Cornwall heritage museum selling off aircraft to scrap the VC10 and BAC111

[NutLoose]

So sad

An aviation museum made homeless by Cornwall Council is being forced to sell off some of its aircraft on eBay so it can pay to scrap the others. The Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre, an award-winning attraction based at Cornwall Airport Newquay, was shut down by the airport which is owned by the local authority at Easter and was given a notice to vacate.A new tenant has since been found for the museum's building. Representatives from the RAF have also visited the museum site to dismantle and remove two Tornado jets.

The centre, which was home to several aircraft and operated as a tourist attraction as well as an educational centre, had been running for seven years and was staffed by dedicated and passionate volunteers who helped to create an award-winning attraction. Despite a petition signed by over 40,000 people asking for the aviation museum to be saved, it was given notice to vacate its premises in April and has since been trying to sell off some of its collections - so it can scrap other planes.

Read next: Beloved aviation museum ordered to leave airport over Easter

Back in April Cornwall Council said it had done all it could to help the museum. Museum founder and director Richard Spencer-Breeze said the museum had had to put part of its collection for sale online because it had not been able to sell the aircraft through a more traditional route.

He said: "We haven't had any success in finding the aircraft a new home via a more traditional route so we are putting them on eBay and other specialist websites. It is tragic and disastrous.

"We have two more aircraft, our bigger VC10 and BAC111, which we have to scrap because moving them from the airport is just too expensive. It will cost us £60,000 to scrap them. The VC10 is one of only four left in the world. To pay for that we need to sell off the other jets and that's why they're on eBay."

On eBay the English Electric Lightning F.53 that so many visitors to the museum enjoyed is up for sale with a start-up bid of £15,000 and a buy-immediately price of £25,000.

The sales pitch for the plane reads: "This is an ex-museum exhibit, complete non-flying aircraft with afterburner/jet-pipe assemblies installed, but the Avon engines have been removed."

The English Electric Lightning ZF580 is an ex-Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force Lightning F53. The aircraft saw active service with the RSAF before being retired in the late 1980s. It comes with a cockpit that needs a bit of TLC and inert examples of Firestreak and Red Top missiles attached to the wings.

The other jet for sale on eBay is the English Electric Canberra T.4, which the museum said was an "excellent example of RAFs iconic first jet bomber". It is on sale for £10,000 or £16,000 as buy-it-now

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/new...41bcc672&ei=17

[Kiltrash]

That is/was a great museum. Even dog friendly when the volunteer would look after my pooch while I clambered over the Lighting and Harrier.
£25k buy now ...where can I get a low loader. It would fit my garden .

[Jhieminga]

Looks like the Lightning has been sold, the auction has been closed. The Canberra is still available but will not fit in my backyard...

[SLXOwft]

Fuselage (only) of the ex-Qinetiq 1-11 has been saved from the scrappers by Solent Sky. Aircraft pulled through streets of Southampton

[Saintsman]

Originally Posted by SLXOwft

Fuselage (only) of the ex-Qinetiq 1-11 has been saved from the scrappers by Solent Sky. Aircraft pulled through streets of Southampton

I do like the idea of turning it into a cafe, especially if it brings more people to the museum.

[NutLoose]

I do to, but the sad part is to save it required having sections chopped off it.

[Jhieminga]

The bits sticking out (wings, tailplane and such) are usually the first to get corrosion problems, can be a pain during transport and they take up a lot of space. It is sad, but if part of the airframe lives on (and the paying public is often most impressed by the flight deck anyway) it is a sacrifice worth making in my view.

Any news on the VC10's status?

[Timmy Tomkins]

A sad reflection on our priorities in the UK, why can't we protect our heritage as others do?

[SimonPaddo]

I guess because the council has had funding reduced and still needs to make ends meet. Sad to lose a treasure trove such of this though.

[SpringHeeledJack]

The sad, but simple truth is that most people in the UK just aren't that interested in aircraft, only will it get them to their chosen destination safely and comfortably. Museums are for the afflicted and there's just not enough of us. Even well visited museums struggle to keep external exhibits in good nick over the years. In light of the situation at Newquay, I'd just be happy that any of the larger exhibits will find new homes elsewhere, even if it means incomplete airframes such as with the 1-11.

