Do you have any photo’s, especially showing the cut-off oleo’s please?

I remember this one from my first visit to a UK airshow, the Fighter Meet at North Weald in 1986. At the time it was sitting in a shed on the SE part of the airfield, and we only managed to get a peak of it through a window. I have found photos on the net of it later sitting outside near Aces High, and the last photo is supposed to show it being painted for static duty during the Memphis Belle filming.

Question is, what happened to this airframe?

T J

I’d like to trace this aircraft too. I think its the same one that was displayed at the Bill Miles collection during the 80’s (on the SE side of the airfield). So the story goes, the owner(s) built this airframe up from major parts that they had collected together in the UK from various scrap yards in the late 60’s/early 70’s. I recall it being very complete. When the Bill Miles collection wound-down, it moved over to Aces High where it was re-painted for film work and onward sale. I think it was exported, but to where I don’t know?

For reference, I think that the Harvard/Texan received nose art while at Aces High. It was named something like “Night Train”.

That’s excellent news. I’ll be sure to take some photo’s on sunday then.

I was thinking that this rear fuselage may have come from the Bill Miles Collection machine at North Weald. I was part of this museum in the months when it closed down. Around 1990 the Hurricane, Harvard, Vampire T11, Canberra T4 nose, Hunter nose, and both WW1 replicas all went their separate ways. I’ll speak to a friend who may have some photo’s.

From what I have read of American analysis on the Lightning, they thought the aircraft performance and handling qualities were in advance of all other contemporary fighters when it was first tested. It did however, have inadequote range, inadequote radar and systems in their eyes.

With 20:20 hindsight, I’m sure other options could have been explored, but in the light of the day when most aircraft projects were being cancelled we should be pleased it got made at all.

I have always thought that a single re-heated Avon-type engine powered Lightning could have been a good design. Yes, you would have had less acceleration potential than with a twin engined aircraft, but think of all of that extra space for fuel and better radar/avionics. It would also have been a supersonic design – think of performance somewhere between that of a Hunter and a Lightning. The Lightning also has to package a lot of internal intake ducting, that wastes a lot of internal space. The following generation of aircraft addressed this by placing the intakes away from the fuselage: F15 Eagle, F14 Tomcat, etc.

Spoiler alert…. 😉
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Would be nice to put this original rear fuselage together with Duxfords original cockpit.

I have the same feelings regarding your Hornet project, & several other projects on this forum, where an extinct type is being wholly or partially reconstructed.
I have thought about starting a cockpit project for a Henley or an extinct 1930’s type, but don’t know for certain if I will.

Bob T.

Thanks,

Will you be at Newark at the weekend? If you are, it would be good to chat.

David Burke

I think the case of HMS Edinburgh was similar? The government’s greed for gold allowed them to set aside respect for the sailor’s on board.

Quick, start a rumour that a Stirling at the bottom of the sea was fully loaded with gold….