There was also a question of priorities aswell as the amount of raw material available.Some of the metals needed for the high temperature areas of jet engines (Nickel,Tungsten etc) were already much in demand for the barrels of artillery pieces and the like,so not only was there very little of the stuff to go round,but it had to be shared between the various war industries.

“I raised the corrosion issue with it being by the Humber. He said the salty air wouldnt be a problem as the paint is very good & it would be looked after – I remained pollitly cynical.”

The poor misguided souls.:rolleyes: Nice pics Tom,although it’s rather sad to think of what will become of her.

I believe the SeaVixen had her canopy smashed by vandals when she was on display at Christchurch,hence the black bin liners on the canopy in my pics and the more heavy duty item in Shorty’s pic.All the airframes are covered up with tarpaulins over the winter,there was a good pic of the cocooned Lightning on A.net a few weeks back,so i guess they’re waiting for the winter weather to fully pass before they completely unveil the ‘Vixen.
As for the tower,it was cleaned up and repainted a few years ago for one of the aerojumbles they used to hold on the old airfield site. (The event was moved down the coast to Shoreham two or three years back) Since then the airfield site has apparently been left pretty much to it’s own devices.I can’t be sure,but I believe the old airfield site is now the property of the local church, so I suppose it is up to them what happens to many of the buildings on the site.The museum have very little or no say on what happens with the airfield.
(PS The above knowledge is based on a conversation I had with a member of staff 3-4 years ago,so things may have changed since)

Tragic news 🙁

…sorry if I’m overdoing things,but I couldn’t resist posting this one.The sun came out at just the right moment. 🙂

Beautiful pics Shorty,thanks for sharing.Tangmere is a great little museum that will hopefully become a not-so-little museum in the near future.Planning and fund-raising are now underway for a hangar extension,in essance another hangar adjoining the one that was built a few years back.

http://www.tangmere-museum.org.uk/

I’ve been going to Tangmere for years and never tire of the place,there’s plenty to see and the staff are great.It’s a million miles from the ‘Oi!Don’t touch!” treatment you get at Hendon! Thanks to the kind and helpful staff I can tell you that the Spit protype replica is great on the inside aswell as out,although access to it is now more difficult since they put the RJ Mitchell display up in front of the two Spits.The Hurricane is great too,if you didn’t know it was a replica you might never twig it!
If you’re ever down Sussex-way,it’s a place that you won’t regret visiting.
Here’s the SeaVixen last summer with no covers on…

Very sad news indeed,another great name passes into history.

*BUMP!*

Aswell as being on at 9pm,it’s on again just after 11pm tonight. 🙂