hunterxf382I’m gobsmacked….. and to think he also found time to throw some paint over the Hunter during the summer – jeez has he been taking stamina pills? :diablo:
Everytime I see the Canberra I have to do a double take when I remember the sorry looking faded version I became so used to seeing over the years I’ve been a member there….. Now it looks ready to taxi out – bloody marvellous. 😀
Just goes to show what a dedicated volunteer with time and commitment can achieve in one of the country’s top private museums.. (and I used to think I was doing well on the Hunter when I got it ‘live’…. 😮 )
Is there an award like MBE’s that we could give Malcolm in the New Years Honours List?…. :diablo:
hunterxf382In all fairness to the seller, that’s not true. The fact is they could have started it at $50, and you’d have no clear idea what the price they wanted was until you bid it up to that reserve. As it is they are being open and honest that the asking price is $750k, and if someone bids $750k they will get it.
Eddie, definition of RESERVE: minimum price seller wants for item…. aka as the starting price….lol
Me thinks $750k is either or…. but means the same thing at the end……lol
hunterxf382Gloster Meteor VZ467 “Winston”
If I could just add my personal input on this particular question, having actually worked on “Winston” (VZ467)….
A couple of years ago, Flypast magazine ran an article which resulted from a considerable amount of research, and found that this aircraft was the world’s oldest flying operational jet aircraft… They established that the oldest surviving jet aircraft (Bell in the USA) was not airworthy, as has been posted here already I believe. So my beloved “Winston” claimed the title without doubt, having been constructed in 1949. I have tried without any luck to find an actual build date, or first flight date, but records found only put it as “1949”…
Gloster Meteor VZ467
I have great pride to have worked on this jet whilst serving in the RAF at RAF Brawdy in Pembrokeshire, which is also where my association with Hunters started actually…. (see my ‘pet’ Hunter’ from Brawdy that I currently look after at Coventry)
It was a sad day when it was sold to Australia, but I’m overjoyed that it continues to fly to this day, having been given a new lease of life out there…
Hope my input helps some?
Pete
hunterxf382Memo: Must add to shopping list….
Now that would rekindle my long term drag car project….lol 😮
Must look on eBay for the rest of the kit required… hmmm let’s see……
1) Ladder frame chassis (or B&Q step ladder conversion if budget tight) :rolleyes:
2) 50 Gal Oil Drum – make a suitable fuel tank for short duration runs me thinks 😎
3) Set of nice alloys with big fat tyres on (that eliminates chipmunk mains then :diablo: )
4) Daredevil attitude mixed with a dash of inspired stupidity (won’t go more than 30p max bid on that though)
5) One set extra extra large fireproof full spec racing coveralls (need the xxl for when I s*** myself running a griffon powered B&Q ladder framed screwed up drag car down Bruntinthorpe’s runway at next open day 😮
Enough I hear you cry – ok, moment of madness finished now….lol
hunterxf382So I guess visitor numbers were down then Kev? :dev2:
Sadly my house move has prevented me from attending there of late, plus a lack of spare time and cash 🙁 but I will be back soon – to make some progress on the pristine hunter of course…..
hunterxf382Time to semi-bubble burst. There’s one flying in the US now 😛
Yep, Air Atlantique from Coventry operate their ‘other’ one in the USA…. :diablo:
hunterxf382Are there any plans to get this aircraft back in the air? I assume its in good nick since its kept inside and it already ground runs.
It would need a re-spar to fly….. shame that the move to guard the gate at Scampton involved cutting the wings off first 🙁 Somehow I don’t think the owners have the sort of budget to carry out such a complex engineering feat, especially as spars for Lancaster aren’t ‘off the shelf’ items 😮
Shame, but I’m proud of their efforts in getting the old girl to her current state.
hunterxf382Your link isnt working at the moment
It’s fixed now.. thanx for pointing that out :diablo:
hunterxf382I attended the Bedworth parade a few years ago to see a colleague from the Midland Air Museum on what was to be his last ever rememberance parade there… (some of you may have known Frank Wilkins).. That year the parade was overflown by not just a Spitfire but a Buchon (or ME109 – couldn’t tell ya which), which was a stirring sight for all on the ground… I’m ex-RAF, but I also respect the view that there were losses form both sides during WW2 – which made the joint flypast / display somewhat poignant to watch….
I can’t figure the CAA out on this ‘new ruling’ – I’ve seen Spits fly over Buckingham Palace etc, so why the sudden change of stance? It’s disrespectful to all those lost and remembered on this day, and someone ought to be brought to account for making this decision…
As for Atlantique’s Dak flypast / poppy drop – I heard that because of a previous bad drop (missed the target), it was not allowed to continue? Can’t help feeling that the CAA have a very narrow minded view on anything like this…. mistakes can happen? With proper regulations already in place for any historic flyer, where’s the problem suddenly appeared from?
Using Bedworth as the example – any technical hitches during a display there – should be easy enough to recover quite quickly to Coventry Airport???
