Shackletons’ Griffons had contra-props was to keep the prop diameter down

I rather thought that was why all aircraft with contra-props had them?:D

Apparently a vac-form kit is/was available…

There was, many years ago, but it was pretty ghastly (there’s also a 144th scale vacform kit too). The moulds still exist but it hasn’t been re-released for many years. One lives in hope that another company will have a go at the mighty Hastings one day!

not like the Hastings is super rare compared to the Halifax

True, but I guess it relates to the other thread about replicas. Personally I’d rather see Hastings wings attached to a Hastings, not part of a replica Halifax.

A very easy answer but a flawed one. Our Defence Chiefs all acknowledge that Healey was an excellent Defence Minister and a solid supporter of the RAF. He has no reason to tell fibs and – fifty years on – there’s obviously nothing to fib about. But of course one can always choose to believe twaddle in a magazine instead…;)

For Harrier fans, you might care to note that IAP’s new book on the Harrier is now on sale. It’s a comprehensive look at the whole story of the Harrier’s design, development and service use, combined with a mix of photography. A nice tribute to a magnificent aircraft which is already sadly missed – at least here in the UK!

I just don’t get it. If a model is to be built then a scale model is more than sufficient. I see no purpose in spending a huge amount of cash on a full-sized model. Far preferable to spend money on real aeroplanes methinks. It just gives me that awful taste of “entertainment” which seems to be the key aim with museums these days.

As for that Beverley, I don’t buy into any of these arguments in favour of dumping it. No matter what the excuses, Hendon is a museum and if the aircraft really was as unsafe as they claimed, then they should have spent the money to make it safe. Would have been cheaper than buying two plastic models. Truth is that they just didn’t want it – they wanted a pretty Spitfire and Hurricane to amuse the public and didn’t even care whether they were models or not. Truly objectionable, the whole shabby business.

The incredulous costs involved far outweigh and imbalance any satisfaction that might be derived from seeing it in the air

Thou speaketh in riddles sir. Your comment speaks for itself. Clearly, if people didn’t think it was worth paying for, then they wouldn’t pay for it. Simples.

I know we’ve mentioned this before but perhaps it is worth repeating. The money that goes to the Vulcan isn’t transferable. If it wasn’t spent on the Vulcan then it wouldn’t be spent on any other aircraft project.

It’s slightly absurd to mention Dornier wrecks. I’m sure some people might be fascinated by such relics but so what? It’s not as if the Vulcan project could be wound-up and all the money be poured into recovering some WWII wrecks. As has been said, you either appreciate the magnificent sight and sound of the Vulcan and believe it’s worth every penny – or you don’t. Evidently, more than enough people think it is worth supporting – the problem is that no companies or affluent individuals seem to be willing to donate more substantial funds. That’s entirely understandable, but that’s the situation. The best we can do is hope that the project struggles-on a little longer.

I’m sure the WWII fanatics will be suitably pleased when XH558 is grounded, but I do hope that all the Vulcan critics will at least try to understand that history (and particularly military history of any significance) does not revolve around WWII, especially for those who have been born and raised in the post-war era. The Cold War is a hugely significant part of our history and no less important than WWII. The only reason why the Cold war era is so poorly represented in terms of flying exhibits is simply because it is too difficult and expensive to achieve. We have the CAA, Health & Safety, and our modern obsession with rules and regulations to thank for that, sadly.

Indeed, there doesn’t seem to be any information on the future of the aircraft and no developments have been reported for a long time. Not good.

… and this is supposed to be Flypast’s forum… you’d think somebody would actually know something?! :p

I second that…

I assume there is no good news? But then I didn’t expect there to be!