OK, after yesterdays teaser today there will be a proper log!
When woken up we drove to Cranwell. To get the based aircraft, but first for a nose section nearby.
Cranwell (53 02 12.2 N, 0 28 06 E)
(XW302) Jet Provost T.5 pr, nose, no mks
This one sat outside on the driveway on Ion Close in the village. A nice gapfiller to start the day with
Then we went on to the airbase itself.
RAF Cranwell
Beech 200, 45 (R) sq: ZK450/J, ZK451/K, ZK452/L, ZK453/M, ZK454/N, ZK458/D, ZK459/X, G-RAFO, G-RAFU
Dominie, 55 (R) sq: XS727/D, (XS728)/E, XS737/K
Tutor: G-BYUB, BYUC, BYUE, BYUI, BYUK, BYUP, BYUY, BYVD, BYVS, BYWB, BYWF, BYWG, BYWJ, BYWL, BYWY, BYWZ, BYXM, BYXZ, CGKA, CGKB, CGKC
Fire dump:
XS710/D Dominie T.1 GIA, ex 55 (R) sq
XX145 Jaguar T.2A std, ETPS c/s
We had tried to arrange a base visit here especially for the instructional airframes. We had been told by the PRO that this would probably be possible, but till this morning we never received a definite yes (or no....). So we had decided to just show up and see wether someone was available to show us round. It turned out this wasn't the case unfortunately, but the PR lady said that maybe it could be arranged next week after all. We had to call her next week to see if she could arrange something... Well, at least from outside we got the new Beech 200 and also all three based new Tutors. Those were seen on the platform behind the Beech 200s by the way, not at the eastern end with the 1 EFTS! And also note the two newly registered ZK458 and 459, that both lost their civil registrations.
Since the weather was not too bad yet, and the prediction was that it would get worse in the afternoon, we decided to skip the few W&R nearby and head directly towards Coningsby.
RAF Coningsby
Active:
ZJ805/BD Typhoon T.1 29 (R) sq
ZJ810/BI Typhoon T.1 17 (R) sq
ZJ813/BL Typhoon T.1 29 (R) sq
ZJ814/QO-Z Typhoon T.1 3 sq
ZJ912/AB Typhoon FGR.4 17 (R) sq
ZJ913/AC Typhoon FGR.4 17 (R) sq
(ZJ916)/QO-U Typhoon FGR.4 3 sq
(ZJ918)/QO-L Typhoon FGR.4 3 sq
(ZJ923)/DM Typhoon FGR.4 11 sq
ZJ929/DL Typhoon F.2 11 sq
ZJ930/AA Typhoon FGR.4 17 (R) sq
ZJ946/AD Typhoon FGR.4 17 (R) sq
ZK300/- Typhoon FGR.4 no mks
ZK302/EA Typhoon FGR.4 6 sq
ZK306/ED Typhoon FGR.4 6 sq
BoBMF:
WG486/G Chipmunk T.10 BoBMF
WK518/K Chipmunk T.10 BoBMF
(ZA947/AI) Dakota C.3 BoBMF, 267 sq mks
PZ865/JX-E Hurricane IIC BoBMF, 1 sq mks
PA474/HW-R/BQ-B Lancaster B.1 BoBMF, 100/550 sq mks
PS915 Spitfire PR.XIX BoBMF, 81 sq mks "The Last"
(TE311)/4D-V Spitfire LF.XVIE BoBMF, u. rest, 74 sq mks
Visitor:
XX246/CA Hawk T.1A 100 sq
G-BYWZ Tutor 1 EFTS
Preserved:
(XW924)/G Harrier GR.3 pr, 3 sq mks
XR753/XI Lightning F.6 pr, 11 sq mks
(XS897) Lightning F.6 std, no mks
When we were almost at Coningsby we saw two Eagles fly an approach. When we arrived at the spotters corner we were told one "looked like 304", anybody for the serials? Also seen inside the BoBMF hangar was another Spitfire with a serial that seemed to be xE28x. I have no clue which one this should be, anybody? There was not too much activity here, and since the weather was also rather grey we decided not to hang around but move on.
Northfield Farm, Mavis Enderby (53 11 19.5 N, 0 01 46 E)
G-TCUB NE-2 ex BuNo 29684 (Piper J-3)
According to Demobbed Hornet Moth G-AHBM is based here, but the owner of the farm told us that this one has left again. It was here just for repair work, and moved back to its owner "somewhere in the Yorkshire Moors". If someone knows more about its current home I would be interested! The Piper seemed a nice surprise, until I realised we already saw this one at New York a couple of years ago....
We then moved on to Croft, where a an Auster (G-AKPI) and Cadet (BGA789) should be stored. There was nobody present at the airstrip, but the shed was totally empty. Both gone?
A bit disappointed after those two we headed for the next one, where we had better luck.
Water Leisure Park, Skegness (53 10 42.5 N, 0 20 04 E)
XS456/DX Lightning T.5 pr, LTF mks
This one had arrived only a month earlier, and still needed its tail to be attached again. It really looks nice! And no problem to walk over to her for some pictures either.
We than had three more disappointments on a row. First we had a look at Strubby (53 18 43 N, 0 10 46.5 E). Here we did find some local gliders active, but we were told that Sedbergh BGA3264 has moved on and ASW.19 G-CKGU never lived here. Former Dutch L-21B G-BKVM was confirmed as present, but locked away in a spotter proof hangar. So one to come back for one day. Next stop was Louth, where I had Yak-50 G-YAKA with a question mark. The closed (but spotter proof) hangar is still there, but the strip itself is competely overgrown and probably not used anymore. And then came North Coates (53 30 00 N, 0 03 48 E). Here everything was closed and we couldn't even get to the hangar. By now it was really time for some succes, and we got that again at Binbrook.
Binbrook airfield (53 26 39 N, 0 11 55 W for Lightning and 53 26 42 N, 0 11 42.5 W for Harrier)
XR724/AE Lightning F.6 std, 5 sq mks
(XS457) Lightning T.5 std, nose, 5 sq mks
(ZF595) Lightning F.53 std, fuselage, no mks
ZE697 Sea Harrier F/A.2 pr, fuselage, no mks (ex 899 sq?)
At first we couldn't find the Sea Harrier, but Franks sharp eyes spotted it luckily (we both needed it)! You need access to the former airfield to see all of those. There are some gates, I don't know wether they stay open or are closed after business hours. So to be on the safe side I'd recommend business hours over a weekend or evening. After this we went on to the nearby village.
Chestnut Farm House, Binbrook (53 25 29 N, 0 10 44 W)
XR725/BA Lightning F.6 pr, 11 sq mks
(XS899) Lightning F.6 pr, nose, 23 sq mks
The complete aircraft is preserved in the garden, the nose section is mounted on a trailer and normally kept inside a shed. Please note this is private property, so ask first before entering! We asked and got permission to graph both without any problem. And they are both very good looking!
We then took a quick look at the nearby airport of Humberside, in the pouring rain.
Humberside (53 34 56.5 N, 0 21 06 W)
ZF488 Tucano T.1 1 FTS
(XW3)33 Jet Provost T.5A (G-BVTC)
We looked inside the hangar of Global Aviation through the letter box, and saw the above black JP together with another one in white with a red cheatline. Anyone for the id of the last one please? The Tucano had suffered a bird hit and was waiting for a repair crew.
It was really getting late by now, but we made one more stop on our way to our hotel.
Hibaldstow (53 10 11 N, 0 31 20 W)
HA-ACO Do.28 c/n 4335, ex mil??
Inside the hangar was another Do.28, which was getting maintenance. Can someone confirm this is based HA-ACL? No sign of Auster G-ANHR and Terrier G-ASDK that I had as based here as well. There doesn't seem to be room for those, so if someone knows more about their homes I would be very interested again.
And that was it for today, al that was left was the drive to our hotel.
As always, additions, corrections and comments are very welcome.
That's all folks!
Frank Mink & Patrick Dirksen
Tristar Aviation