Hello all, having seen the renewed interest in the project I thought I would log on and answer some questions.
First of all TonyT is indeed right, after a close family members illness and losing my mother it kind of made me re-assess a few things in life. This together with the RAF museums point blank refusal to help me with a much needed item that has no place in the history of the RAF or will probably ever get to see the light of day gave me the feeling that it was time to stop. Therefore having offered the project twice as a going concern beforehand without success despite some interest, I made the hard decision to break up over thirty years of Wyvern collecting. I won’t disclose where the main items have gone, as I’m sure if the owners wish to step forward they will in their own time. The last items I have are the mainwheels and tail wheel which have been donated to the FAAM – along with some smaller items, and are awaiting collection. But in my continued quest to find a photo of every one of the 127 Wyverns produced by Westlands, I shall be keeping my photo collection for now.
As mentioned at the start it was 1990 that I made the decision to go down the ‘Wyvern Way’, having previously become fascinated by the type during reading the Harald Penrose book ‘Adventure With Fate’. And during that time I made many friends and acquaintances both directly and indirectly associated with the project or the Wyvern. Possibly two of the highlights for me was – thanks to curator Dave Morris, the chance to visit and measure the cockpit of the sole surviving Wyvern TF.1 VR137 held at the FAAM in Cobham Hall at Yeovilton to enable me to make a start with the cockpit rig. To climb up and sit in that huge beast of an Aircraft is truly one of the highlights of my life. Another was a letter addressed to me from former Westland Chief test pilot Harald Penrose, stating that although he wished me luck with my quest but it would be impossible to find enough parts to put together a complete example of the S.4. How right he was lol. And even right up until just before the dreaded Covid outbreak struck, I was corresponding for several weeks with a former RN Wyvern pilot, taking priceless notes on his service time with the aircraft and his impressions of it.
So now i would like to take the opportunity to say a big thank you to all those who have helped me along the way and who have taken a positive interest in my ‘alternative’ Aircraft obsession!
All the best,
Wyvernfan
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