Hi Mark, yes feel free to use the photo for your site. I wish Newark was closer too as it would be great to go along and meet all those people with a like minded interest. Unfortunately cockpits are pretty thin on the ground over here so there is unlikely to be an Australian CockpitFest.
Cheers Paul

Many thanks for the use of the photo.
In New Zealand there appears to be the seed of a cockpit owners display event, with the event held at Wanaka in 2006 which included an ex RAE Canberra. Maybe you could be the catalyst for something in Australia ! there must be a rich seam of potential candidates and the preservation scene appears pretty strong.
Dont know if your aware of the cockpit owners website:
http://www.internationalcockpitclub.org.uk
but this has an article on that event and maybe of some help in the future also.
All the best with your new acquisition and if I can help at all with any info let me know.

Cheers

Hi Nick
Thanks for the info, it is on a Jaguar gr1 cockpit section.
Paul

I assume this would this be XX977, formerly of the ‘Everett Airforce’

Any chance of a picture of the whole thing ?

Buccaneer XN967, Sea Vixen XN647, Canberra WK122, Sea Prince WF122 Sea Hawk XE368, Whirlwind XP350 processed by Pheonix Aviation many to Cockpit sections

All these still survive:

Buccaneer XN967 – City of Norwich Museum (Cockpit)
Sea Vixen XN647 – Privately owned (Cockpit)
Canberra WK122 – Last reported with Hawker Hunter Aviation – Scampton (Cockpit)
Sea Prince WF122 – Aeroventure Doncaster (Complete)
Sea Hawk XE368 – Privately owned, Barrow in Furness (Complete)
Whirlwind XP350 – Paintball park Bassetts Pole (Complete)

I believe Cosford is slated to recieve AAC units from Germany, when the DCAE move out, so the site should be secure as an airfield.
As for the RAF Museum, one would hope they made arrangements to secure their part of the site before ploughing millions into the stainless steel Toblerone that is the new Cold war Exhibition. Can’t see the Heritage Lottery handing over that sort of money without some tenure to the ground the building is sat on.

Mark, it is unlikely that 863 will end in a scrap yard, I know two rather wealthy individuals who are looking to purchase the aircraft, one of whom has already been to Lossie with cheque book in hand and offered big money to the C/O.

And as you say, she has a lot of history and is more than worthy of preservation.

Good news if it comes off, here’s hoping for a positive outcome on this one.

However the bigger picture of how airframes are selected for preservation by the MOD for the RAFM / FAAM / MoAF / IWM is one which seems totally opaque to me. The USA identified a number of airframes which took part in Gulf War 1 and flew them back straight into preservation at the end of the conflict. Look at our own preservation of Falklands vets for instance and its a pretty poor comparison.

25 anniversary mks

Although not strictly historic (yet) here’s a fortuitous piccy taken last Wednesday.

All I can tell you about Meteor EE531 is that she was built in 1946 and is the oldest surviving Meteor. Remember the Prototype never officially received the name Meteor.

Not strictly true actually – I always thought it was as well during my ‘active’ days at the museum, however EE527 still survives in Argentina as C-027 on display in Villa Reynolds. Still it can’t be more than a few days between their ‘birthdays’ 🙂

XA893

Is it no longer in hangar 1 then? :confused:

No the Vulcan nose is no longer in Hangar 1, in fact there are no cockpits on display in Hgr1 anymore., big space to hold a hangar party though……….