Fairy Barracuda being recovered from the Solent
Fairy Barracuda being recovered from the Solent
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AshVX220

Original Poster:

5,965 posts

214 months

Thursday 6th June 2019
quotequote all
I did a search but couldn't find anything on this, thought you all might be interested.

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/crashed-s...

Eric Mc

124,937 posts

289 months

Thursday 6th June 2019
quotequote all
Looks like it will be a collection of bits rather than a whole aeroplane. However, the Fleet Air Arm Museum is reconstructing a Barracuda from just such a collection of bits so I am sure this will help fill some gaps in their assembly process.

The "window" being held in the photograph doesn't look like part of the windscreen to me. It looks more like the side observation window.




Total loss

2,138 posts

251 months

Saturday 8th June 2019
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
........ the Fleet Air Arm Museum is reconstructing a Barracuda from just such a collection of bits ................
I don't think it is the FAA Museum restoring it, just a private volunteer group. They were based at Yeovilton, but were kicked out because the FAA needed the space IIRC.

ecsrobin

18,528 posts

189 months

Saturday 8th June 2019
quotequote all
Total loss said:
I don't think it is the FAA Museum restoring it, just a private volunteer group. They were based at Yeovilton, but were kicked out because the FAA needed the space IIRC.
https://www.fleetairarm.com/barracuda-restoration-project.aspx

Full Steam Ahead for Barracuda DP872

On the 6th February 2015, the extensively re-built tail section of Barracuda DP872 was brought back from volunteers working in Newcastle.

The Project will now continue at the Fleet Air Arm Museum and work has begun already with the Barracuda occupying quite a large portion of the museum’s in-house restoration facility!

dr_gn

16,774 posts

208 months

Saturday 8th June 2019
quotequote all
ecsrobin said:
Total loss said:
I don't think it is the FAA Museum restoring it, just a private volunteer group. They were based at Yeovilton, but were kicked out because the FAA needed the space IIRC.
https://www.fleetairarm.com/barracuda-restoration-project.aspx

Full Steam Ahead for Barracuda DP872

On the 6th February 2015, the extensively re-built tail section of Barracuda DP872 was brought back from volunteers working in Newcastle.

The Project will now continue at the Fleet Air Arm Museum and work has begun already with the Barracuda occupying quite a large portion of the museum’s in-house restoration facility!
“Volunteers working in Newcastle”

Well worth looking at how that went...




Total loss

2,138 posts

251 months

Saturday 8th June 2019
quotequote all
Thanks for the correction all.
As I put IIRC, obviously very incorrectly!

But it all was a very sad situation, an announcement from back in 2015

"Sad to report that the FAAM have terminated their tenancy agreement on the workshop space, paid their dues and their hauliers are due to collect their aeroplane on Friday/Saturday.

The tailplane is short of one leading edge and the fairings to join it to the fin and the entire rear fuselage that was delivered in September for the next 18 months of rebuild remains untouched.
The only outstanding matter is the lies they told about having tried to negotiate a contract for two years when what actually happened is that the contracts lay in a drawer while we all worked perfectly well on a handshake until the FAAM was amalgamated with the NMRN whereupon they got in a panic over having a contract.
The contract they offered denied our volunteer status making us sub-contractors instead, said that we had to work with new material at their discretion and that we had to pay their insurance. I tried between September 2014 and November 2014 to negotiate something that we could work with but they chose to shut down their own project instead. It's entirely their loss and a very sad day for the aircraft. We would have willingly seen the project through."

Total loss

2,138 posts

251 months

Saturday 8th June 2019
quotequote all
dr_gn said:
“Volunteers working in Newcastle”

Well worth looking at how that went...
I read that as you think that there was the possibility that that part of the restoration wasn't done very well? which is always a possibility with volunteers of course.
But in this case, not at all, all the work was of the highest standard by very, very skilled volunteers.

Equus

16,980 posts

125 months

Saturday 8th June 2019
quotequote all
Total loss said:
The only outstanding matter is the lies they told about having tried to negotiate a contract...
That all sounds depressingly familiar.

dr_gn

16,774 posts

208 months

Saturday 8th June 2019
quotequote all
Total loss said:
Thanks for the correction all.
As I put IIRC, obviously very incorrectly!

But it all was a very sad situation, an announcement from back in 2015

"Sad to report that the FAAM have terminated their tenancy agreement on the workshop space, paid their dues and their hauliers are due to collect their aeroplane on Friday/Saturday.

The tailplane is short of one leading edge and the fairings to join it to the fin and the entire rear fuselage that was delivered in September for the next 18 months of rebuild remains untouched.
The only outstanding matter is the lies they told about having tried to negotiate a contract for two years when what actually happened is that the contracts lay in a drawer while we all worked perfectly well on a handshake until the FAAM was amalgamated with the NMRN whereupon they got in a panic over having a contract.
The contract they offered denied our volunteer status making us sub-contractors instead, said that we had to work with new material at their discretion and that we had to pay their insurance. I tried between September 2014 and November 2014 to negotiate something that we could work with but they chose to shut down their own project instead. It's entirely their loss and a very sad day for the aircraft. We would have willingly seen the project through."
It might be worth telling us where that “announcement” came from....and it’s always worth remembering there are two sides to every story.

IIRC there was a very long thread on the matter on pprune, but it may have been deleted by now.

dr_gn

16,774 posts

208 months

Saturday 8th June 2019
quotequote all
Total loss said:
dr_gn said:
“Volunteers working in Newcastle”

Well worth looking at how that went...
I read that as you think that there was the possibility that that part of the restoration wasn't done very well? which is always a possibility with volunteers of course.
But in this case, not at all, all the work was of the highest standard by very, very skilled volunteers.
Take a look at post #506 here:

https://forum.keypublishing.com/forum/historic-avi...

Note the photograph taken at the FAA Museum with the example parts captioned “work ‘Not’ performed to Fleet Air Arm Museum standard”.

Who performed this work?

Note also the photograph with the caption “Missing Barracuda Parts”
“...not been returned from the contractor...”

Who was the contractor?

Were the parts ever found?

As I said...an interesting thread for anyone with the time to read it from the beginning.

There are regular updates on progress on Facebook - the FAA museum is doing a fantastic job.






ecsrobin

18,528 posts

189 months

Sunday 9th June 2019
quotequote all
dr_gn said:
Total loss said:
dr_gn said:
“Volunteers working in Newcastle”

Well worth looking at how that went...
I read that as you think that there was the possibility that that part of the restoration wasn't done very well? which is always a possibility with volunteers of course.
But in this case, not at all, all the work was of the highest standard by very, very skilled volunteers.
Take a look at post #506 here:

https://forum.keypublishing.com/forum/historic-avi...

Note the photograph taken at the FAA Museum with the example parts captioned “work ‘Not’ performed to Fleet Air Arm Museum standard”.

Who performed this work?

Note also the photograph with the caption “Missing Barracuda Parts”
“...not been returned from the contractor...”

Who was the contractor?

Were the parts ever found?

As I said...an interesting thread for anyone with the time to read it from the beginning.

There are regular updates on progress on Facebook - the FAA museum is doing a fantastic job.
A quick read of that thread and a few things have clicked into place from other things I’ve read online from other topics that end up a mess. A common denominator is blue.