A321 on a Queen Mary.

[superq7]

I saw an A321 travelling down the M5 this morning near Bristol on a Queen Mary, anyone got an idea where it was from and going too ? cheers Stuart.

[Ian Titcombe]

Airbus fuselage

According to yesterday's local paper it is being taken from Cotswold Airport (Kemble) to Royal Portbury Docks in Bristol. Where to after that I have no idea.

[superq7]

Thanks Ian

[Bigt]

Local radio said it was going to Cardiff??

[Newforest2]

No, it is in Portbury Docks for rebuild and then probably exported to fly again.

[DaveReidUK]

and then probably exported to fly again

Sounds highly unlikely.



It looks very much like the ex-Air Canada/CSA A321 (msn 674) that was dismantled at St Athan last year, reported at the time as intended for use as a cabin escape trainer:



and trucked to Kemble in March of this year.

[superq7]

Sorry only just noticed your reply DaveReid, you certainly know your stuff thank you

[Mike Tee]

I give in, What's a Queen Mary.

[halwise]

Queen Mary: an articulated "semi" trailer used to transport aircraft or aircraft parts by ground to M.U.'s for service or refurbishment.

source

Glossary of RAF Slang & Terminology



I hadn't the foggiest either......

[DaveReidUK]

"In 1938, with war looming, the Air Ministry asked for tenders for a trailer able to carry an entire fighter aircraft. Within ten days Taskers submitted not just a design and tender, but a full-size prototype. The contract was won, and in the World War that followed nearly four thousand of these trailers were built. They soon gained the nickname "Queen Mary", being, like the passenger liner, the largest of their kind."

Taskers of Andover (1932) Ltd

[Chris Scott]

Glossary of RAF Slang and Terminology

halwise,

Thanks for that link. I hope the OP will not be offended if I say that this thread is well worth the effort, if only for that link to the funniest collection of mini-caricatures I've seen this year!

If only I'd had something similar when I was a "2nd Dicky", I might have had a better grasp of what the grizzled ex-WW2 captains and F/Es were on about...