20 years 😮 since the Last, Last Lightning show…

I spoke to a senior BAE Systems rep at Duxford today about XM603. He said they are looking into dismantling it for removal from Woodford and are going to talk to several “interested parties”. It is not intended to scrap it at this stage, although there are, of course, no guarantees.

😮 Would it not have struck the tail??

Hi all,

I think it’s safe to say we will NOT be moving from CVT this year, and probably not for the foreseeable future. We would *like* to move somewhere to establish a ‘living museum’ featuring our collection, but finding the right airfield is a big problem. Staverton came very close to happening but the infrastructure was just not quite suitable for us, the runway length and hangar size being to two main issues. We need somewhere with no or little commercial operation, a 45000 sq ft hangar and 1800m of runway.

Cost is also another issue. Somewhere like Deenthorpe would require huge investment well above what we could afford. Contrary to what may be believed in the community, Air Atlantique’s other activities (i.e. the ATR operation) no longer support Classic Flight, and we have to stand on our own two feet and make enough money to cover our costs. If we don’t then its all over and this unique collection will be lost.

Tom.

Coltishall’s just become available… 😀

Phillip Rhodes is probably closest to the mark. I’ve contacted the current owners of Norwich Airport who categorically state they have no intention of moving to Coltishall.

The airfield will have to be offered back to the previous owners, and the domestic site and technical area will be sold by the MoD to the highest bidder. It will go the way of Binbrook and West Raynham, sad to say. One might have thought the strategic location of the runway close to the North Sea might have seen some value as an emergency landing ground, but obviously not.

I did have this vision of the site being returned to its BoB condition, i.e. grass airfield and becoming a haven for warbirds, but then I woke up. 😮

Just before she was cut up…