Rear end looks like a Gardan Minicab or a Sipa. The wings look rather Luton Minor-ish. Heaven knows where the engine would hang. I imagine it was cooked up in the 50’s or 60’s.

The local boy scouts will enjoy that on Nov 5th!

Arrival

As you say, An F111 did crash into the car park of an industrial unit on the perimeter of Finmere in about 1993 or thereabouts.

About a dozen cars were incinerated, and the wall of the building was scorched, but nobody was hurt. In a change to the usual tabloid script, the crew did not ‘stay with their doomed plane’ but hopped out as soon as things looked a bit tricky, about half way back across Oxfordshire. The local press was a bit agitated about it all.

How sad that it should come to this. Great and worthy efforts have been made, from people at ALL levels of this enterprise, and the public who have supported them.

But still, if it is to end this way, there will be some people who will view this outcome with something close to relief, for it seemed to be a project too far, devouring resources of a magnitude not seen before, and of a complexity never previously attempted by charitable funding.

With an aeroplane of this size, demanding such a high level of upkeep, the consequences of any compromise in its safe operation, due to financial constraints are so obvious that they do not need to be stated. I have no doubt that the team had/have the ability and competence to fly the Vulcan, but still have a nagging instinct that it will be ultimately better if this is not put to the test.

It can be observed that to have spinning as part of the PPL syllabus WILL cause a number of spinning accidents, and these losses will occur when some of the exercises go wrong. However, any pilot, student of otherwise, can undertake spinning training if they wish, and a number of outfits offer dedicated spining tuition.

My instinct is that people with the inclination and confidence to seek out this training are the very ones most likely to benefit from it. Conversely, those pilots who avoid unusual attitudes and have no appetite for aerobatic figures MAY be less likely to have the prompt reactions needed to recover from an accidental spin due to panic/distress at the frightening scenario which they suddenly face.

Thus to expose the whole of the aviation community to the (slight) inherent risks of spin training is probably not justified. In short, leave things as they are.

Regarding Napier Sabre’s observation ( sorry, not really having a go) this attitude seems to be a version of the ignorant element of the press sensationalising an event of which they have no understanding. In ‘tabloidese’ every pilot stays with his doomed plane, and steers clear of the adjacent orphanage.- it seems to be a default setting, and they just can not help themselves.

In the ‘meedja’ engines always cut out’ followed by inevitable plummeting and ‘nose-diving’. If this turns out to be a stall/spin accident, then despite the good intentions of any party, the aeroplane was going to strike the ground pretty much where gravity took it, and the fact that nobody on the ground was injured was the only blessing in this sad, sad episode.

A dreadful accident.

Though glider pilots can solo at 16, I had been under the impression that powered aeroplanes required a minimum age of 17. Perhaps EASA has changed the rules.
I am NOT suggesting that 16 is too young, or that age is a factor in this tragedy.

Cloud 9 .

Thanks for contributing, and do not be remotely put off by the rather waspish ( or shall we just settle for rude?) response from certain parties.

The condescending, ‘know-all’ attitude may be some sort of attempt at dry humour, or then again, maybe not. Who knows, and frankly, who cares.