Nice little rumour or two doing the rounds at the moment.

Seems to be they are trying to force the treasury's hand wrt RJ at maingate by destroying any chance of extending the life on the R1s.

When the first plane shortly goes out of service it will be cut up and the fuselage only, sans wings, sold off to a local air museum inside 3 months of arrival.

Second airframe sold off to a different museum a few months later, but that would at least have a set of wings attached.

So any defence review or change of government that says, for example, "why are we bothering buying this? We could just extend the R1". Would get the reply "What R1s?".

R1 rumours
 

Actually, where can you send an R1 that is anything other than a shell to a museum? Presumably nowhere private - so one to the RAF Museum, one to Duxford and one to the USAF Museum?

And yes, I would preserve an R1 in the US.

Out of interest, were any of the Comet Rs preserved?

S41

All four Comets and all four of 51s last Canberras all initially survived in some form.

WJ768 'Y' went to Akrotiri, where the fire section had their wicked way with her quite soon.
WJ775 'Z' went to CSDE at Swanton Morley, where she stayed for MANY years, somehow she escaped the proper preservation she deserved and ended up at Bodney, from where her nose has just been rescued.
WT301 'W' went to Chattendon, where she also survived for many years, before being scrapped in the late 80s/early 90s.
WT305 'X' ended up on the gate at Wyton, until the 'one gate, one gate guard' ruling, when she was carefully dismantled. There were rumours that her nose survived, but it's never reappeared.

XK655 'A' was retired to Strathallan, her undercarriage collapsing on arrival! Repaired, she was on display for many years, but was broken up when the collection was dispersed. I think her nose went to Gatwick.
XK659 became the Westward Ho bar at Pomona Dock, Liverpool. see: FLYING WITH THE SNOWMAN – FLYING IN A DEHAVILAND COMET JET AIRCRAFT – ATHENAEUM LIBRARY OF PHILOSOPHY
She was later broken up
XK695 'C' was retired to Duxford, where you could walk through her, looking at the two nav stations and the rows of twin equipment racks (all empty). She succumbed to corrosion, and was broken up, her fuselage going to the dogs (literally) at Newton. Her nose ended up at London Colney.
XK697 'D' was not a mission aircraft, but a standard transport used for training. She stayed at Wyton with the Air Scouts until undercarriage corrosion did for her!

Apparently the R1 fuselage is destined for Newark air museum and an equipped (as near as possible) one destined for Duxford.

And is now in Sharjah

http://www.pprune.org/aviation-histo...ml#post3559491

You could walk through her at Strathallan as well, again with all the equipment racks.

Rumoured to be the last flight for R1 XW665 today at RAF Waddington - if so it would be a fair guess that XW664 won't be far behind in retiring? That only leaves XV249 'Anneka' on strength...

If that's true, then it's evidence that a decision has already been taken in favour of Rivet Joint.

That's not a good thing, for all of the reasons previously trotted out, but it's particularly not a good thing for our democratic processes.

I say that because no such decision has been announced to Parliament, and indeed the Ministers are still insisting that Helix (as an upgrade to existing R1 airframes or to MRA4s) remains an option that is being considered, and since even BAE's own MRA4-based R5 proposal has not been finally ruled out - though the company has been told that it needs to come up with a proposal that meets the Government's entirely arbitrary ISD.

But for the Helix bids to be seriously considered, then retiring R1s to Duxford and Newark is not an option - these airframes may be needed for another 16 years, or at least as a stop-gap pending delivery of an MRA4 based Helix.

Such underhand manoeuvring is not surprising (all the tea leaves in my cup spell RC-135 these mornings) but it is unusually shabby even by the 'standards' of this gang of rogues.

From the Newark Air Museum website

News and Information

'Following reports on some web fora and various direct communications to the museum – the museum trustees would like to confirm that they are in negotiations over the possible acquisition of a Nimrod R1 airframe.

The museum trustees made the following additional details available at 1430 hours on 28 October, 2009.'

“Newark Air Museum has been given to understand that a Nimrod R1 aircraft will be retired from operational service sometime before the end of this financial year and then potentially dismantled to be sold as scrap. Eager to see this historic and prestigious aircraft preserved instead, initial enquiries have already been made to the RAF into the possible acquisition of this aircraft for display in the Museum, once it has been officially deemed surplus to requirements. It is still too early for the MOD to make any commitment at this time and the exact cost has yet to be established, but we are confidently aspiring to purchase the complete aircraft sometime in 2010.”

So our Elint/Sigint capacity is reduced by a third? Of course, those that know won't sya, and the rest of us don't need to know!

Good luck to Newark if they can get an R1, but I would've thought that the RAF would demand that it be kept undercover - and does Newark have the hanger space available?

S41

Why would they insist it be hangared?

They haven't particularly been so for the last 40 years?


Good luck to Newark if they can get an R1, but I would've thought that the RAF would demand that it be kept undercover - and does Newark have the hanger space available?

S41

They've always been undercover jets Shirley.

Woodford will cease to exist when the final MRA4 PA12 leaves production. If an order for a replacement is not done soon then there will be no MRA4/R1 replacement, not to say it will be another type though.

They cannot use the first 3 production a/c as PA03 has been dismantled and as far as im aware it looks like PA01 and PA02 will be disposed of at Kinloss although I cannot confirm 100% on that.

Tbh I think its too late in the game now to refit an MRA4, lack of funds the RAF were lucky to get 9 frames. 30 mins I believe the defense minister came to chopping the MRA4 earlier this year. Swift talking by seniors of 2 services saved the project..

Not going to be Nimrod then!
 

Lastest edition of Janes Defence Weekly, quote 'BAE Systems has been dropped from the competition to provide a replacement for the UKs aging Hawker Siddeley Nimrod R1 electronic intelligence gathering aircraft', :(

Not strictly true.

As recently as last month, the Minister said that the R1 and MRA4 remained possible options (with Helix, and thus part of an L3 bid), along with the favoured Rivet Joint.

He did make it clear that BAE's latest proposal (a proposal, not a commercial bid) did not meet his required ISD, but he did not slam the door on a revised proposal from BAE.

However, though Parliament has not been told, all the indications are that the decision has already been made, and that the Minister was playing silly b*ggers.

Its the planned capability gap that will be the political hot potato.

I have heard a rumour that EWAD who are very involved with the R1 is disbanding in about 2 years time so no EWAD no R1 me thinks!

It seems slightly ironic that an MRA4 will make it to a museum almost before an MR1/R1/MR2 :ooh: