Rotting Lightning on the A1

[Ravell]

dr_gn said:

skyslimit said:

Save your money I'm afraid. They chopped the wings in totally the wrong place for future integrity on that aircraft when they transported it.

Structually alone, she can NEVER fly again

I think it's pretty obvious it won't fly again, and not only for structural reasons...

It's apparently still sound enough to stand on its main gear though. What would be relatively cheap and simple, would be to bodge some fibreglass panels onto it, along with a new shock cone and canopy, give it a nice flash paintjob, and stick it vertically on a couple of the longest telegraph poles you could find. Now *that* would be a good advert for your scrapyard...and it would be better than just letting it rot to nothing.

I figured the cutting of the wings and tail would have doomed any flights, but I was hoping there'd be some way of making it a taxiing exibit rather than a flying one, but it really sounds like it's completely gone. Crying shame!

[aeropilot]

Ravell said:

dr_gn said:

skyslimit said:

Save your money I'm afraid. They chopped the wings in totally the wrong place for future integrity on that aircraft when they transported it.

Structually alone, she can NEVER fly again

I think it's pretty obvious it won't fly again, and not only for structural reasons...

It's apparently still sound enough to stand on its main gear though. What would be relatively cheap and simple, would be to bodge some fibreglass panels onto it, along with a new shock cone and canopy, give it a nice flash paintjob, and stick it vertically on a couple of the longest telegraph poles you could find. Now *that* would be a good advert for your scrapyard...and it would be better than just letting it rot to nothing.

I figured the cutting of the wings and tail would have doomed any flights, but I was hoping there'd be some way of making it a taxiing exibit rather than a flying one, but it really sounds like it's completely gone. Crying shame!

It's waaaaaay more than wings and tail dooming any flying of this or any other UK Lightning, or in this case even taxiing is out of the question being far too gone.....as well as there being just not enough working live Lightning spares left to go around.
There's just the 3 current taxiable a/c in the UK and there won't be any more in reality.

[richw_82]

The owner of the yard it is in has resisted quite a few offers to buy the aircraft.

It hasn't been able to stand on it's gear unsupported since it was put there. Obscured by the bushes is a steel cradle that the fueslage was sitting in. When the weight got removed from the nose, the weight from the engines (she still has them both), she tipped up and the cradle cut into the belly.

A few years back, there was no fence and you could walk right up to it.

Regards

Ric

[Trommel]

It was finally scrapped a couple of weeks ago - someone has bought the cockpit.

[CoolC]

Trommel said:

It was finally scrapped a couple of weeks ago - someone has bought the cockpit.

Drove past yesterday for the first time in a few weeks and noticed it was gone. Shame, it was one of those markers to let you know your almost home.