A Little VC10derness

Thumper wrote:I do agree but it's a very large aircraft to keep clean. Cleaning it would require several thousand pages of health and safety notes and in the region of a 5,000 page risk assessment being done. They then need several people willing to do it and then equipment like a cherry picker to get up there to wash it, it would take a long time as well. It's not a Spitfire or Sabre that you can simply climb aboard to scrub, it's bloody enormous.

Bletchley Park did have a Harrier GR.3 that was in a cosmetically challenged condition. I emailed them several times offering to clean her free of charge. Eventually they got back to me stating due to reasons listed above (health and safety, insurance, risk assessments, supervisors required etc) they did not have the money or time to allow me to do it and it's not simply a case of letting a random person in with a bucket and sponge. Such a damn shame and utter stupidity to be honest, health and safety has a lot to answer for these days.

"Health & Safety" were I presume a bit worried you might get wet? Or perhaps carrying a bucket of water is unsafe in case it spills a bit. Or perhaps someone might if they're not careful slip on the soap etc etc
vololiberista

In all honestly looking at that pic that's not accumulated since the base has closed. That appears to be several years of accumulated grime. I could of course be wrong (and not for the first time! ) but I'd have thought accumulating enough slime to be in that state would take a few years.

As for the Health and Safety element, sometimes it's just easier...

I found some pics from when it was placed on the gate in 1988, freshly painted it looked immaculate, 25 years living outside has taken a heavy toll, it was apparently surveyed for preservation but found to be beyond economical restoration.

Craig wrote:In all honestly looking at that pic that's not accumulated since the base has closed. That appears to be several years of accumulated grime.

Jazz707 wrote:...cleaned up until the around the time the RAF were vacating the station. After this, the aircraft was never cleaned? Plausible?

That means mid-2011, so was several years of grime. In 2010 pics the aircraft looked clean.

Jazz707 wrote:

Craig wrote:In all honestly looking at that pic that's not accumulated since the base has closed. That appears to be several years of accumulated grime.

Jazz707 wrote:...cleaned up until the around the time the RAF were vacating the station. After this, the aircraft was never cleaned? Plausible?

That means mid-2011, so was several years of grime. In 2010 pics the aircraft looked clean.

Could well be then mate, just surprised it could become derelict so quickly!

If that is the case it's a very sobering thought for large aircraft preservation, including our beloved Tens...

Craig wrote:

Jazz707 wrote:

Craig wrote:In all honestly looking at that pic that's not accumulated since the base has closed. That appears to be several years of accumulated grime.

Jazz707 wrote:...cleaned up until the around the time the RAF were vacating the station. After this, the aircraft was never cleaned? Plausible?

That means mid-2011, so was several years of grime. In 2010 pics the aircraft looked clean.

Could well be then mate, just surprised it could become derelict so quickly!

If that is the case it's a very sobering thought for large aircraft preservation, including our beloved Tens...

I think its mostly because of the trees very close by. I'm going to guess, the aircraft was probably last cleaned for the visit by Princess Anne on 31/5/11, for the parade to mark the departure of the squadrons to Brize. Of course, the severe corrosion would already be there by then, clean or not?

Sad to see it was the sole surviving Comet C2 and nothing was done to preserve it before it was too late.A bit of foresight would have helped.Should have been taken off the gate and put into storage in 2010.

Is this a definitive list of comets in the UK now,4 complete airframes ?
http://www.ukairfields.org.uk/comet.html

All courtesy of Wikipedia, so I can't guarantee accuracy, but it lists 8 complete aircraft; (although this includes overseas aircraft)

The only complete remaining Comet 1, a Comet 1XB with the registration G-APAS, is displayed at the RAF Museum Cosford

Seven complete Comet 4s are housed in museum collections.

The Imperial War Museum Duxford has a Comet 4 (G-APDB), originally in Dan-Air colours as part of its Flight Line Display, and later in BOAC livery at its AirSpace building.[177]

A Comet 4B (G-APYD) is stored in a facility at the Science Museum at Wroughton in Wiltshire, England.[178]

Comet 4Cs are exhibited at the Flugausstellung Leo Junior at Hermeskeil, Germany (G-BDIW),[179]

the Museum of Flight near Seattle, Washington (N888WA),[166]

the National Museum of Flight near Edinburgh, Scotland (G-BDIX),[180] and the Parque Zoológico Irapuato in Guanajuato, Mexico (N777WA).[181]

The last Comet to fly, Comet 4C Canopus (XS235),[1] is kept in running condition at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome, where fast taxi runs are regularly conducted.[182] Since the 2000s, various parties have proposed restoring Canopus, which is maintained by a staff of volunteers,[183] to airworthy, fully flight-capable condition.[133]

So possibly 5 in the UK

The Comet at Wroughton which was originally on display to the public is indeed G-APYD, they also have nose section G-ANAV



Does anyone know when it was closed to the public? Looked like a brilliant day out, the library sounds good too with Barnes Wallace original plans for the Bouncing Bomb!

Such a shame as they have a beautiful Connie, Trident, DC3, of course the Comet and more!





Old link when the museum was still open to the public with photo's of their aircraft

http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/museums/mai ... m#Visiting

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What's the story with all the radioactivity then?

Please don't say it's the "glow in the dark" stuff that is in many of the instruments... I have heard that as an excuse before

Tonks

Not sure, but seem to recall it was some H&S nonsense.

Tonkenna wrote:Please don't say it's the "glow in the dark" stuff that is in many of the instruments... I have heard that as an excuse before

Tonks

I'd suggest that's almost certainly the "reason"...

I've had that one. It's the most ridiculous notion, so I'm going to get irradiated sitting in the cockpit for 5 mins, amazing the pilots who sat there hour after hour for years weren't affected!