Chinook Lifts Meteor
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Chinook Lifts Meteor
A BBC video report of a Chinook moving a Meteor T7 from Imjin Barracks, Innsworth to the Jet Age Museum, Staverton - 1.5 miles.
BBC News - Gloster Meteor lifted from Imjin Barracks by helicopter
BBC News - Gloster Meteor lifted from Imjin Barracks by helicopter
Very nice job!
I once [c. 1983] borrowed a wokka to lift a 35 ft. tall anemometer mast from Westmoreland [it was "surplus to requirements"] to RAF Linton-on-Ouse to replace the existing mast which was suffering from dwarfism by about 8 feet.
This quite serious matter of a short mast [hence usually under-reading] was unbeknown to SMetO present, past, and all the "Inspecting Officers" of the Met Office .............. until I turned up with weight on string and went to the top to convince dumbstruck SMetO.
I could have done the Boy Scout trig. trick, but a piece of string is VERY convincing!
Not the heaviest load for the Chinook, but among the longest I expect.
Good training, as they say.
I once [c. 1983] borrowed a wokka to lift a 35 ft. tall anemometer mast from Westmoreland [it was "surplus to requirements"] to RAF Linton-on-Ouse to replace the existing mast which was suffering from dwarfism by about 8 feet.
This quite serious matter of a short mast [hence usually under-reading] was unbeknown to SMetO present, past, and all the "Inspecting Officers" of the Met Office .............. until I turned up with weight on string and went to the top to convince dumbstruck SMetO.
I could have done the Boy Scout trig. trick, but a piece of string is VERY convincing!
Not the heaviest load for the Chinook, but among the longest I expect.
Good training, as they say.
I wondered what had happened to the Binnsworth Meatbox after the place had been pongo'd. Good to see that it went to a good home!
No doubt there's some old lorry, 19th century gun, stuffed horse or somesuch guarding the gate now though. Don't you know...what...what....
I hope the Chinook crew enjoyed the unusual training exercise.
Regarding the weather-guessers' wind-measuring jobber at that Secondary Modern flying training place, I gather that the early morning weather check at Leeming wasn't deemed satis. unless the associated beat-up of the tower had caused a decent 'gust' reading even on flat calm days. An isolated unforecast 20 kt gust must have upset the MetOs' stats considerably - especially as it normally occurrred at roughly the same time each day. Much querying of the beetles, seaweed and fir cones must have resulted!
No doubt there's some old lorry, 19th century gun, stuffed horse or somesuch guarding the gate now though. Don't you know...what...what....
I hope the Chinook crew enjoyed the unusual training exercise.
Regarding the weather-guessers' wind-measuring jobber at that Secondary Modern flying training place, I gather that the early morning weather check at Leeming wasn't deemed satis. unless the associated beat-up of the tower had caused a decent 'gust' reading even on flat calm days. An isolated unforecast 20 kt gust must have upset the MetOs' stats considerably - especially as it normally occurrred at roughly the same time each day. Much querying of the beetles, seaweed and fir cones must have resulted!
Last edited by BEagle; 22nd Apr 2013 at 17:27.
Darn....there I wuz thinking a Wokka had gone into Space for the Tasking!
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Last edited by 500N; 22nd Apr 2013 at 19:08.
. Would have been a sight to see.
ITV local news had short interview with the Chinook pilot Flt Lt Paul Taylor who was a local lad and apparently regularly used to cycle past the gates on his way to ATC cadets. Nice touch using him for the job.
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The Meteor is in 604 Sqn colours, with whom it spent a significant period of its early life, once even flown by Lord Norman Tebbit when he joined the squadron in 1952. It ended its days with A&AEE on Salisbury Plain and Porton Down. Delivered to Innsworth in 1981, it ended up on the gate in 1994 after a very long restoration. Following the RAF's departure and HQ ARRC's arrival, the Meteor was replaced by an artillery piece at the gate.
The aircraft was purchased by two of the Jet Age Museum's trustees, one of whom met his late wife during the original restoration. With the co-operation of a wide cross section of personnel across the services (and NATO) the lift went very successfully today with Flt Lt Paul Farmer, a former Innsworth Air Cadet and Churchdown School pupil at the helm. Paul invited his former physics teacher and the current A-level students to the Airport to see the lift.
The crew also were also very happy to show some of the several hundred members of the public around the helicopter and talk to the media. (They also made light work of the free bacon butty vouchers we give out to military crews visiting Staverton!) The story made ITV local and national BBC News at Six and is still running on BBC News24.
The (all volunteer, charitable) Museum is just completing a new building on the northern side of the airfield, which will house this, and their other Gloster-built aircraft, which is scheduled to open in August. See jetagemuseum dot org and the usual social media outlets for the latest news on the project.
If the crew happen to frequent these pages, the Museum's volunteers and the Airport management team are extremely grateful for the excellent job they did today.
More pictures here Meteor airlift - a set on Flickr
The aircraft was purchased by two of the Jet Age Museum's trustees, one of whom met his late wife during the original restoration. With the co-operation of a wide cross section of personnel across the services (and NATO) the lift went very successfully today with Flt Lt Paul Farmer, a former Innsworth Air Cadet and Churchdown School pupil at the helm. Paul invited his former physics teacher and the current A-level students to the Airport to see the lift.
The crew also were also very happy to show some of the several hundred members of the public around the helicopter and talk to the media. (They also made light work of the free bacon butty vouchers we give out to military crews visiting Staverton!) The story made ITV local and national BBC News at Six and is still running on BBC News24.
The (all volunteer, charitable) Museum is just completing a new building on the northern side of the airfield, which will house this, and their other Gloster-built aircraft, which is scheduled to open in August. See jetagemuseum dot org and the usual social media outlets for the latest news on the project.
If the crew happen to frequent these pages, the Museum's volunteers and the Airport management team are extremely grateful for the excellent job they did today.
More pictures here Meteor airlift - a set on Flickr
Regarding the weather-guessers' wind-measuring jobber at that Secondary Modern flying training place, I gather that the early morning weather check at Leeming wasn't deemed satis. unless the associated beat-up of the tower had caused a decent 'gust' reading even on flat calm days. An isolated unforecast 20 kt gust must have upset the MetOs' stats considerably - especially as it normally occurrred at roughly the same time each day. Much querying of the beetles, seaweed and fir cones must have resulted!
Not so much grief was caused by fly-bys as by the tradition of piddling in the rain-gauge by happy students, who used to divert a considerable distance walking from A to B just to get to P in the Met. enclosure.
SMetO Odiham once resorted to guarding his enclosure with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, including one enterprising dwarf apparently fishing in the raingauge!
Not so much grief was caused by fly-bys as by the tradition of piddling in the rain-gauge by happy students, who used to divert a considerable distance walking from A to B just to get to P in the Met. enclosure.
SMetO Odiham once resorted to guarding his enclosure with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, including one enterprising dwarf apparently fishing in the raingauge!