😡
hunterxf382First thing I thought on seeing that pic of F117 is……….. what the hell happened to the concept of “Stealth”….lol Fly that over Iraq and you’re sure gonna upset a few locals. GWB may think ‘flying the flag’ is the way forward, but I don’t think it’ll catch on…. expecially on a stealth aircraft….lol :diablo:
hunterxf382Just to back up Kev’s replies to James with regards the MAM Argosy…
Some of the lesser known work done already includes rebuilding the flight deck panels and restoring power to the cockpit! No mean feat when it was gutted on arrival to provide spares for the remaining ‘flyer’ at East Mids (see if you can guess which one that might be :diablo: ). So now there is a function restored to the cockpit, which gets even more life into the old “whistling wheelbarrow”. Not only that, but the front loading hinged nose can be powered open / closed not just hand wound – so there is more than you think working on her…
As for the tyres – the port u/c gear has a tyre off the rim at the moment. About 3 years ago, I attempted to provide a solution whilst attending to the tyre on my Hunter project… It involved trying to reseat the tyre onto the rim using some techniques learnt from the RAF as well as some drastic methods used in the tyre fitting industry… Sadly it didn’t work – came really really close, but didn’t work 🙁 and as the Museum doesn’t possess suitable jacks for this heavy old kite, it can’t currently be lifted to get the wheel off, so it’s one of those things on the ‘wish list’….
There’s a lot of activity going on at the Museum, all of the time – after all it’s a big place with a lot of upkeep needed, and quite a lot goes un-noticed even by other museum members because it’s not immeadiatly noticeable. As a volunteer organisation, the MAM does very well indeed considering the size of some of the projects, and those like me who wish we could get over there more frequently get very frustrated to hear of comments that make it sound like the MAM can’t be ‘bothered’ about the condition of some airframes…
The Museum do listen to comments – and act accoringly, but everything takes both time and money – and more crucially – enough volunteers to do it!
Speaking of which – I must get round to finishing my “Trolley Acc” project of the last 10 years 😮
Pete B
hunterxf382Possible Fix……
If you go to your User Control Panel (User CP) – top left of the screen – click on it, and then click on Edit Options on the left hand side menu…..
Once that opens up a new screen – you should be able to scroll down until you find the section marked: Thread Display Options… and in there is a tickable box to ‘show images’ – make sure that IS ticked to display any thumbnails or attached images… If successful, when you return to this post you should see the image of the screenshot I took of the above tickable box!!!!
Hope that cures your problem….
Pete B
hunterxf382Nice pics Kev mate….. just look at the Hind now..lol 😮 Can’t wait til the rotor blades go on (tethering solution got be found first so I’m told by Barry) – then we’ll be able to use it as a gazebo on those hot summer days…lol Just throw an old parachute over the blades – hey presto one sunshade for 150 people…lol
I’m gonna be popping in the Museum myself over the weekend, but only to show someone around – not working….. might even take a few more piccies myself.
By the way – Barry & Di know my personal circumstances have changed somewhat in recent weeks = not been able to come up at all, etc etc….
Things are changing rapidly now – and I’ll soon be back to my old days up there as and when I please….. 😉
hunterxf382Amazing Pics Glyn…… especially two of particular significance to me…
VZ467 more commonly known as “Winston” and WA669 which was called “Clementine” when they both served at No1 TWU, RAF Brawdy until 1982. I was very lucky to have worked on them both during their final years of front line service in the RAF there – and was probably the youngest groundcrew to work on what was the oldest serving aircraft in the RAF at the time…..
VZ467 was the target tug used more often than not by the equally infamous “Puddy Catt”, a pilot well known in the RAF – and incidentally still around today as I contact him regularly… The picture shown is one I’ve never seen before, as I’m more used to seeing “Winston” in the cammo paint scheme complete with the 615 Sqn markings it had been given – originally intended purely to be used for some flypast many years ago, and not removed until well after it’s RAF service was over…. Today – “Winston” still flies but out in Australia courtesy of it’s new owners – Temora Aviation Museum, and is now flying in a silver colour scheme. I was reunited with “Winston” once it was in Civvie Street at the former RAF Kemble base, when it was carrying out it’s first post-restoration Airtest – that was some of the best flying I had ever seen carried out with it – ‘blue note’ and all…..lol
WA669 was used at Brawdy purely as a continuation aircraft to keep pilots current to fly VZ467, as well as the occasional airshow appearances when asked for… It was very rare to see both Meteors in the air at the same time, but once a year we had our Open Day at Brawdy, where they would both fly as part of the “Summer Wine” formation of resident TWU aircraft (Hawk, Hunter, Meteor, Jet Provost). I remember the day we had to give up WA669, and it headed back to Cranwell and the “Vintage Pair”, but we soon saw it back again at the next airshow, which sadly was the last time I ever saw WA669 (got some pics somewhere). I was in Germany on detachment the day “Winston” departed the RAF sadly, but spent years tracking it down in civvie street.
Oh the memories of working with that pair of Meteors… especially VZ467. I was lucky to have been working on that right up until the end of it’s RAF service, and can’t quite believe that despite being a ‘mere’ 43 yrs old now, I once worked on what is well documented as the world’s oldest flying jet aircraft to this day 😮 And I thought it was bad enough to be saying that I used to work on Meteors in the RAF….lol
Thanks again Glyn for stirring up some wonderful memories
Pete B
hunterxf382Well if ‘Spruce Goose’ ever came up surplus – that would be my ideal home…… and just think of the apartments I could rent out in that….lol
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