Absolute disgrace. This isn’t about protecting taxypayer’s money, it’s about the bean-counters finding another way to make a few bob in order to justify their jobs. Shame on everyone concerned. For heaven’s sake, an airfield the size of Boscombe Down and most of it completely unused.

Think this ought to be cause for a campaign if ever there was one?

Suppose it’s a question of what one describes as “completed”…

XR219 was obviously completed to flight standard and XR220 was finally ready for flight on the day that the project was officially cancelled. XR221 was also complete but used for ground-running of systems so technically-speaking it wasn’t yet completed to flight standard. Beyond that it’s less clear. Images of XR222 at Cranfield show the aircraft as more of a semi-complete shell and it is known that some parts were taken from other airframes (didn’t even have a serial applied), so it seems fair to assume that it was assembled specifically for Cranfield from existing components. So I guess one could say that the only “complete” airframes were XR219, XR220 and XR221.

Probably is – he was on the team for some time.

Magnificent photos – what a treat! Thanks for posting them for us!

As the previous post says – any more? Surely?? :p

ahh nostalgia…:p

Lovely photos there – that’s the first time I’ve seen a shot of the NY end. You’d think there would be more images of the event but it seems to have faded into history now… like so many great adventures of the past. I suppose the very idea of landing a Harrier in a coal yard would be too terrifying for our Health & Safety society now, even if we had any Harriers with which to try it!