WIX Archives
Re: TFCs Beaufighter
Posted by Richard Allnutt on Tue May 14, 2002 07:50:57 PM
In reply top Re: TFCs Beaufighter posted by Ron Henry on Tue May 14, 2002 01:31:15 PM
Sadly the Canadian Beaufighter still sits outside. I saw her covered in snow in February. I had heard that the reason she sits outside still (when there is room for her inside) is that it's a sort of jab at the RAF for sending what is essentially a skeleton without the flesh. Just what I heard mind you, but I can't conceive of any other reason they would still have her outside. She should be undercover soon though, as Rockcliffe just got funding for a very large addition to the building.... finally.
Cheers,
Richard
: : The main problem is the lack of suitable Bristol Hercule
: s
: : engines in captivity. The are plenty of later marks arou
: nd
: : which are cheap but they are no use to anyone apart fro
: m
: : if you operate the last Noratlas! The propellors are a l
: ic
: : ence built Hamilton Standard unit and as such it's not s
: uc
: : h an insurmoutable problem to overcome.
: : The airframe side of the job is relatively straigh
: t
: : forward compared to the engines !
:
:
: I visited the canadian museum at Rockliffe way back in 197
: 8, I think. I was quite surprised to see their B/fighter p
: roject sat outside engineless, and looking like it had bee
: n there for some time (thye got it by swappping a Bolingbr
: oke with RAFM. I did hear, once, that RAFM, on receiving t
: heir part of the deal described it as "more Broke than Bol
: ing" !)
:
: I talked with the restorers and they told me that they had
: the concept that Bristol Freighter engines would be OK. I
: n fact, when they tried to put theory into practice, it pr
: oved unworkable. If the correct Hercules' are hardly avail
: able in UK, just think what supplies are going to be like
: in the Americas. Flash of inspiration ..... what about Dom
: inica (but only 10 a/c, IIRC)? Israel had an even smaller
: handful ......
:
: