Another airworthy Lancaster?

These pieces on the BBC website caught my eye. Seeing two Lancasters in the air at the same time (three if someone fancies getting the Canadian one over as well?) would be quite a sight and sound.

BBC News - Just Jane: Third Lancaster bomber 'could fly soon'

BBC News - Pensioners restore rare WWII bomber

 

Absolutely wonderful if this does come off

Mark

 

Engine start and short taxi.

Please note the AWESOME 'health and safety' crowd control barriers at 3.75 & 6.50.

God knows what would happen if ever that string broke!

Merlin Madness - Just Jane - Engine Music - Avro Lancaster - YouTube

 

this plane was featurd on BBCs Flog it prog (or one of them antiques ones)....taxiing around the place, looked fine

 

I took my father for a taxy ride on this for his 80th birthday a couple of summers back - - was a brilliant day out, and even as a non-passenger, it was great how close you could get and when the Lanc was running up its engines - plus there were lots of other things to see at the airfield: well worth a day out. Had a great airfield tour on the back of a Queen Mary recovery vehicle, guided by an ex-NAAFI person who must have been 90 if she was a day, but was absolutely full of beans and driving an 80 mile round trip to volunteer there...





Tom

 

Very interested to hear how it goes. Particular interest with family ties to Avro, Ringway and Woodford.

Duncan

 

East Kirkby is well worth a visit. I went a few months ago for one of their flying days. My dad and I called in at Coningsby first for a BBMF hanger tour, and were lucky enough to see the BBMF Lancaster take off. A quick dash to East Kirkby ensued, where we got to watch it display there!

The crowd control measures at East Kirkby are unusual, but everyone behaved themselves. It's quite something to be standing just behind the rope as the wing tip passes overhead as the Lancaster taxis past.

 

Thanks for all the feedback which has led to my Dad being booked in for a ride in November as a birthday present (although they seem to be selling out and adding new dates almost quicker than you can book them ). Should be a great day out!

 

Also of note is Avro Shackleton WR963 at Coventry airport is going to be restored to flying condition. From what's been posted on various forums, the CAA have given it their backing, which is good news.

 

That would make a good formation with one or both of the other Lancs.

 

i used to live in tattershall, (about a mile from home at the time) and it was alway's said, if the BBMF's lanc was ever to be permently grounded, the lanc at east kirkby would most likely would take over, wether it's true or not i don't know....

the airfield at east kirkby is just long enough to land and take off on. i also do beileve it has also has done a run where it's had it's tail off the ground a couple of time's aswell...

 

I'm sure you'll both have a great day out.

A couple of bits of advice I'd give:

- If you still have a choice of days, try a day with two taxy runs: I think that probably means going midweek rather than at a weekend. That way your father will get one trip on the plane, and then another watching, so double the experience

- If you are going to accompany him for the day out, it is worth paying the extra £50 or so for yourself as a "VIP"; apart from lunch, you get to look around the inside of the aeroplane yourself once it has done its taxy run. Not much extra on the overall price, and you get the satisfaction of having a look round yourself. I did that and was able to sit in every position from rear gunner to bomb aimer via wireless op and pilot, and talk to the crew, all at my leisure.

Tom

 

Tom, thanks for your comments. We opted for the midweek VIP option as given the minimal difference in price it does seem to offer a more relaxed and special experience compared to the quicker turnaround at weekends. I haven't signed up as a guest but it may be worth considering as it's not every day the opportunity arises to go in a Lancaster!!!

 

Indeed, it is a rare experience. I reasoned that having spent a couple of hundred for my father's ticket, and then doing what was essentially 400 miles round trip from home and a couple of nights in Youth Hostels and meals etc for two of us, for the sake of an extra £50 I'd be kicking myself for not signing up as a guest. I'm glad I did.

Tom

 

could someone suggest a link for aircraft preservation sites?

 

Google?

Also, WikiPedia is generally a good starting point for basic information and further links if you are interested in a specific aeroplane.

Seriously, in my limited dabblings to find out about vintage aeroplanes, there seem to be quite a number of aeroplane forums covering quite small niches: it doesn't seem like there is one or maybe two forums (like, say, NatPres and WNXX) that between them most enthusiasts visit. Maybe the fact that the Warbird fraternity is a bit more international also leads to fragmentation: if you are interested in following the fortunes of all the world's P51 Mustangs, you might have to follow forums in the UK, US, NZ, Aus etc to keep abreast. Whereas if you are mad keen on BR Standards, NatPres will pretty much have it covered and you can ignore the foreign forums.

As for websites for individual aircraft: the big museums obviously cover their own collections (Shuttleworth, Hendon, Duxford etc). However, beyond that a lot of old aeroplanes are seemed to be owned by private individuals to a much greater extent than old railway locomotives (with a few obvious exceptions). If you own an old aeroplane for your own pleasure, there is no real need to create a website about it; and many of the groups doing restorations are also commercial companies doing restorations as a contract, rather than volunteer organisations. So there is less need to put up nice websites to try, in part, to attract funds.

All of the above is a bit of a generalisation, and obviously there are some good sites that break that stereotype, but my general feel is that the net result is that the available web resource for old aircraft seems a lot more fragmented than the heritage railway resource.

Tom

 

A couple of forums I'm on that cover a lot of the aviation scene ancient and modern can be found here UK Airshow Review • Aircraft Forum • Aviation Forum • Airshow Forum and here FighterControl • Military Aviation Forum • Index page