|
Lancaster NX611 Just Jane undertakes regular taxi runs, and has done a single tail up run for a TV programme. However, the difference between taxiing and flying in the UK isn't a just question of more petrol. The paperwork and maintenance requirements for ground runs and taxiing are negligible; for flight, famously the paperwork required by the CAA "has to weigh the same as the aircraft" (according to many restorers). On taxi runs Just Jane can take paying passengers for the experience, but would not be able to take them in flights under current options in the UK.
The owners, the Panton brothers, have decided to undertake the massive task and cost of assessing Just Jane for return to flight, and have started to acquire airworthy engines for that task. If they decide to proceed with the deep engineering assessment and restoration to fly, Just Jane would be down for a period of time unable to undertake the popular taxi runs.
Currently the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight operate Lancaster PA474 at UK airshows. If your event fits the criteria, there is no booking cost commiserate with the cost of operating a Lancaster, and the BBMF undertake a huge number of shows in the UK annually. The next question is if a second airworthy Lancaster in Britain could be viable for events once the initial excitement has gone.
The Pantons have thought through what they have done, and what they propose. Their facility at East Kirby is excellent, and currently a real window into the life of a W.W.II bomber base. An airworthy, rather than a taxiing Lancaster isn't (in my opinion only) a cost-effective worthwhile enhancement to the operation if we leave aside the dogma of flying we often subscribe to. The cost of restoring then operating a Lancaster is huge - as the CWH know, and as the BBMF know - and personally, while it is an exciting option, I am currently unconvinced that there's any significant revenue stream available for a second Lancaster in the UK, meaning the Pantons would be bearing the cost themselves. Boeing B-17 Sally B in the UK has been flying for many years as a solo Memorial to the Mighty Eighth; but it has been a marginal operation requiring enormous support and PR over those years, and that is an exclusive niche.
W.W.II heavy bomber aircraft were not - as is often stated here 'built to fly' but to be operated as a 'weapons system' (in modern parlance) for a brief period by a national air force and then replaced and scrapped. Getting to beat that is laudable, but a harder task than most enthusiasts realise. A taxiing Lancaster costs a lot more to maintain than a static one. To fly one is exponentially ('much to the power of lots' bigger than most enthusiast evidently understand) more expensive and suddenly has to achieve numerous performance and safety and engineering standards that will not be excepted or modified for the task - any one of those hurdles or pieces of paperwork can halt the whole project.
I wish the Pantons the very best of luck, but that's the least they need.
HTH.
_________________ James K "Switch on the underwater landing lights" Emilio Largo, Thunderball. www.VintageAeroWriter.com
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
