Ok Gents and ladies I want to buy a VC10
Discussion
PAUL500 said:
Eric Mc said:
Look at the history of large airframes stored in the open in the UK.
You give up to quick Eric, there has been a VC10 out in the open for 30 years at one of the museums I believe.Rhoose airport has a huge storage area well away from the main commercial part of the airport over the other side by the village.
The other VC-10 stored in the open at Cosford was broken up.
Looking after a museum piece by a dedicated team of volunteers is not the same as using an airliner as a house.
Rhoose is beside the sea and salt corrosion would be a massive problem.
something like this? had the chance to stay but turned it down.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/se/jumbo-hostel.en-gb...
RAF Abingdon used to have a few in storage, have you looked there?
http://www.booking.com/hotel/se/jumbo-hostel.en-gb...
RAF Abingdon used to have a few in storage, have you looked there?
Apache said:
Crossflow Kid said:
Apache said:
RAF Abingdon used to have a few in storage, have you looked there?
Is that the same RAF Abingdon that closed nearly 22 years ago and handed over to the Army?Anything fast and pointy will be very long gone.
k me, I'm getting old!
Ali Chappussy said:
Any 'flyers' left?
Doubtful. It's coming up to 28 days since they flew which in servicing terms is when a lot of "stuff" is due (in addition to four lots of seven-days servicing and assuming they had maximum hours remaining) so it's fairly safe to assume they'd need a fair bit of work already. Granted it's more a legal thing and would be nearly all preventative maintenance, but I believe the last person to ignore that sort of thing flew a Lightning with a servicing-elapsed ejection seat and learnt the hard way that it's not supermarket sell-by dates we're talking here.Apache said:
something like this? had the chance to stay but turned it down.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/se/jumbo-hostel.en-gb...
RAF Abingdon used to have a few in storage, have you looked there?
You SWINE!!! You are just about to cost me £300.http://www.booking.com/hotel/se/jumbo-hostel.en-gb...
RAF Abingdon used to have a few in storage, have you looked there?
http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/airplanesui...
Just posted this on the VC10 thread but realise it is probably more relevant here!
If you are serious, you could do worse than contact a friend of mine, Neil Lomax, via http://www.savethetrident.co.uk. He has been spending some of his recent time dismantling VC-10s, when he hasn't been restoring the Trident at Sunderland.
We moved Trident G-AWZK from Heathrow to Manchester a few years ago, saving her from the scrap man. Neil pretty much single-handed restored her when she got there. His work is amazing with the cockpit coming out better than the day it left the factory. He is now doing the same with G-ARPO which was saved from the fire dump at Teesside. After SERCO donated her, she was dismantled into transportable parts (fuselage, tail, horizontal stabiliser, and wings) andmoved to the North East Aircraft Museum at Sunderland for preservation.
Neil knows his stuff and would be a good starting point if you want to know costs, feasability, etc. His might even know, through his contact, what if anything is available.
Be warned though, this isn't a cheap exercise! As Eric has pointed out, corrosion treatment is an ongoing task with an aircraft like this. My Hunter (XE624, now sold) sat in my garden for many years and that was a endless challenge to keep the old girl in a vaguely fit state!
We were lucky with G-AWZK in that BA worked with us and the airframe was gifted to her final home. We also had some serious sponsorship and huge number of donations to get close to the cost of dismantling and reassembly. Even with the many favours we called upon, it still cost us over £45k back in 2005, if I remember correctly. Transportation of the airframe alone took up £10k+ of the budget and a lot of planning.
Even shifting a relatively small airframe like a Hunter is no cheap task! When I moved house, XE624 went from Loughborough to Metheringham in Lincolnshire, a trip of 55 miles, cost £2k ...
If you are serious, you could do worse than contact a friend of mine, Neil Lomax, via http://www.savethetrident.co.uk. He has been spending some of his recent time dismantling VC-10s, when he hasn't been restoring the Trident at Sunderland.
We moved Trident G-AWZK from Heathrow to Manchester a few years ago, saving her from the scrap man. Neil pretty much single-handed restored her when she got there. His work is amazing with the cockpit coming out better than the day it left the factory. He is now doing the same with G-ARPO which was saved from the fire dump at Teesside. After SERCO donated her, she was dismantled into transportable parts (fuselage, tail, horizontal stabiliser, and wings) andmoved to the North East Aircraft Museum at Sunderland for preservation.
Neil knows his stuff and would be a good starting point if you want to know costs, feasability, etc. His might even know, through his contact, what if anything is available.
Be warned though, this isn't a cheap exercise! As Eric has pointed out, corrosion treatment is an ongoing task with an aircraft like this. My Hunter (XE624, now sold) sat in my garden for many years and that was a endless challenge to keep the old girl in a vaguely fit state!
We were lucky with G-AWZK in that BA worked with us and the airframe was gifted to her final home. We also had some serious sponsorship and huge number of donations to get close to the cost of dismantling and reassembly. Even with the many favours we called upon, it still cost us over £45k back in 2005, if I remember correctly. Transportation of the airframe alone took up £10k+ of the budget and a lot of planning.
Even shifting a relatively small airframe like a Hunter is no cheap task! When I moved house, XE624 went from Loughborough to Metheringham in Lincolnshire, a trip of 55 miles, cost £2k ...
Edited by StephenP on Thursday 17th October 17:51
You might want to watch The House 100k built on BBC2 now. The opening credits appeared to show somebody converting part of an aircraft fuselage into a house of some sort. I'm not sure if it'll be shown this episode but worth keeping an eye open for.
ETA http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01jv759
ETA http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01jv759
PAUL500 said:
It would not be an impractical or unattainable proposal at all
Sure. Have you had a look around any large aircraft that has been static for a few years? You're talking about a location (Rhoose) near the sea which is a bad idea from a corrosion point of view, as has been mentioned by others. Just painting once a year won't help as the moisture is going to it and start eating the structure from the inside out - by not flying or moving about it will get trapped - and this is assuming you regularly clear any drain holes you can get to.
Depending on which way you park it and on what - you're going to have an issue with it sinking into whatever surface it sits on, so plates to spread the load, fabricated axle stands, collars for the oleos, and tyre filling will all probably be necessary.
You're also going to have fun with it going green around the edges of any seams very quickly. Most usually the side that doesn't get the sun, and the undersides. Even in a pressurised aircraft, the continual change in temperature in the UK presents a problem with humidty if they are left to sit. Most museums will tell you of the dehumidifiers running 24/7 for as long as they can afford them.
To keep the sparrows and other pests out, you'll have to find some way of keeping them out of undercarraige bays, engine nacelles, vents, intakes and a million and one places you never thought the little b
ds could get to. Their waste is corrosive, so not good. Also if they get trapped and die, again, not good.All in all the UK is a horrid climate for an aircraft to live outdoors in.
As for moving things... well. Moving a Nimrod from Coventry to Newquay was quoted at £750k last time people were asked about such things.
Rich
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