Any latest news about Bruntingthorpe?
Discussion
zsdom said:
Cheers. Those images have sparked a memory that the smaller aircraft will be ok for now, held near the Lightnings as in this image.
Edited by Tony1963 on Monday 30th August 17:32
Those Tristars aren't looking too happy
A few years ago I designed the double-block auction lanes for Manhiem in the Hangar which the Vulcan was restored in. These were a first in the UK and given the volume of vehicles (and money) going through these lanes it's good to see most of the aircraft have found a relatively safe spot.I'm not entirely optimistic but fingers crossed it stays that way.
Edited by horseshoecrab on Monday 30th August 21:34
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All of this is a sad outcome but somewhat inevitable as well. When XH558 was grounded there was a lot of aggro on various aviation forums about how it 'should have gone to Brunty'. Even a few years later you can see why this wasn't a sensible solution. It seems that 'Brunty' was seen as a magical retirement home for Cold War-era aircraft, when in reality a few hobbyist outfits were allowed to scratch around in one corner of a giant car park, thanks to the good grace of the owner of that car park. It wasn't a proper museum and there weren't any solid long-term agreements or plans in place for many of the aircraft there. I also never personally thought that fast taxi runs had any sort of real draw, compared to a real airshow, beyond the slightly cult followers of certain aircraft types.
I would disagree with some of that, I think it was kept fairly low key and quiet because quite honestly it was fairly budget, amateur stuff.
I would guess one health and safety guy looking at a cold war jets taxi would have a field day, until the last few years you could stand behind the jets on the bank while they powered up, you were literally a few yards away from a Lightning on full burner, it was a lovely, old school bit of fun run by amateurs and ex servicemen who shared their passion, and I thought it was wonderful and I am only annoyed that I did not know about it sooner.
Airshows these days are massively overpriced for the content, and simply a public asset strip, to rob you of as much money as possible for very little in return, Brunters was relatively cheap, very accessible, fun, and far more of what I remember from air shows gone by, hence why I miss it so much now.
I would guess one health and safety guy looking at a cold war jets taxi would have a field day, until the last few years you could stand behind the jets on the bank while they powered up, you were literally a few yards away from a Lightning on full burner, it was a lovely, old school bit of fun run by amateurs and ex servicemen who shared their passion, and I thought it was wonderful and I am only annoyed that I did not know about it sooner.
Airshows these days are massively overpriced for the content, and simply a public asset strip, to rob you of as much money as possible for very little in return, Brunters was relatively cheap, very accessible, fun, and far more of what I remember from air shows gone by, hence why I miss it so much now.
Tony1963 said:
Cheers.
Those images have sparked a memory that the smaller aircraft will be ok for now, held near the Lightnings as in this image.
I posted this back in September in another Bruntingthorpe thread but seeing Treble Three makes me very happy so I’ll repost here Those images have sparked a memory that the smaller aircraft will be ok for now, held near the Lightnings as in this image.
Edited by Tony1963 on Monday 30th August 17:32
Had a private invitation in August and spent a good part of the day with the very handsome and lovely Sq Ldr Dennis Brooks, Roger Wintle, Stephen Reglar and another of the pilots whose name escapes me.
As well as braving the thinnest ladder up to the Sea Vixen cockpit, climbing up in to the Lightning, I sat and cried in the Canberra (or more lovingly known as Treble Three). I wish I’d seen this thread prior to my day as I could have asked and posed any questions. This still isn’t beyond the realms of course as I will be back at Bruntingthorpe (or at least on the edge of) in the future.
Twin seat Lightning used for training. Being restored to its original metal. 125 hours of sanding so far by the lovely Steve… some mysterious marks on one of the panels. I did ask if Dennis had parked it under a hedge.
I’m a size 6 shoe and Christ those rungs are small on that Sea Vixen ladder!
And my reason for being there, and her reason for being there.
And Treble Three back in her day
LukeBrown66 said:
I would disagree with some of that, I think it was kept fairly low key and quiet because quite honestly it was fairly budget, amateur stuff.
I would guess one health and safety guy looking at a cold war jets taxi would have a field day, until the last few years you could stand behind the jets on the bank while they powered up, you were literally a few yards away from a Lightning on full burner, it was a lovely, old school bit of fun run by amateurs and ex servicemen who shared their passion, and I thought it was wonderful and I am only annoyed that I did not know about it sooner.
Airshows these days are massively overpriced for the content, and simply a public asset strip, to rob you of as much money as possible for very little in return, Brunters was relatively cheap, very accessible, fun, and far more of what I remember from air shows gone by, hence why I miss it so much now.
Totally agree. I would guess one health and safety guy looking at a cold war jets taxi would have a field day, until the last few years you could stand behind the jets on the bank while they powered up, you were literally a few yards away from a Lightning on full burner, it was a lovely, old school bit of fun run by amateurs and ex servicemen who shared their passion, and I thought it was wonderful and I am only annoyed that I did not know about it sooner.
Airshows these days are massively overpriced for the content, and simply a public asset strip, to rob you of as much money as possible for very little in return, Brunters was relatively cheap, very accessible, fun, and far more of what I remember from air shows gone by, hence why I miss it so much now.
In his younger days my late Father (RAE Pershore) thought the seating arrangement in the cockpit of the Canberra difficult for the Navigator so he doodled some new set up. Called in to ‘The Boffins’ office for a chat one afternoon he s
t himself that he was in trouble. He was told to take a seat and said Boffin pulled out some paperwork (the doodles) and said he thought my Father’s idea might work and there was a spare cockpit to have the engineers play about with to his design. This involved swapping the Nav seats around and a few other tweaks. Hence the layout of Treble Three and subsequent Canberra’s that went for servicing at RAE Thurleigh where we moved to in 1977 along with WT333.
My Father also did a lot of radar development in the U.K. etc. The nose cone on Treble Three, the power running to this and lots of other stuff that makes her unique and why she’s been preserved.
I’ve got stacks of design stuff, photos, models etc and have donated a few things to the museum. Will always be one of my favourite planes having grown up with her.
t himself that he was in trouble. He was told to take a seat and said Boffin pulled out some paperwork (the doodles) and said he thought my Father’s idea might work and there was a spare cockpit to have the engineers play about with to his design. This involved swapping the Nav seats around and a few other tweaks. Hence the layout of Treble Three and subsequent Canberra’s that went for servicing at RAE Thurleigh where we moved to in 1977 along with WT333. My Father also did a lot of radar development in the U.K. etc. The nose cone on Treble Three, the power running to this and lots of other stuff that makes her unique and why she’s been preserved.
I’ve got stacks of design stuff, photos, models etc and have donated a few things to the museum. Will always be one of my favourite planes having grown up with her.
Edited by Gretchen on Friday 19th November 04:26
LP12 said:
For giving the Nav(s) some spatial orientaition over and above the execreble Artificia Horizon fitted. A good Nav friend punched out of a Canberra because he saw the approach all going wrong.
This might be a very stupid question... but how does a porthole in a clear canopy help the Nav with spatial orientation?Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff