The plane enthusiasts thread

[ebikeerwidnes]

Oh aye, I thought that loco looked more like a toy when that livery appeared.

To be fair, are there any other types of bombers still flying? I mean, I'd love to see a Wellington (my Uncle Hugh was killed in one over Berlin in 1940. Another aspect that film makers and so on often over - look), but only 2 still exist, so...

I don't think there are any heavy bombers flying except for the Lancs

There are a few Halifaxs in museums - there is one in the Yorkshire Air Museum near York
saw it once but it was at the far wall and you couldn;t get near it

they do tours and I want to go at some point

Apparently all the Stirlings were scrapped after the war

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I don't think there are any heavy bombers flying except for the Lancs

There are a few Halifaxs in museums - there is one in the Yorkshire Air Museum near York
saw it once but it was at the far wall and you couldn;t get near it

they do tours and I want to go at some point

Apparently all the Stirlings were scrapped after the war

I thought there was a Cockpit from a Stirling somewhere, or at the very least, a reconstruction of one?

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I thought there was a Cockpit from a Stirling somewhere, or at the very least, a reconstruction of one?

I have not heard that - thanks

 

[DaveReading]

I don't think there are any heavy bombers flying except for the Lancs

There's an airworthy B-17 (Flying Fortress) at Duxford.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I have not heard that - thanks

There appear to be several bits and pieces about:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Stirling

"In the absence of any complete surviving aircraft the "Stirling Aircraft Project" was setup in the late 1990s to make a recreation of the forward fuselage section of a Stirling, largely from new fabrication.[69][70]"

That's what I am thinking of, I think.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I’m not sure I posted my sighting of a Spitfire in the right place, I’ve sparked a weird debate. Perhaps there is a ‘Things that make me emotional thread’ which would have been more appropriate.

To explain….I don’t live near any airfields and I don’t go to air shows, but this lone plane suddenly appeared flying quite low over my house. There was something about the silhouette and sound that made me go and check on FR24. Looked like it had been down Swansea way and was following the M4 back home to Biggin Hill.
It was exciting, for me, as it is an iconic aircraft which suddenly appeared out of the blue.
I’ve never seen one before.

The most I usually get is air ambulance helicopters

In short, I was being a twat and jumping to conclusions 🤦‍♂️

Sorry.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

There's an airworthy B-17 (Flying Fortress) at Duxford.

I meant British ones that could be used by the B.O.B. Memorial Flight, as depicted on that class 91 loco.

By the way @ebikeerwidnes, I read that they are trying to return a Hampden to flight, so maybe that might make an appearance in the future too!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handley_Page_Hampden

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I don't think there are any heavy bombers flying except for the Lancs

There are a few Halifaxs in museums - there is one in the Yorkshire Air Museum near York
saw it once but it was at the far wall and you couldn;t get near it

they do tours and I want to go at some point

Apparently all the Stirlings were scrapped after the war

RE the Hampden:

"The Wings Aviation Museum in the United Kingdom owns the wings and tail of "P1273"; the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre is currently restoring AE436 to flying condition. Both of these were also 144 Squadron aircraft, lost during the transfer to Russia. The former, "P1273" was shot down by mistake by Soviet fighters over Petsamo. The latter was lost over Sweden, its remains discovered in a remote region by hikers in 1976."


Well, it says in the link to that museum that it is only being restored to static condition, so, who knows.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

As for the Whitley...:

No complete aircraft of the 1,814 Whitleys produced remain. The Whitley Project is rebuilding an example from salvaged remains, and a fuselage section is displayed at the Midland Air Museum (MAM), whose site is adjacent to the airfield from where the Whitley's maiden flight took place.

 

[DaveReading]

Well, it says in the link to that museum that it is only being restored to static condition, so, who knows.

Yes, Wikipedia is wrong in this instance. There's a world of difference between restoring to make a museum exhibit, and an airworthy example.

I'm a big fan of the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, and in particular what they're doing with their Lancaster, but their site makes it clear that the Hampden is indeed being restored to static condition, not to fly.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Yes, Wikipedia is wrong in this instance. There's a world of difference between restoring to make a museum exhibit, and an airworthy example.

I'm a big fan of the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, and in particular what they're doing with their Lancaster, but their site makes it clear that the Hampden is indeed being restored to static condition, not to fly.

Well I will let you update Wiki then and thanks for the info!

 

[secretsqirrel]

In short, I was being a twat and jumping to conclusions 🤦‍♂️

Sorry.

Hey all cool.
I must expect to come across passionate plane enthusiasts on a plane enthusiast thread
I don’t know much about them myself, but I am curious about a lot of things.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Hey all cool.
I must expect to come across passionate plane enthusiasts on a plane enthusiast thread
I don’t know much about them myself, but I am curious about a lot of things.

Likewise, I have always liked airliners the best, but it's a bit dull these days.