The Hunter was a fine airplane, but the F86 could go supersonic in a dive,.

Ermmmmmmm …. so could the Hunter :confused:

This I believe is Glen just after he got the Squirrel shot.

lol 😀 😀 😀 😀

109ster – A number of aluminium corrosion removers are based on phosphoric acid and certainly liberal quantities of that have been used on a friend’s Rallye ! In Cyprus the Wessex after a wash used to be sprayed with PX-24 to keep the salt at bay. The nearest equivalent of PX-24 is WD40 so that could work out a little pricey!

That procedure was exactly the same as used when I was on Hunters at RAF Brawdy – Pembrokeshire.. right by the sea. The full anti-det servicing as it was called included re greasing after the wash, and liberal application of the PX-24 made life difficult when climbing up on the fuselage to get to the rudder lock 🙁
When I started at MAM in Coventry, I had to produce the original RAF documentation for this Anti Det Servicing in order to convince those around me that I hadn’t gone mad by applying WD-40 everywhere!!! Incidentally the cost of that can be reduced by buying 5ltr bulk containers from a good supplier as we do. Best technique after the washed airframe is dry is soaking a rag in the stuff and wiping over everywhere there is metal. Not on transparancies or anything rubber though… A useful side effect is that it treats any corroded fasteners so panel removal becomes easier with time.
Have to point out that this has been carried out prior to the excellent repaint by Malcolm & co at the Museum – it’s not a good idea to do if a repaint is imminent, as it’s not easy to remove any traces that might affect paint stability.

PS: I remember a visit by you guys from Speke to the MAM some time ago – gotta say you seemed a very friendly and enthusiastic bunch!!!

Good luck with the Jetstream preservation 😉

Quick google produced this, taken from following site:

F 15 collision pics

Is this the one?

😮 😮

The following taken from BBC website – makes interesting background…

“Julian’s paternal grandfather, Jack Clary, died before he was born but he makes some interesting discoveries about him at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford. During the First World War, Jack was an engineer in the Royal Flying Corps (now the RAF).

The next characters to fascinate Julian are his paternal greatgrandparents,
Herman and Louisa Tiedemann – parents of Jack’s wife,Victoria. Julian knew Herman was from Germany but initially has mixed feelings about this heritage. However, he soon learns what difficult lives his great-grandparents endured. Herman, a German immigrant, came to England in the 1870s but, when the
First World War broke out, Germans were victimised and many were interned under the Aliens Act.
Julian then traces the life of Herman’s Essex-born wife, Louisa, and
seeks to uncover the reason why she was shunned by her family.
Eventually, he finds out that Herman and Louisa married when
Louisa was six months’ pregnant, which explains her ostracism.
Julian visits their daughter in the Isle of Wight who tells Julian that
Herman was too ill to be interned and later died of consumption.”

Pete,
Is the tower truncated? – I don’t remember mention of this before. The ladder and cross-bracings suggest to me it might be it’s original height.

Is your recollection of Elmdon actually of THIS Chance Tower or an airfield beacon a la the original topic of this thread?

Anyone got old photos of Birmingham/Elmdon that show any of the airfield lighting/identification equipment?

Roger Smith.

Hi Roger,
I may be wrong… but a long time ago I was told that the original leg structure height was not completely used in the re-assembly due to it’s condition? Hence I thought it was ‘truncated’ from it’s original height?

As for this precise light tower – well it certainly looks identical to the one that used to be positioned just off the A45 near to the former “Excelsior” hotel which is at the old airport entrance…

Old photo’s: a brief search online came up with this link:
Old Elmdon Airport Postcard Views which although of interest don’t clearly show any light towers sadly 🙁

I knew nothing about these lights / beacons until I realised that the one parked behind the Hunter was a former Elmdon one, many years ago … so I’m learning…lol

There is a Chance Light from Birmingham aerodrome preserved at the Midland Air Museum, Coventry – although it consists of only the tower and light housing on top, none of the illumination/electrical equipment survives.
Roger Smith.

Here’s a pic of the very same at Coventry…. note that the structure is rather truncated from it’s original height!!! I used to see this very beacon shining a green light across Solihull / Elmdon area on the way back home to Solihull from Coventry on the A45 as a kid on Sunday trips to Grandparent’s in Coventry – rather ironic that it’s now planted right behind the Hunter….lol 😉