Not being too far from the coast,I reckon a fair amount of the corrosion is down to the salty air,and the attentions of local vandals in the past haven’t done her any favours (the same mob who torched the Valetta a few years back-grrrh!).There are various dings and creases,and the window in the bomb aiming blister is smashed.New fences have been put up and the vandals seem to have given up,but the damage is done.To add insult to injury,her mainwheels are now sinking into the ground.The staff keep the interior in as good a conditioon as possible and they have repainted certain areas of the exterior over the years(which has given her a peculiar 3 or even 4 tone camouflage scheme),but I can’t help feeling that they’re fighting a losing battle with the elements.
Speaking of seaside Vulcans,just how long can Blackpool’s XL391 stay on her own two feet?Every time I see a pic of her I feel sure it’s the last time she’ll be seen standing in one piece.Surelly she’s not long for this world…

Here’s the second…

Wow!:eek: That’s one serious piece of kit Nielly,nice work mate! Thanks for the pics.

I suppose all this arguing comes down to one basic point-relevance.The problem I have with the Mozzie going to the States is that it has virtually no history over there,and therefore isn’t exactly relevant to that ‘environment’.It’s a bit like going to see an Indian Elephant at London Zoo.True,it’s nice to see one up close,but we all know it belongs out in the wilds of Asia.What if the zoo’s elephants were the last on the planet?Surelly we’d want to have them reintroduced to thier natural habitat?Ok,I know it sounds crazy,but the the principle seems similar to me. The last Mossie would be far better off winging it’s way through UK skies,over the airfields from which Mossies once operated,factories where they were once built etc.The machines afterall are only half the story,and I feel that such a rare machine as the Mossie has to be kept in the country in which it was built and from which it was operated in order to keep it’s history alive.
Flying it in Florida or somewhere would take it completely out of context,and the history (the major reason why we bother to keep these machines flying in the first place) would in many ways be lost.
True,better a captive elephant than no elephants,but the best option is surelly a wild one.

If the Mossie goes abroad I shan’t be happy,to put it mildly!She is currently the UK’s only hope of a flyable example,and as such is worth most of TFC’s American aircraft put together!Sell the Tigercat, Bearcat,Skyraider-ANYTHING but the Mossie!
There have been rumours that a TF-51 Mustang is bound for Duxford this year.I’m probably putting 2 and 2 together and making 5,but it occurs to me that the Mossie may be part of this deal.If so,then I might well set fire to the bloody thing as soon as it arrives here!A Mossie for yet ANOTHER Mustang??Nooooo way!!!

“As for the aircraft staying where it is appreciated, i dont think the Mossie moving to the US would mean it wouldn’t be apprecaited, the US did operate Mossies as im sure you realise, so im sure it has relevance over there. Here in Briatin we have Sally B, she’s not a British aircraft and yet she is based in the United Kingdom and is appreciated by thousands every year and i think it is wrong to believe that US enthusiasts would not appreciate foreign aircraft too.”

I agree that the Americans would appreciate the Mossie,but it’s worth noting that the hard nosed ground attack/trainer versions were never operated by the Americans.
On top of this,I don’t think the Sally B situation is comparable to the TFC Mossie.There are a number of airworthy Forts in the US, with others on the way,and the B17 is hugelly relevant to us here in Europe.Sally growling over the fields of East Anglia is the most fitting tribute to all those US airmen who lost thier lives in the air battles over Europe.As such,she is extremely relevant to the UK’s aviation history.
TFC’s Mossie however,is the only one that we stand a chance of seeing airborne in UK skies,and I trully beleive that sending her stateside deprives the UK of a major piece of it’s aviation heritage.

Tastes like Gnat p*ss??Dare I ask how you’d know Lancman?? :p
On a more serious note,I don’t mind the SeaVixen being done up in the Red Bull scheme so long as it means it keeps flying.The kinda paintjobs I object to are the psuedo-military ones where they spray a Spitfire luminous green and then put the roundals over the top.If you’re gonna do a civvy scheme,do a civvy scheme,don’t try and cover both bases with one paintjob as it invariably looks vile!There are also issues of misrepresentation to consider.
I look forward to seeing the Vixen in her new paint job(let’s face it,I’d be glad to see a Vixen fly in almost ANY paintjob!),although I have my hopes that she’ll revert to a Royal Navy scheme sometime in the future.
“God, we’ll be having bright red Sptifires next!”
You’ll be glad to hear that a bright red Spit has been and gone- Spencer flack’s Mk.XIV G-FIRE in the 80’s.didn’t loook too bad tho I have to say,especially compared to the dodgy cammo scheme she’s had applied in the States.