Originally Posted by
ZH875
XL318 was dismantled at Scampton and transported by road to RAFM Hendon where it was put back together.
I was at Scampton then. The wings were detached outboard of Rib 162.5 (i.e. outboard of the undercarriage) but I think they had to cut the spar itself, and the fuselage came apart (surprisingly) straight down the middle just like an Airfix kit. The job was done by Salvage and Transportation Flight (from the old 71MU) from Abingdon but I can only guess at the cost now.
Having surveyed the route very carefully, they headed north late one night on the A15 and got it stuck for a while at the first roundabout!