Midland Air Museum 3.6.21

[Bierset1989]

Nearly everything as Eurodemobbed. 2 missing exhibits were XE855 Vampire and XJ579 Sea Vixen cockpit but these could still be stored on site as you couldn’t access some small buildings. An addition was a Harrier GR3? cockpit section inside the museum which remained unidentified .

[JAWS]

According to their website they have a Harrier GR.5 Cockpit Section (Procedures Trainer) which appears to have no serial allocated maybe this is what you saw ?

Also it states the Vampire Pod is under restoration with the remainder stored.

No mention on whereabouts of Sea Vixen Cockpit.

http://www.midlandairmuseum.co.uk/aircraftlist.php

[Mustang531]

Pretty sure the Sea Vixen cockpit is stored at the moment. The Vampire cockpit is stored, but wasn't in great shape anyway. Agree with the comment regarding the Harrier cockpit being a GR5 procedures trainer.

[Bierset1989]

Thanks for the quick responses, didn’t get a good look at the procedural trainer as it was very popular with a group of children.

[Blackboxromeo]

"Stored" is hardly how I would describe the state of the booms of XE855 when seen lying in the grass at Moreton Fire Service Training College a few years back. Also GE seems to show the wings near the NE perimeter. Probably now cleared with the arrival of ex.Manston residents.

[Mustang531]

I wasn't aware that Vampire XE855 had been at Moreton Fire Training College? I'd never noted it there in any form. As far as I'm aware it arrived at Baginton in 1982.

[MRay]

The museum did a swap some years ago with the fire school for engine cowlings from their Viscount. The booms etc noted were surplus from a number of Vampire parts the museum held. The pod of XE855 is stored under cover, along with a complete set of metal parts (wings, booms, tail etc.) XE855 has never been at the fire school.

[Yammer]

My notebook tells me I saw the wings only of Vampire XE855 at the Coventry museum back on 16.8.1985

[Blackboxromeo]

To clarify the sighting of XE855's booms - both were seen 30.1.14 wearing serial and yellow band. Alongside was one wing, also with yellow mks. Wrong way up to read serial though! "Swaps" for Viscount "bits" sounds plausible.