Red Arrows XX227 retires after 38 years

[teeonefixer]

XX227 is not at Scampton...nor at Shawbury now......watch this space !!!!

[csnewton2701]

I wonder what the odds are for it to come out of retirement to replace the Hawk that was sadly lost.

Chris

[Vulcanone]

Zero, as I suspect its used its FI up

[tm74sqn]

Digging up an old thread slightly.

No fate for it yet, but one of the other ex Reds jets (XX308) has found a new home

https://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-o ... g.facebook

XX308 was in store at RAF Shawbury. Does anyone know when it was moved from there to East Fortune Airfield?
Cheers, TM74

[David Thompson]

"XX308 was in store at RAF Shawbury. Does anyone know when it was moved from there to East Fortune Airfield?
Cheers, TM74"

30 November 2017 ; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-e ... e-43891878 .

[tm74sqn]

Many thanks, TM74

[Unknown74]

As well as XX308 going to East Fortune I believe a set of Wings from another Red Arrows Hawk has gone on display in the "Main" Edinburgh Museum in Chambers Street any idea which Hawk these wings are from?

[Vulcanone]

I think (if memory recalls correctly) that none of the original Reds airframes never went into either the re-winging line in the late 80s early 90s. Nor the Fuselage Replacement Program in the late 90s early 00s

Anyone know differently

[teeonefixer]

All the RAF had mod-999 wings fitted from the early 90's onwards, including the Reds.
The RAFAT replacement program kicked off with Post mod 2010 fuselage equipped airframes (XX242) following Major servicing and Smoke Mods at Shawbury

[Vulcanone]

Thanks teeonefixer,

Guess memory is getting a wee bit hazy these days....

[tm74sqn]

A lot of Hawk work - FI mods and Majors - was done at RAF Abingdon. I can remember large sheets of metal being riveted to the undersides of wings to strengthen them Then a few years later the wingsets being replaced.

RA Hawks for FI mods that I saw at Abingdon included (with dates in and out):-
XX251 (3.10.83 - 17.10.83), XX260 (17.10.83 - 28.10.83), XX306 (31.10.83 - 11.11.83), XX257 (14.11.84 - 25.11.83), XX264 (28.11.83 - 06.12.83), XX253 (15.10.84 - 26.10.84), XX304 (29.10.84 - 09.11.84),
XX259 (12.11.84 - 23.11.84), XX252 (26.11.84 - 07.12.84), XX266 (10.12.84 - 20.12,84)

There may well have been other RA aircraft done during majors (1985 - 1987) and before the work was moved elsewhere (Shawbury?) around 1988.

I have no record of seeing XX227 at Abingdon for spannering, but that is no guarantee that it didn't have work done there.

Hope that is of interest and makes some sort of sense.

Cheers, TM74
PS. I seem to emember "17 FI" mods, but no idea what they were.
.

[Vulcanone]

All the Hawk maintenance transferred to St Athan at some point in the late 80s??) so they could have done 227 there?

I hadn't realised they did work on the Reds jets that early, mind you they were also wired to carry AIM-9s as well at some point.

[Richard B]

The Reds in 1980s was done at BAE Bitterswell, wentnto the handover day of the last Reds Hawk to come out of there.
Used to get lots of Vulcan action there in the 70s with Vulcan mods.

[teeonefixer]

[quote="tm74sqn"]A lot of Hawk work - FI mods and Majors - was done at RAF Abingdon. I can remember large sheets of metal being riveted to the undersides of wings to strengthen them Then a few years later the wingsets being replaced.

It was actually a short steel strap (forget the Mod number) that was put on the early build wings. All designed out for Mod.999
All Majors etc moved to St.Athan, until early 2000's when the need for majors ended with the out of service date 2010....look what has happened since !

Abingdon's big hangar was a terrific place with loads of Hawks and Jags in various stages of repair. Then again so was St.Athan in its heyday (Phantoms, Canberras, etc.)

There is a Bitteswell facebook page which contains all sorts of good stuff about work there. The last RAF Hawk delivery was recently featured.

[Bluerigger1]

XX227 is currently at RAF Valley about to undergo an inspection and maintenance programme. It's yet to be confirmed but the aircraft may go back to the team for the upcoming season.

[Vulcanone]

Life in the old girl yet then..!

[Bluerigger1]

Let's see what they find once a few panels come off

[1marshn30]

She lives on in Sprit XX227 Or,AM12RED Aston Was proudly flying the Teams flag at supercar Sunday at Blehiem Palace this morning
Ni

[Bluerigger1]

Looks like the end of the line for XX227. Following an inspection of the airframe it appears that there is too much work required to make worth returning the aircraft to a serviceable condition. Although official confirmation is pending, Shawbury would seem to be the final destination

[Bluerigger1]

JARTS are at Valley this afternoon preparing XX227 for what is probably it's final journey to Shawbury tomorrow. Looks like the end of the line for the last surviving original Red.