Duxford visit testerday

[ian elliot]

Im taking some vacation at the moment and i have a new camera to get to know, and i need little excuse to visit.
its very quite there at this time of year and most aircraft are undergoing there winter maintance, lot of engine shots, this is the first didgy camera with a decent wide angle so ive been testing it out, enjoy.
cheers ian
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianelliot/sets/72157625698212465/

 

[deathfromafar]

Thanks for posting that. Very kind of you indeed to share. I had always wanted to visit Duxford but every time I've been in country, something always managed to prevent me going there. The photos help bring a little taste of the experience I've missed out on.

:salute:

 

[brad kaste]

Ian,...from your photos,...is the area shown a 'display' area or a place where the aircraft are being serviced and worked on? Seems awfully squished looking for display purposes.
Also,...are the aircraft strictly 'static-display' in nature,..or are some of them flown? Obviously,...the SR-71 and the DH Comet won't be taking off anytime soon. But what about some of the WWII aircraft? Flown occasionally or not?

 

[ian elliot]

Hi Brad, Duxford is a huge complexe with both an air museum and a maintance facility for private warbird operators, my pics probably didnt do the complex justice, there are a lot of airframes on display but are very well position'd and lit, most of the pics of warbirds in bits are flyers or being restored to fly in the future, the pics where taken in one of two spacific maintance hangers that are not a museum as such but the general public are allowed to veiw, the B17 flys every year and hopfully will do so for many years, the Beaufighter is a long term restoration, its taken them 10 years or so to get that far, the P47 razorback came from the United States a few years back and is being assembled to fly also, but probably not this year.
cheers ian

 

[Bone]

Thanks for the pics. My next trip to the UK, I'm going to Duxford.

 

[stiz]

hows the Blenheim doing?

 

[Bomber_12th]

hows the Blenheim doing?

Seems like not much has happened with the Blenheim over the past couple of years - same goes for the CR.42. It is good news however to hear that the TFC fleet is steadily coming back on-line, one aircraft at a time. As I heard, the P-40B is ready to go (awaiting a pilot and test flight date), as is/will be soon, the Hawk 75. Besides working on getting the TFC fleet back up and flying (since being grounded a couple years ago) most work seems to be aimed at the P-47G (which as seen in Ian's photos, recently had its main gear installed).

Thank you for sharing the photos, Ian!

 

[Wing_Z]

Thanks for the spread!

Crikey, talk about extended development...there's a Typhoon in the museum, and they're not really all operational yet!

 

[ian elliot]

[Crikey, talk about extended development...there's a Typhoon in the museum, and they're not really all operational yet! /QUOTE]
I think thats one of the old BAE Testbeds, known as the EFA at the time, long before anyone had thought of the name Typhoon, probably about 15 or more years old,
cheers ian

 

[Wing_Z]

Yes true - Typhoon has a long history.
Starting in the early '70's, AST-396 (Air Staff Target 396) issued by the RAF, called for a STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) aircraft.

They were asking for the F-35 back then already!

Instead, over 30 years, they got (along with the Harrier, admittedly) multinational ECF, ACA, EAP, EFA, Eurofighter 2000, and, finally, Typhoon.
Was it Germany who moved the intakes under the chin?
They have never looked right to me...