Before I catch up with logging the trips we made in the last few weeks I will do the one from last weekend. But first of all I would like to thank everyone that has replied to my requests while preparing this trip; that kind of help is one of the main things that make those lists such a great success in my opinion!
Anyway, here it goes. Main reason for this short trip was a visit to Warton, and while we were in the area anyway we tried to fill a few gaps at different spots. After arriving on Liverpool airport and collecting our rental car we had an arranged visit to the UAS's at Woodvale. They had one "new" Tutor since our visit two years ago, and we also hoped to catch one glider of the newly based VGS and the Chippie that should be based here. Our driver still had some troubles with driving on the "wrong" side of the road, as he pulled up the entrance of the airfield on the right hand side! When will you Britons ever learn....
)RAF Woodvale (6-6)
Tutor, Liverpool/Manchester UAS: G-BYUZ, G-BYVH, G-BYWI, G-BYWJ, G-BYWN, G-BYXA, G-BYXI, G-BYXX
Vigilant T.1, 631 VGS: ZH147/TU, ZH193/UF, ZH206/UM, ZJ968/SN
Chipmunk T.10, private: WK624 (G-BWHI, no mks)
A great succes! All aircraft live in one hangar, so my fear we wouldn't see the gliders was unnecessary. The Chipmunk is owned by three guys, one of which is a pilot at the UAS. When we got all Tutors (the one I needed was the last one arriving of course...) we headed towards Warton. Going there you will pass Preston, where BAe has a school with a few aircraft. I had called them a few days before to see wether we could have a short visit, but was told that private persons were not welcome anymore. But since you really pass the school on the way to Warton we decided to stop and ring the bell, and we were very lucky since we got in without any problems and were taken to see the aircraft!
BAe Engineering Training Centre, Preston (6-6)
(ZA328) Tornado GR.1 GIA, fuselage
(XV281) Harrier GR.1 GIA, nose with fuselage of T.4 XW272
? Harrier std, nose
(43+12?) Tornado IDS GIA, nose
The German Tornado nose was a great surprise to us. Our guide thought it was GS007 (which should make it 43+24), but some paperwork we saw gave GS001. Anybody who knows more? The Harrier nose used to be used for undercarriage trials but nowadays this is done with XV281 as well. Any id known for this nose?
After this succesful visit we drove on to Warton, where just when we arrived a Nimrod landed. Two minutes later and we would have been able to shoot some nice pictures....
BAe Warton (6-6)
ZA101 Hawk 100 std, ex BAe
(ZJ518)/18 Nimrod MRA.4 BAe
The Hawk is stored outside, and will go to the museum of Manchester soon. Since the mobile tower left after the Nimrod had landed and according to locals the flying had come to an end we drove to our next destination, the nearby town of Lytham.
Helical Technology, Lytham St. Anne's (6-06)
XM708 Gnat T.1 pr, Red Arrows c/s
We had called the company in advance and made an appointment, which is good since the Gnat is not visible from outside. I *think* that having a look is no problem if you just show up and ask when they are open, but no guarantees. There were also a few civilian aircraft present, plus some old cars, boats and a steam locomotive if you are interested in one of those!
Next stop was Blackpool.
Blackpool airport (6-6)
WB615/E Chipmunk T.10 no mks (G-BXIA)
WZ872/E Chipmunk T.10 7 AEF mks (G-BZGB)
G-ANWB Chipmunk civil only?
LF363/YB-W Hurricane IIC BoBMF, 17 sq mks
PA474/BQ-B Lancaster B.1 BoBMF, 550 sq mks
P7350/XT-L Spitfire IIA BoBMF, 603 sq mks
To our surprise we saw a Lancaster standing on the tarmac when we arrived, flanked by the two famous fighters. Although well known those aircraft are a very nice sight! Apparently they were going to do a flyby for some kind of veterans day in the area. Chippie WB615 lives in the Air Navigation hangar, the other two in the aeroclub hangar behind this one. Almost all hangars were visited, only the heli hangar was closed. No sign of the Huey that lives here unfortunately! At Woodvale we were told that it had visited earlier that morning, so we had just missed it there, and now at its homebase again no sight of it. So now we are hoping it will show up at the RIAT or so!
Two years ago, when we were in this area, we had visited the ATC unit at Birkdale to see their Chippax. Unfortunately at the time it was away for restoration. We thought/guessed that by now it had to be back, and we drove to Birkdale to see it. Although the reception at the ATC was very friendly all they could show us was an ejector seat, the Chippax was still in someones garage. Next time we will give them a call before we drive all the way!
Anyway, we had a nice dinner in the pub opposite, and drove back to Blackpool where we would spend the night in the brand new Travelodge. On our way there we had a quick look at the recently arrived Lightning that the third guy in our party still needed.
Newton with Scales (6-6)
XM173/A Lightning F.1A std, wings and tail seperate.
A shame to see this beautiful bird with its wings and tail crudely sawn off. Hopefully they can replace them and repair the damage!
Next morning we had a quick look at the Canberra nose that sits outside with the Air Cadets at Warton.
976 sq ATC, Warton (7-6)
(WT520) Canberra PR.7 pr, nose, no mks
After this we had breakfast opposite the gate of Warton with some of our British friends, and afterwards had a great tour through the BAe hangars (of which I can't publish a list as you know). It was nice to get the first Saudian Typhoons, and the presence of so many Indian Hawks was a nice surprise as well. The local enthousiasts group (that arranges and guides the visits) have a Jet Provost and a Lightning nose, but since the infamous health & safety regulations prevent them from working on those they have left Warton. Apparently they are in a storage facility of the Manchester Museum where work on them can be done. When the tour had finished we rushed off to Samlesbury, for a visit to the local VGS. We had visited them as well two years ago, but then one of their Vigilants was away to Syerston for maintenance, and apart from that they got a fith one by now that we still needed.
BAe Samlesbury (7-6)
Vigilant T.1, 635 VGS: ZH115/TA, ZH129/TQ (with badge), ZH192/UE, ZH205/UL, ZH266/UY (with badge)
Preserved at the gate are still Canberra PR.7 WT537 and Lightning F.53 ZF580, both without squadron markings. Although we had requested a visit here to photograph the Tutors, we were not allowed to take "photographing or recording equipment" on site. Some miscomminucation apparently.... But most important here was seeing the two Vigilants we still needed, and that was a succes after all!
OK, that's all for now. I need to do some "research" before I can post the rest, so I'll post this part first.
As always comments, additions and corrections are very welcome.
That's all folks!
Frank Mink & Patrick Dirksen
Tristar Aviation