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-   -   The Best Item Ever on Ebay (https://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/150061-best-item-ever-ebay.html)

Peter Barron 2nd Nov 2004 09:23

I cannot work out what is going on with the Vulcan auction.

With the bidding at over 2m now I don't think these are genuine bids, why turn the auction in to a farse, what is the point.
Some of the bidders have good feedback, people with good feedback are normally genuine so I don't understand why they are bidding.

Phileas Fogg 2nd Nov 2004 09:24

Just imagine how much the 'World's Favourite' would have made for their shareholders had they e-bay'd the Concordes!

Frank Furillo 2nd Nov 2004 11:43

£2,499,499 Now
they must be mad.

I cannot belive anybody would pay that much for it. I have seen it many times at Blackpool, when I go flying, and always feel sad for it.
Its a shame what has happened to a piece of Cold War history.

Out of interest about 6 or 7 months ago a Mig 25 Foxbat with lots of spares was auctioned off on Ebay for $3,000,000 it worked and was on the 'N' reg.
FF

Phileas Fogg 2nd Nov 2004 11:52

I think you'll find the supersonic airliner sold on ebay outdoes the Vulcan or indeed Foxbat:

Though designed to meet an Aeroflot requirement for a high-speed airliner, the ill-fated Tu-144 was built primarily as a statement of Soviet national pride as well as to compete with the Concorde and a possible American supersonic transport. Although outwardly similar to the Concorde, the Tu-144 was a somewhat larger design able to seat up to 140 and cruise at speeds up to Mach 2.35. The design owed much to earlier studies of the Tu-125 and Tu-135 bombers. Although these aircraft were never built, they gave Tupolev engineers experience in optimizing the aerodynamic behavior of Mach 2 configurations, dealing with heating issues, designing engine inlets, and addressing other concerns associated with high-speed flight, such as sonic booms. The resulting design featured a highly-contoured ogival wing similar to that of the Concorde and employed elevons for pitch control rather than a standard horizontal tail. Also like the Concorde, the engines were placed in pairs near the trailing edge under each wing, and the forward fuselage employed a drooped-nose mechanism to improve pilot visibility during takeoff and landing.
Though first publicized in 1965, most of the world did not get a good look at the new aircraft until a Tu-144 appeared at the 1973 Paris Air Show. Unfortunately, this aircraft crashed in full view of the world press providing a major blow to the Soviet program. After several modifications, including addition of retractable canards for improved low-speed performance, new inlet design, increased wingspan, a lengthened fuselage, and removal of the pilot ejection seats seen on the prototypes, the aircraft was deemed airworthy. The Tu-144 first entered service in late 1975 and began a series of cargo and mail flights between Moscow and Alma Ata. Two years later, passenger service was also introduced between these cities. These flights lasted only seven months, however, before a second fatal accident resulted in termination of Tu-144 operations. Following the final commercial flight on 1 June 1978, the remaining Tu-144s were put into storage or donated to museums.

The only version that continued to fly was the improved Tu-144D used as a supersonic research testbed. One of these was further upgraded to the Tu-144LL standard and operated jointly by Russia and the United States as part of NASA's High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) project. This aircraft completed about 27 research flights to conduct tests of supersonic engine technologies, fuel systems, advanced flight controls, noise reduction techniques, and other concepts intended to make supersonic transports more economical and environmentally friendly. The sole Tu-144LL was later sold to a private owner over eBay for $11 million in 2001.

speedbird_heavy 2nd Nov 2004 16:14

Now up to £5.1m. Highest bidder must be a piss take. He's only ever bought 2 pair of jeans off e-bay and somehow I doubt he has £5m.

Peter Barron 2nd Nov 2004 16:30

Highest bidder must be a joker.

I think they all are, I don't know why the seller is letting the auction continue.
If it is not stopped then ebay will charge him commission on the final price and as this is millions the ebay fee will be tens of thousands of pounds.

G-ANDY 2nd Nov 2004 16:44

Frank Furillo,

You said its at Blackpool, can you go up to it and "have a look," or is it strictly "look from a distance" (across the airfield)????

Cheers,

G-ANDY

Danny_R 2nd Nov 2004 18:29

There has just been a feature on it, on BBC's North West Tonight.

speedbird_heavy 2nd Nov 2004 18:32


You said its at Blackpool, can you go up to it and "have a look," or is it strictly "look from a distance" (across the airfield)????
Tragically its not worth bidding on. The sea air has taken its toll.

Frank Furillo 2nd Nov 2004 18:36

You can get very close to it it is surrounded by a fence, you used to be able to go inside, for a fee. But that was stopped some time ago. It is a sad end for such a machine.
FF

dada 2nd Nov 2004 20:03

the barmy bidding reflects the number of people with a dislike of the owner. bbbbbbbbid away

lead zeppelin 2nd Nov 2004 20:20

Shoud hae NO trouble getting insurance!

bluebird121 2nd Nov 2004 21:14

vulcan bomber on ebay
 
:) i wonder if it will end up as scrap or maybe even a garden ornament:rolleyes: but then all the neighbours will want one too..;) seriously though could a museum not take it or have they already got their quota of these planes:ok:

Peter Barron 3rd Nov 2004 14:28

Ebay were keeping an eye on the auction and have at last taken action.
It now seems all the bogus time wasting bids have been cancelled and it is back to a normal auction, its now sitting at just over 10 grand.

Notso Fantastic 6th Nov 2004 21:01

Yes.....from a bidder with absolutely no Ebay history, buying or selling? I would say the odds are high we have a bogus bid.

Rollingthunder 8th Nov 2004 17:06

Chris Ollerenshaw, from Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, was the successful bidder with £15,102.03 when the e-Bay auction finished on Saturday.

On Sunday he handed over the cheque to its previous owner Brian Bateson at Blackpool Airport where it has been stationed for the past 21 years.

Mr Ollerenshaw plans to site the plane behind his pub, The Snipe Inn.

"I'm not really sure why I bid for it, we've been to Blackpool so many times and passed it," he said.

"I am very pleased. We didn't think we would get it."

The father-of-three said: "I'm scared stiff of flying; perhaps it is as well it is staying on the ground."

Mr Ollerenshaw hopes the bomber, which last saw service when it was on standby on Ascension Island in the Falklands War, will be an attraction at his pub.

But his family have mixed feelings about the 40-ton jet with a wing span of 120 feet.

"It's barmy, I can't believe he's done it," said his wife Bev, who placed the bid on e-Bay for him.

But she added: "I'm glad for him."

Former owner Mr Bateson, who paid £6,000 for it, said: "I think the airplane, especially with a new owner who will give it some TLC, will be a new attraction somewhere else."

BBC online

Jerricho 8th Nov 2004 21:46

I suppose that's one very good way of getting good feedback on eBay.

timmcat 6th Jan 2005 12:15

... Oh dear........


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