Bruntingthorpe Cold War Jets 2014

[capercaillie]

One of the first events I attended after eventually turning digital, yes I was a late developer (that's a pun by the way), boom boom, I was surprised how little I'd actually done with these up to now.

The show was the first held there since the Tristars had arrived from Brize and luckily we allowed to look around a couple of them after the taxi runs had completed. Bob was in the process of being dismantled ready to move to Cosford. Looking back it seems such a great shame that these events do not run anymore with Lightnings, Buccaneers, Victor, Nimrod, VC10 et al powering up down the massive runway. The poor old Supper Guppy has since been scrapped along with all the Tristars and remaining VC10s on the airfield.

The day started with a plethora of JPs taxi-ing plus XW324 flying in.
DSC_0608 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0610 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0596 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0597 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0602 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0624 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

Raspberry ripple Canberra WT333, Nimrod and recently repainted 16 sqn Buccaneer (ignore refuelling probe) were next up
DSC_0634 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0649 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0662 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0684 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0691 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

Buccaneer S2B XW544/O by Paul Downes, on Flickr

Delfin in Romanian markings
DSC_0708 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0720 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

Mr Meldrew looking a little pink then the superstar of the show
DSC_0728 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0733 (3) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0739 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0747 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0757 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

Scraggy looking Buccaneer which had looked immaculate freshly painted when I first visited in 1996
DSC_0776 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

VC10 appearing owned by GJD
DSC_0811 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

Some random statics. Not sure where everything is these days - Guppy aside.
DSC_0817 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0818 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0824 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0828 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0829 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0855 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0859 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

To end, ZD948 and ZD951 still not looking too bad after arriving a couple of months earlier
DSC_0840 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0843 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

DSC_0847 (2) by Paul Downes, on Flickr

Hopefully something of interest for someone.

[Stagger2]

Very good memories there. Assumed they would always be there, but sadly very wrong! I saw a list of what is rammed into the retained preservation plot, but I can't find it now.
With the limited attraction of these ex-runners it's easy to foresee a time when they will also be axed by the next generation of owners?

[Archer]

The Nimrod, Comet and Victor are now parked in a corner of the site, hidden away, but the other remaining airframes are next to the Q-shed and are still able to taxi. The Buccaneers moved to Kemble but there are still some airframes worth seeing at Bruntingthorpe. They just don't have the same amount of room available to play in.

[AndyXH558]

Xx900 is at tattenhall airfield now, she's been painted in the desert cammo from the early 1980s

[MiG_Eater]

I loved these events. Such a shame they stopped. Lovely shots.

[nighthawk999]

I went to those events in the mid 1990s,the sights and sounds of the pair of Lightnings blasting down the runway on full reheat was great,and who can forget the Victors' taxi runs.
I was also there when a Buccaneer shot flames out of the back end.I was in the 558 hangar at the time and heard the loud bang.Apparently someone said "That's not supposed to happen,the Buccy doesn't have afterburners!"

[binbrook87]

These were superb events! I went to many over the years and it's scandalous how the airfield ended up as a giant car park... with what's left of the cold war collection now crammed into a corner with nowhere to run. Lovely lovely photos that bring back happy memories. How lucky we were too witness this in the flesh.

[Roughcutter]

How long will the contract with Cox Automotive last? The worrying thing is that the larger jets, all corralled in an enclosure at the other end of the airfield, will easily start to deteriate if not maintained.

[Skylinerworld]

Lovely to see. We went to our first Cold War Jets day in 2019, which happened to be their last! So glad we went and also glad we did the tour inside the Super Guppy, so sad when it was scrapped.

[106500]

How long will the contract with Cox Automotive last? The sad thing is that the larger jets, all corralled in an enclosure at the other end of the airfield, will easily start to deteriate if not maintained.

It’s hard to believe the three large jets have a long term future. We are unlikely to see fast jet taxi runs at Bruntingthorpe ever again and anti deterioration engine runs are impossible. It’s only a matter of time before the inevitable cutting starts. Perhaps the cockpits might survive but that’s all. Sadly it seems that the one individual owner advocate/enthusiast was usurped by the other (family?) owners who seemingly cared nothing for the unique nature of the operations there.

[Roughcutter]

Regrettably, there's no answer to that situation. We can only be philosophical then, by saying that we were lucky enough to enjoy them for a while

[purple_95]

How long will the contract with Cox Automotive last? The sad thing is that the larger jets, all corralled in an enclosure at the other end of the airfield, will easily start to deteriate if not maintained.

It’s hard to believe the three large jets have a long term future. We are unlikely to see fast jet taxi runs at Bruntingthorpe ever again and anti deterioration engine runs are impossible. It’s only a matter of time before the inevitable cutting starts. Perhaps the cockpits might survive but that’s all. Sadly it seems that the one individual owner advocate/enthusiast was usurped by the other (family?) owners who seemingly cared nothing for the unique nature of the operations there.

The Comet, Nimrod and Victor are still being looked after despite what people post on social media saying otherwise. The long term aim is to move them to the area near the Q shed that is still under the control of David Walton and for them to resume anti det running, Rest assured that none of them are going to be scrapped or left in there current location and forgotten about.

[XP282]

How long will the contract with Cox Automotive last? The sad thing is that the larger jets, all corralled in an enclosure at the other end of the airfield, will easily start to deteriate if not maintained.

It’s hard to believe the three large jets have a long term future. We are unlikely to see fast jet taxi runs at Bruntingthorpe ever again and anti deterioration engine runs are impossible. It’s only a matter of time before the inevitable cutting starts. Perhaps the cockpits might survive but that’s all. Sadly it seems that the one individual owner advocate/enthusiast was usurped by the other (family?) owners who seemingly cared nothing for the unique nature of the operations there.

The Comet, Nimrod and Victor are still being looked after despite what people post on social media saying otherwise. The long term aim is to move them to the area near the Q shed that is still under the control of David Walton and for them to resume anti det running, Rest assured that none of them are going to be scrapped or left in there current location and forgotten about.

When did the larger jets last run? The sad reality is that despite anyones best wishes, the longer they sit without running, the hard it will be to get the 'serviceable' again.