RE: The Viking.
The Brooklands Viking has been outside now for some time which is great shame considering all of the good work that was put into the restoration of the aircraft whilst it was in the corner of the ‘Finishing Straight’ hangar.
RE: The Vimy.
I was very sad to see the Vimy grounded on Sunday. I had originally hoped that the aircraft could be operated from Brooklands on a regular basis but realistically there are many factors against keeping the aircraft airworthy. The owner/s of the Vimy may have requested or even stipulated that the aircraft be retired after its donation to the museum.
Firstly the cost of achieving a suitable CAA permit to fly, I’m guessing this was explored but was considered to be an incredibly expensive option which no doubt involve incredible amounts of paper and would probably mean that Vimy would be almost be completely ripped apart.
Secondly the not inconsiderable costs of operation; maintenance, fuel and lubricants, parts and insurance etc. I doubt very much that the coffers at Brooklands are over flowing to extant that they can bank roll the aircraft indefinitely without some sort of sponsorship or support club.
Thirdly, if the aircraft was to be flown on a regular basis, Brooklands would need a properly prepared grass strip with permanent access to the museum site and hangar, equipped to enable routine maintenance and servicing to be carried out on site. The grass strip used on Sunday is part of the Mercedes World complex and is terribly uneven and not really ideal for regular operation in its current position and condition. Another major problem is the access to the strip, currently there is no where on the grass strip where the Vimy can cross to museum site without being dismantled.
These problems could all be over come but it would be incredibly expensive and time consuming to achieve.
Ideally I would have liked to see the Vimy hangared at Old Warden on behalf of the Brooklands Museum in much the same way that happened during this Summer at Duxford. But I guess this option would have been explored at some point earlier in its operation in the UK.
So in some ways the decision to display the Vimy at Brooklands in a ground running ‘active’ condition is the right one, it is key attraction for the museum which will no doubt help them achieve their goal in relocating and restoring the hangar.
Lastly the airframe itself has earned its own rightful place in the history of aviation, the fact that its a Vickers Vimy is almost incidental.
PS.
Many thanks for all the kind photo comments.
Septic.
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