Canberra PR9 leaseback?
 

I was told last night by an "aircraft enthusiast" (spotter) that the MoD has leased back two Canberra PR9 aircraft from the new civil owners.

Any truth to this ? or is it just spotter BS ?

Nah, can't be right. We only got rid of them because we ..."couldn't afford to keep them..." Now if a commercial operator can make it viable then I suggest that someone in the RAF/MOD has made a BIG mistake in letting them go!!!

:ugh:

H Peacock

A & C

Yeh, I can beleive that and wouldn't doubt it for a minute.

Mr Peacock, I liked your comment 'suggest that someone in the RAF/MOD has made a BIG mistake in letting them go!!!' Nothing new there then??

Seen it all before - remember the VC-10 cargo door (I think) MOD fool said 'Oh we won't need any of them, sell them for scrap' and we did, for pennies. And then a rag head drives his mule-powered cart into guess what? yep, a VC-10 cargo door! Cost of buying back from scrap man? £££millions.
BEagle will have all the full facts, but thats the gist of it.

Yes, I can see another monumental MOD foul up coming to the fore!!
Kind regards
TSM

Or the Shackleton tail from the Manchester Museum of S&T?

This was a 'free' exchange. Except of course for T&S for the engineering party who had to take our u/s tail wheel assmbly down, remove the one in the museum, replace it and then reinstall.

Talk about 'robbing'. Robbing the dead even.

I heard, from a source more reliable than a spotter, that it was just the aircraft that went to Switzerland because it was at a higher mod state, or had more airframe hours available, or something.

T'would never happen. Belslow anyone?:hmm:

Canberra PR9 leaseback?
 

Same story came back from somebody who had a tour of Kemble recently.:confused:

Sure he wasn't getting confused with the two Hunters being leased for MoD/RN work at Hurn?

I believe that we are in the process of buying Hercules K Mk 1 wings from a scrap dealer in Delaware who bought the complete frames from Lockheed who accepted them as trade in from - guess who? - for Js.

Crikes, at this rate SEngos will be checking over Gate Guards to see if they can be returned to service.

PN, also the stabilator robbed from the Yeovilton museam (around 1990)for A&AEE's XT597

Vulcan spares were obtained from the abandoned Vulcan at RAF Finningley in 1983.

I doubt if a SEngO would know what to look for, maybe the lowly techies could have a look!:bored:

Remember a PR7 being u/s for weeks and each morning the tale of woe became more protracted. After an eternity OC Eng triumphantly announced at prayers that Eng Wing had found a solution to the problem. They had robbed a spare off the static at Duxford. Wow to be in a modern air force that needed a museum to bale it out of trouble!!!

Already been done. In the late 80s. after the Victor had been extended in it's service life several times, it transpired that the airframe with the lowest fatigue index was the gate guardian at Marham. Plans were made to get it back on line, but a couple of buildings would have to be demolished to get it out. So the plan was cancelled. It didn't stop it being robbed though - it was often seen with some major part missing.

And even more recently, the VC10s at Cosford and Brooklands would be missing a panel for a while!

The tale I heard was that one Canberra was likely to be used for an unfinished requirement for Ordnance Survey.

As for the Hunters, one of the pair is now flying in glorious RAF markings and camouflage, and from a distance (from where you can't see the company lettering and the Swiss mods) it looks like a flashback to the 1980's - ahhh!

Anyway, the concept of disposing of RAF aircraft and leasing them back is hardly new - remember those dear old Belfasts... Speaking of which, one aircraft is getting close to flying again down at Southend.

Some aircraft might die but they sure won't lay down without a fight!

So where are the photos of this noo Hunter, Timbo?

I've only seen one photo so far but I'm sure it'll be photographed to the point of exhaustion before Christmas!

At least one professional organization still understands the value of the Canberra - even if they did have to rename and renumber it.

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/crave.html

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/49586main_wb_2.jpg

Errrrrr -- you forgot to mention " - and completely redesign it and rebuild it so that it actually looks nothing like a Canberra".
:}

That's already happened. The Spitfire that was Wattisham's gate guard has been back in the air for some time now. (EN210 from memory?)