Lancaster accident

[pigboat]

It appears that the CWH Lancaster has suffered some damage in a ground accident.www.canadianaviation.com/cgi-bin/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=000860.

I believe this aircraft is one of only two flying examples in existence. :(

[henry crun]

You are right Pigboat, it is one of only two flying examples.

By coincidence, only 30 minutes before your post I was reading the June issue of Wings magazine in which John Williams describes his first checkout ride in that very aircraft, and his impressions of flying it.

[Samuel]

Ah! Sweet nostalgia! I recall a late night at Cottesmore when all our aircraft [Victors all]were safely in bed, but being told to standby for a visiting aircraft, then hearing this crackle and pop of Merlins as an RCAF ASR Lancaster dropped in. Surrounded by people next day, the first of this legendary bird I had ever seen in the flesh, and comments on how primitive it was!

There is one thatcould fly again, given enough money! It's in New Zealand, and was flown there when gifted by the French Navy way back when. Now there's a thought for a lotto winner!It needs a new main spar, but it's complete, and I believe they run the engines now and then.

[treadigraph]

And there is another in the UK that as near as dammit does fly - she's at East Kirby, all four engines run, she taxies and recently she felt air under her tail feathers while filming a "take-off" for a BBC drama. It has bene reported that the brothers who own her may make a decision to fly her again... I'll drink to that!

There is also a pile of Lancaster bits at another airfield in the UK that are upposedly for rebuild to fly... think they are at Sandtoft.

[yakker]

I was at East Kirkby last week, they tell they would need £2m to strip the Lancaster and rebuild it to be airworthy

[treadigraph]

Pity... another dream shattered...

[wub]

Surely £2m from the national lottery heritage fund could be found to preserve a significant contribution to Britain's heritage. Duxford got millions for an American Museum.

[canberra]

i may be accused of being cynical but if the east kirkby lanc was at duxford it would get the money! i believe that the panton brothers have said their aim is to get it flyng again. but am i the only person who feels that duxford has got far too big?

[Lowtimer]

Sad to say, I don't think the East Kirkby Lanc would get a lottery grant to restore to flying status regardless of its base. The XH558 Vulcan restoration team was told that it is against the policy of the lottery grant people to pey for restorations to flying - whereas if it were going into a museum as a static exhibit, funds may well be forthcoming...

[boris]

Anyone know what happened to the RCAF Lancaster that arrived in the UK via GLA some time in the very late 60s or early 70s?
I saw it on the day it arrived at GLA and seem to remember that it was due to continue flying with the Strathallan Collection.

[PaperTiger]

The Strathallan Lancaster is KB976. Now with Kermit Weeks in Florida, for restoration. Given the state it was in at Sandtoft following the disposal of the museum's assets, an airworthy restoration seems highly unlikely.

[LowNSlow]

I sat in the pilot's seat of the Strathallan Lancaster (thanks to the engineer who took pity on me at 8:00 am enroute to Aberdeen). It was being restored to flying condition and was nearly there in 1982. It was when the hangar roof (can't remember the location) fell on it and broke the mainspar that it was realised that a shed full of money was going to be needed to get her back in the air.

Fortunately Mr. Weeks has multiple sheds full of money so hopefully we will see a 3rd Lanc flying again.

On a slightly different tack, when is the RAF going to rebuild their Halifax to display condition. Leaving it as it is a cop out and an insult to the crews that flew Halibags. Don't even get me started on Stirlings............

[spekesoftly]

Seem to recall a hangar roof collapsing on a Lancaster at Woodford - was that the ex-Strathallan aircraft?

[pigboat]

The ex-chief pilot of the company I used to work for is retired and lives in YXU, where the CWH has its hangar and where the Lancaster accident occurred. He hadn't heard a pep about it until I contacted him. He's going to do a little snooping, and I'll keep everyone posted. There's nothing on their site about it either www.warplane.com/

The Weeks Lancaster is still in pieces in storage, last I heard. (About a month ago) It has been described as 'a long term project.' If anybody can restore it, Weeks can. The money and effort that he used to get the place up and running again after the devastation sowed by hurricane Andrew was nothing short of amazing. Here's his site www.fantasyofflight.com/

Finally, about the Halifax. This is probably old information, but the RCAF is restoring a Halifax - unfortunately not to flying condition - at CAF Trenton. It was recovered from a Norwegian lake some years ago, where it had crashed during the latter stages of WWII. There are a few sites dedicated to the aircraft, but the two best are www.hedgehoghollow.com/ipms/halifax and www.halibag.com/

[sycamore]

Flypast magazine(sept) states that the Lanc had a "coming-together" with C-47 c-gdak on July21 at Hamilton damaging the Dak`s port wing and the Lancs stbd. wing and #4 engine:(

[maninblack]

For those who want to see a complete Halifax a trip to the air museum at Elvington, near York, is the pilgrimage of choice. The museum has a complete Halifax that they have built up from bits that they begged, borrowed and had gifted to them. If my memory serves me right they had the tail section built by the BAe apprentice school at Brough, the RAF gave them the wings from a Hastings. There was a mosquito in rebuild there as well last time I was on site.

[LowNSlow]

maninblack I took my dad to see the Elvington Halibag as he was a F/E on 158 squadron 44-45 and the Elvington replica is finished as NP-F "Friday the Thirteenth" which features in his logbook on a number of occasions.

Who were the faceless numbnuts who, looking at Lanc S-Sugar and Halifax F-Friday, parked on the bombed out remains of John Lewis (?) for the VE-Day celebrations sent the Lanc to a museum and the Halibag to the scrapyard. :mad:

At least somebody at the knackers yard had the sense to cut off Friday's bomb log which used to be on display at Hendon. :)

[pigboat]

Gents, I've heard from my friend in YXU, and he was unaware that there had been an accident. So much for that source. Next month's Air Classics should have something.

[Samuel]

I was at Elvington while in the UK last year. The Halifax looks good, the Victor looks sad, but still fires up. The Victor systems trainer is there too, with a computer the size of a small house to run it. Sat in the seat I did! Also had a seat in the Mirage, which the donors had cut into two halves to ensure it would never fly again. Huge runway there. 10,000'?

[treadigraph]

Saw some pics of the accident; the DC-3 appears to need an new outer panel for the port wing (existing has been well chewed almost as far inboard as the engine - they do detatch outboard of the wing don't they?). The Lanc has apparently only sustained damage to the prop blades on the starboard outer - remarkable!

[PaperTiger]

Links to the pictures (they are slow to load so I haven't put them inline):
http://www.keymags.co.uk/dcforum/User_files/3d3ac2efad8f85c2.jpg
http://www.keymags.co.uk/dcforum/User_files/3d3ac30bada6a02b.jpg
http://www.keymags.co.uk/dcforum/User_files/3d3ac323adbed429.jpg

[pigboat]

Good news, gentlemen. I see on another board that the CWH Lanc is back in the air.:cool:

[Jhieminga]

I was at Kermit Weeks' (excellent) museum earlier this year and while on the 'backlot tour' we were shown past 5 or 6 large containers while the tourguide explained that they held a complete Lancaster! I guess I now know which one it is. Judging from the way it is stored it does not have top priority right now, although the quality of most of the other aircraft does give me hope that we will at least see another complete Lanc emerging from his workshops at some point. In another storage area I saw two Bolingbrokes lying next to eachother, there could be a flyer from those two airframes!

[RatherBeFlying]

Last weekend on my rear balcony in Toronto I heard the hum of big pistons, and lo and behold the Lanc was in the air.

Unless one flew over the pond or Kermit turned some fast wrenches, it looks like CWH got their Lanc back in the air.

[matspart3]

Are these 'bits' still there? Is there a Lincoln there too?

[treadigraph]

Matspart, I believe so and that the intent is that a both will one day fly again. Let's hope so...

[Vfrpilotpb]

There is a very good, nay excellent Halifax at the Yorkshire Air Museum, albeit short of engines it is almost 100% complete, having donated a good engine to this I was invited to get into the aircraft, all I can say is that our previous generation were not just brave, but BLOODY brave, it gave me the shivers to think of flying in something like that with hardly any way out quickly if things went pear shaped, as for underbelly protection from shells and other hard things, well Andrex springs to mind !:eek: