As you may know Kirsten and I live near the end of the big runway at Bruntingthorpe. This former USAF bomber and reconnaissance base is home to the British Aviation Heritage group. This is an umbrella organisation for various preservation groups, such as the Vulcan 558 Club, who are in the process of restoring a Vulcan to flight status. (I have a certain interest in its airworthiness, given my address), the Lightning Preservation Group, who are hoping to get a Lightning up and about.

Pete, Sheila and myself went up to have a look around, so here's some photos

After parking the car you see various aircraft parked up in various states of preservation. The idea of the BAH group is to keep these aircraft in working order, flying hopefully, but able to start up and taxi. The photo above shows (left to right) Sea Vixen, Hunter, Jet Provost, Lightning, Jet Provost, Lightning.

From the front...

One of the more interesting types on display is the Sea Vixen, a twin-boom, two seat naval fighter. Devloped from the DH110 all weather fighter, the Vixen was the last in the line of De Havilland twin-boom fighters of the Vampire, Venom line. The cockpit might look odd, but that's because the pilot was offset to port, while the radar operator was buried in the starboard fuselage in the "Coal Hole" where he could see his radar display better in the dark

One of the Sea Vixen's predecessors in Navy service, the Hawker Sea Hawk, is also on display. There are two Sea Hawks at Bruntingthorpe, the one shown here has recently been given a paint job.

Bruntingthorpe has also served as a storage and salvage location for out of service aircraft such as Boeing 747s and Tristars that are stripped for spares and ultimately scrapped.

Shown below is the outcome of a hard life with decrepit, time-expired equipment lurking around the storage area. The other object is a Rolls-Royce RB.211 Turbofan.

One of the more unusual aircraft at Bruntingthorpe is an Aero Spacelines Super Guppy. This was originally developed to carry missile and launch system components around the States, but later uses included transporting wings and other parts of the Airbus family from the factories around Europe to the final assembly plant at Toulose. Based on the Boeing Stratocruiser (itself based on the B-29 Superfortress) the Super Guppy was re-engined with Allison Turboprops and modified with the large cargo hold. The entire front of the fuselage folds back to allow access for the outsize loads.

Another large aircraft at Bruntingthorpe is the Victor V-bomber. This Handley Page bomber was ultimately used as a tanker by the RAF. This example is a veteran of the Gulf War. It is still in operating condition and can be seen on the move at the "Taxi Days" organised by BAH.

The De Havilland Comet shown below was used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (later called Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, DERA) at Boscombe Down for many years as a systems test and development aircraft. The Comet also performs on Taxi Days. The Comet was the first jet airliner in scheduled service and formed the basis of the Nimrod maritime reconnaissance aircraft, which is still in service with the RAF.

Also used by DERA was the English Electric Canberra. This was the first jet bomber in service with the RAF and could fly faster and higher than many contemporary fighters. They were used for spy flights over the USSR in the years before the U-2 came into service. These DERA Canberras were used to test missile guidance and control systems and the long noses were interchangeable depending on the test programme.

The Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer also saw action in the Gulf War, providing support for Tornadoes dropping smart bombs (and dropping a few themselves) by designating the targets with lasers. Originally developed as a carrier aircraft (like the Sea Vixen) the Buccaneer was flown by the Fleet Air Arm before entering service with the RAF (who originally didn't want it). The heavy duty structure for carrier operations made it ideal for low level operations over land and sea. This example can also be seen on Taxi Days, but last time out in May, it suffered a slight problem with the port engine. I'd never seen a Buccaneer with reheat.

Bruntingthorpe houses a few of the UK's finest examples of the English Electric Lightning. This Mach 2 interceptor is the only wholly British supersonic aircraft to enter series production and service. The two Rolls Royce Avon turbojets were somewhat thirsty requiring additional fuel in the belly tank (which also housed two ADEN 30mm cannon and in overwing tanks. These aircraft can also be seen on Taxi days. Last time I was shooting some video of one I got such a fright when the reheat kicked in I accidentally stopped the camera. I'd forgotten just how noisy these old jets were. This example is covered up pending the building of a QRA hangar at Bruntingthorpe. QRA? Quick Reaction Alert - I suppose it was the Cold War equivalent of the wartime Scramble. Two aircraft would be kept in the hangar ready to roll as soon as the long-range radar picked up an approaching aircraft.

As well as complete aircraft, Bruntingthorpe also houses some odd bits and pieces such as the nose sections of the three V-bombers. Shown below are the noses of the Valiant and Victor bombers. The nose of a Vulcan is also on display.

Another nose is that of a Lightning. This lightning, despite being in natural metal has its warnings written in Arabic script. While the Royal Saudi Air Force and the Kuwaiti Air Force used the Lightning, this example carries RAF roundels. Anyone any idea why?

So where's the Vulcan? Bruntingthorpe's most famous exhibit. At present (September 2000) it is undergoing a lot of work by Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace, so is off limits in a hangar. Hopefully this work will enable the Vulcan to fly again. Hopefully I'll be at home when all that kicks off. Hopefully it'll miss our house.