A Second restored full size Lancaster

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Just wondering if it's April 1st? Or have this just completely passed me by?

There's apparently a second full size Lanc which has been restored enough to taxi with paying passengers. They are pressing on with the reestoration hoping to get her in the air again.

BBC News Report

[Frank Skilbeck]

No saw it on the news this morning, they have now got flight rated engines, here's the web site

[Plummet]

Just Jane.

Seen going for a trundle around East Kirkby airfield regularly.

Come to the LMA dislpay there this year and see it.

Plummet

[Bob Cotsford]

according to the Beeb this morning they take paying passengers on the taxi runs - I feel the need to find out how much!

[Tony Bennett]

£248 for a taxi run.

[GrahamC]

Here is the link for the LMA show. Its just down the road for us [In Lincolshire terms that means about an hour away!] Just Jane normally goes for a trundle, and watch out for the aroma of chicken poo!

[Bob Cotsford]

Posted by Tony Bennett on 02/01/2013 09:20:53:

£248 for a taxi run.

maybe not that much after all! Now if it left the ground, that would be a different matter!

[10 lover/clive]

i can recomend east kirkby for a day out ,walk round the hanger look at the exibits and go into the

control tower lovely day. And conningsby not far away just in case BBMF is out

[Keiran Arnold]

 

Spent a day there last March great day

 

Edited By Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 02/01/2013 11:51:27

[bouncebounce crunch]

Maybe if Redbull get involved they have the money and machinery to make anything possible.

here is some of the Redbull, Hangar 7 restorations.

**LINK**

check out hangar 8 too.

 

Edited By bouncebouncecrunch on 02/01/2013 11:00:40

[Bucksboy]

I retired last year and my work friends bought this for me as a present. I booked straight away and my taxy is booked for June this year so there is quite a waiting list.

[Cookson]

Did'nt even know this place existed, just had a look at the website & will definately be making a visit this year.

Also what a great story of the Lancaster.

[Miketgd]

This is a marvellous Museum, run by the Panton family, and well worth the entrance fee. The On-board experience is something that stays with you.

Visits are very special for me and my family as my father flew from East Kirkby as a Navigator with 630 Squadron in 1944. He was shot down on his 16th mission but evaded capture with three other crew members. One broke his hip on landing and was captured. Sadly one of the gunners failed to get out of the aircraft and the other was killed as his parachute failed to open. Dad was delighted to be able to go back with me in 2005 as I was booked on the Taxi-run as a Birthday present. When Fred and Harold spoke to my father they insisted that he also went on board as their guest. A tremendous thrill for him to sit at his Navigator station and find everything was where he remembered it. And to share his experiences with them and other visitors.

[Concorde Speedbird]

The engines

CS

[kenking-King Design]

I can personally recommend a visit to East Kirkby , AND the taxi run, as my wife bought us both tickets to celebrate a milestone birthday some years ago. Evocative hardly begins to describe the experience of climbing aboard an aircraft of this period, as so many young men repeatedly did during the war, 55.000 of them never to return. It's hard to imagine oneself back into the atmosphere, environment and the sheer uncertainty of those years, but if you get just an inkling of what it must have been like you'll feel very humble indeed, as we did. As well as the more sobre aspect, it's a delight to hear multi-merlins running (though one or two of the four were acknowledged as being a little sick at the time) and to be able to examine the aircraft in every detail, literally hands-on ! Go and enjoy for yourself !

[BOB GADD]

Hi all.

This is the aircraft that was the Gate Gaurd at R.A.F. Scampton in the eighties.

BOB.

[Greybeard]

Plenty going on at East Kirby apart from the Lanc so well worth a visit.

I spent a very interesting hour talking to one of the team rebuilding a Handley Page Hampden; it seems that they were given an instrument panel and decided to make the rest of the aircraft to go with it. One to one scale modelling

[GrahamC]

I realised I still had this on my phone.... Not a great video - but its more for listening to isn't it?

 

Edited By GrahamC on 02/01/2013 18:05:10

[Peter Miller]

They have been working on this for years. There are three Videos (Maybe DVDs now) on the progress at each stage. Worth buying.

Forget who the sellers are but am sure that the Website will mention it.

[Eric Powell]

My wife and I were at East Kirby last July and they were holding a memorial service for 5 bomber group who were based in the area and the highlight of the day was a taxi trip in the Lancaster .

we also did the tour around Coningsby where we asked about tracing her fathers war service record as he had served his time at Bardney airfield as a radio fitter.

we then went on to Bardney aiirport where we found that a model flying club were based in the old control tower as their club room which we examined with one of the members . It alll got a bit emotional for my wife as she realised that she was stepping into an area where her late father had spent his youth .

[Reno Racer]

If this makes it, it would be great to see all 3 in fomation doing a bombing run over somewhere appropriate, but FM213 crossing the atlantic is probably unachievable, even if piggybacked like the shuttle.

Now all we need is an airworthy Beaufighter.

[Mark a]

If anybody can get this Lanc back in the air its the Panton brothers, good luck to them. East Kirkby is well worth a visit i 've been a few times the night time taxi runs are the ones to see with the Merlins spitting flames and you get that bomber airfield atmosphere aswell.

Mark.

[Area 51]

Cant beat four throttles in your hand.. marvellous

[Colin Leighfield]

A few tears ago I combined pleasures by riding from home in Sutton Coldfield on my Honda VFR800 to East Kirkby to do my spell as aircrew on the morning shift, bought for me as a birthday present! When I arrived I joined my fellow crew members in the NAAFI hut for briefing by our captain for the day, "Jacko" Jackson. He was a tall distinguished gentleman, who had joined the RAF as a Halton apprentice in 1938 at the age of 15. When he became 18 he trained as a pilot and was flying Spitfire Mk.5s in action in 1941. He flew Spitfire MksVIII, IX and XIV in the UK, Africa and Italy then stayed in the RAF after rhe war to fly jets. Instead of retiring when he would normally have done so, he was asked to take over command of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which he did. When he finally did retire, he maintained his contacts at Coningsby and helped out with the operation of "Just Jane" at East Kirkby. We found out that there is close liaison between The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Panton brothers team and while we were there, Paul Day, in his last year as CO of the BoBMF flew in to East Kirkby in a Spitfire and came to say hello to us!

Shortly afterwards I was in the bomb aimer position of "Just Jane" as the four Merlins were started, run up and we taxied out. The engines were completely smooth, there was none of the shaking and vibration that I had expected. As I looked up I could see Jacko's feet somewhere to the side of my left ear and I marvelled at this superman who had joined the RAF nearly 70 years ago and was still doing this. I have to say that I felt very humble. I hope he's still around.

So I'm over rhe moon to hear that "Just Jane" is going to fly again, just imagine seeing it in formation with PA474! May I register my huge respect for the two Panton brothers, who are doing such wonderful things in memory of their long lost elder brother who was killed at the age of 19, I believe operating as a rear gunner on a long range raid on Turin in a Halifax. I'm sure that he'd be enormously proud.