[Jhieminga]

Originally Posted by Jhieminga

Any news on the VC10's status?

I have managed to find an answer to my own question. VC10 K3 tanker ZA148 was scrapped early in November, the front fuselage section was saved and is now at the South Wales Aviation Museum at St. Athan, Wales. It moved there on 17th November. While it's sad to lose another large airframe, at least a part of it has been preserved and will be looked after.

[tdracer]

Originally Posted by Saintsman

I do like the idea of turning it into a cafe, especially if it brings more people to the museum.

You mean something like this:
The Airplane Restaurant Colorado Springs Dining, Drinks, Catering
Worth a visit if you are in the C. Springs area - good food and (unless they are busy) you can sit in the fuselage while enjoying your food and drink.

[Krystal n chips]

Originally Posted by SpringHeeledJack

The sad, but simple truth is that most people in the UK just aren't that interested in aircraft, only will it get them to their chosen destination safely and comfortably. Museums are for the afflicted and there's just not enough of us. Even well visited museums struggle to keep external exhibits in good nick over the years. In light of the situation at Newquay, I'd just be happy that any of the larger exhibits will find new homes elsewhere, even if it means incomplete airframes such as with the 1-11.

That pretty much sums matters up really. As you say, most of the public are familiar with civilian types, but less so with getting close to military types, and the UK wx helps complete the corrosion cycle with ease.

I do think, that, when it comes to heritage, the UK seems to prefer ruins / former stately homes and gardens to technology.

As an aside, the heritage rail sector, possibly more prominent in the publics minds than aircraft, is also becoming affected albeit this is due in no small part to a combination of complacency / demographics / costs / cultures and regulatory oversight enforcement.

On a positive note, at least the diners will be spared the sound of two clattering / whining Speys to accompany their meal

[POBJOY]

Reality eventually kicks in

Originally Posted by Krystal n chips

That pretty much sums matters up really. As you say, most of the public are familiar with civilian types, but less so with getting close to military types, and the UK wx helps complete the corrosion cycle with ease.

I do think, that, when it comes to heritage, the UK seems to prefer ruins / former stately homes and gardens to technology.

As an aside, the heritage rail sector, possibly more prominent in the publics minds than aircraft, is also becoming affected albeit this is due in no small part to a combination of complacency / demographics / costs / cultures and regulatory oversight enforcement.

On a positive note, at least the diners will be spared the sound of two clattering / whining Speys to accompany their meal

When the one eleven came to NQY it was serviceable, and there was an idea to actually do 'taxi runs' for visitors as part of the operation. That idea fell foul of the basic laws of reality in so much that the Aircraft would have had to be kept fully serviceable (and on a civil reg) just to satisfy basic safety requirements. Then there is the question of how you would cope with a tyre issue, which is far from simple if it blocked a runway or taxiway. The other reality is a salt laden atmosphere on the North Cornwall coast is the absolute worst scenario for preserving anything other a brick made from stainless steel. I made a point of going on board both the 111 and VC10 soon after they arrived and they were in superb condition. Unfortunately that situation soon degraded with the effects of the location and the lack of a suitable hangar saw the start of the inevitable decline. I have to say that the volunteer effort at the operation was very good, but the cost of keeping machines clean and corrosion free was never going to be covered by the visitor numbers in a low population area, and that was before finding a free source for a huge quantity of ACF50 !!!!

[sandringham1]

Originally Posted by Krystal n chips

That pretty much sums matters up really. As you say, most of the public are familiar with civilian types, but less so with getting close to military types, and the UK wx helps complete the corrosion cycle with ease.

I do think, that, when it comes to heritage, the UK seems to prefer ruins / former stately homes and gardens to technology.

As an aside, the heritage rail sector, possibly more prominent in the publics minds than aircraft, is also becoming affected albeit this is due in no small part to a combination of complacency / demographics / costs / cultures and regulatory oversight enforcement.

On a positive note, at least the diners will be spared the sound of two clattering / whining Speys to accompany their meal

Will they mount the fuselage at 15 degrees nose up for an authentic simulation of a Manchester shuttle inflight meal.