Saracenman wrote:what's the story behind XR724 then 320? i always thought that she was still at Binbrook because she had been stranded there - i never realised that she was ferry-flown from Warton in 1991!
what's that all about then?
sm
Oh sm thats a long story mate, heres my shortened and less political version
As I said above she was transfered to Warton from Binbrook in 87 along with 904, 773 and 928 to give 693 a hand on the foxhunter radar trails.
She was the highest in the FI stakes so for some reason (which Ive never found out) was flown to Shawbury in 1989 for storage, her engines, jet pipes and other bits were then removed and sent back to Warton to keep the others flying.
BAE then put her up for tender and the Lightning flying club based at Exeter and rebuilding at the time XS451 (aka Barry Power, thats another story) along with hundreds of share holders of the Lightning association, which was created to buy and bring 724 back to Binbrook, headed by a chap who is now the only serious one left, Charles Ross
They sold litterally hundreds of £100 shares to anyone who wanted a share on the back of their line at the time 'put a lightning back in the air in the uk', ummmmmmm, done home work, not.
Anyway, in 89/90 a deal was struck with BAE that 724 would be brought back to flight with BAE's spare flight worthy engines,pipes etc and they would recovered them once she was back at Binbrook, Barry, his crew and BAE guys spent many hours at Shawbury bringing her back to life.
And in the spring of 91 she made her last flight in the hands of Peter Gordon Johnson (BAE test pilot) back to Binbrook.
Her engines and pipes were removed again and then back to Warton, the Lightning association then got some engines and pipes from Barry and brought her back to taxing at Binbrook, they held little open days and used the runway a few times like we do, but of course as the 90's and 2000's went on Binbrook shrank, peri tracks and runways dug up returned to the farmers, Q shed left on its own in the field etc.
So she was marronned, on a small piece of the old ASP where the tower once stood (burnt out and then demolished in 1992)
She had some time in the hangars, but with differing landlords and companies leasing them the 'air' was not good, so she has spent most of her time outside, but with a different group of people around her than us, share holders fell out, nobody got on with the job of just looking after her.
And so she now stands there today, not staticly run since, I think early 2007.
Ummmm,
Charles Ross is still very active and looks after her best interests, but you cant look after a 'running' Ligtning on your own, there is however talk of repainting her and getting her back to running again, but the politics surrounding her and the Binbrook site are complex.
Hey ho
Some piccies for you of that delivery day
She touches down for the last time at a very over grown Binbrook
Taxies round to the ASP
Shut down, Peter climbs out and Geoff Commings is in the nose wheel bay fitting the lock
Some of the 'movers' in her recovery, most of them still around,though not directly with 724, apart from the grey haired guy in blue overalls, Baz Livesly RIP (a lovely chap who knew everything about lightnings)
And later in the day
Shame, I think she was a victim of two many chiefs, but shes still around, though is danger of occasional vandlisum
Short enough ?
. Are there any he has NOT got ?
