Kemble Airfield Stores Scraps and Brittania Open Day (photos)

[heart-of-wessex]

Hello All,

On the 6th July, Me and a friend went up to Cotswold Airport for the Britannia Public Open Day. We went up to see if any new stuff had arrived for scrap too. There were a couple of new ones, though one 747 was for export to a new operator and re-registered, rather than being cut up. Was a great day though, here are the photos and descriptions.

By the way these are just raw uploads to photobucket, I've done no cropping, lighting adjustment and all that, to be fair not all of them needed treatment (not blowing my trumpet, just saying I couldn't be arsed to edit them )


Enjoy!




ex-MK Airlines Boeing 747 G-MKCA, the 'MK' branding long since gone



A second MK Airlines 747 at Cotswold Airfield, this one being G-MKGA, but still wearing full MK livery



Ex-Vueling A320 with some bits broken off



A front view of the A320. It was delivered to Iberia Airlines as EC-880 in 1992, and registered as EC-ICT in 2002, and operated with Vueling in 2009 before being stored at Kemble in 2013.



A back view of the A320 with parts missing and, of course, no engine



The main reason for going to Kemble was for the public open day of the preserved Bristol Britannia, the only RAF example left. This is the interior. Note the backward facing seating for safety. It's been proven that you are likely to survive a crash sitting backwards than forwards.



Me in the cockpit of XM496, wish I could switch the engine on and open up the props!



Britannia's were named after stars. Here is the name of XM496



Preserved Britannia XM496



The noses of 3 BAe 146's, the two furthest from the camera I believe are ex-Brussels Airlines.



ex-Titan Airways BAe146 awaiting either a sale or scrap.



Former Quantas VH-EBW, now N176SG with the Bank of Utah. Apparently it's not stored but being worked on for export to the US, which would explain it's recent American re-registration.



Ex-Lufthansa CityLine BAe RJ85 now owned by the Falko Regional Aircraft Services.



A different angle of N176SG



Another angle of G-MKGA



Ex-RAF HS125, N19XY, stored at the back



The Rolls Royce RB211's on N176SG. Why are Rolls Royce cars super quiet? Why not just fit them with these!



Ex-Brussels Airlines (I believe) G-CHFE stored



Part of the remains of N25AG, a Private Lockheed Jetstar with some interesting artwork on the fuselage.



G-BULL/HKG-5. a former Hong Kong Air Force Scottish Bulldog



The badge of the Royal Hong Kong Auxillary Air Force



Only the fuselage is left of Boeing 727 VP-CMN, unsure who had it before, might have been private?



A different and much better angle of Vueling's A320 EC-ICT



Now here's a scrappie! G-MKCA 747 looking rather battered!



A closer view of the front, certainly can see the weathering and you can see right through it too



A view of the rear of G-MKCA complete with door open, probably to chuck things out of if it's been gutted out



And the view of the middle of G-MKCA



G-MKGA in MK livery, a reminder of what G-MKCA, to the right, would have looked like. In the middle, a tin of some description heads down the runway



Once United Airlines N183UA Boeing 747 in the scrap area. Note the engines have completely gone



Ex-Gulf Air A340-3, A9C-LI, in the scrap area. Such a lovely scheme, will be a shame when she's cut up



In the background is a Med-View 747. To the right is the lovely tail of ex-Gulf Air A9C-LI, and to the left is a A300 ex-DHL Irish registered EI-OZI



After United stored the 747, it was snapped up by Corsair Fly in 2006 and re-registered as F-HLOV. It was stored at Kemble in 2013. Here is a different angle showing the Corsair Fly logo, and you can see the paint is slowly fading away.



Ex Med-View 747 in the scrap area next to what is left of a Vueling Fuselage, probably was a A320.



What was once a RAF TriStar is now being broken up, what a shame, such a great aircraft. It is slowly being broken up with something somewhere missing every time I come up to Kemble.



And finally, a better view of the Gulf Air Livery on the A340

 

[455driver]

Nice pictures of an unusual subject, thanks for sharing.

 

[fowler9]

Great photos mate. Loved the Gulf Air A340. My favourite type of aircraft ever since I saw one on the telly at the Farnborough air show. Made up when I finally flew on one, LAN from Auckland to Santiago.

 

[starrymarkb]

The 727 was almost certainly private - the VP registration is Bermuda which is a tax haven so is often used by Biz-Jets. IIRC Western airliners run by Russian Airlines are the commercial big tin with VP regs (in a Tax Dodge as the Russians levy high taxes on non Russian made aircraft on the RA registry)

 

[CC 72100]

I'm intrigued as to why the Gulf Air A340 is there for scrapping - Planespotters.net shows it as delivered in 2003!

 

[455driver]

A340s are out of favour because of them having 4 engines, the new breed of 2 engined planes can do the same job much cheaper.

 

[CC 72100]

A340s are out of favour because of them having 4 engines, the new breed of 2 engined planes can do the same job much cheaper.

True - I imagine though that at just over 10 years old, the parts which make it up and can be resold will go for a decent price. I know that the spares/ salvage side of things is big business these days, and coming from a plane just over 10 years old you'd think that these particular ones would fetch a high sum.

 

[fowler9]

A340s are out of favour because of them having 4 engines, the new breed of 2 engined planes can do the same job much cheaper.

Indeed, as far as I am aware the route I flew on was one of the few which still required 4 engines at the time. The other airlines flying similar routes were Aerolineas Argentinas and Qantas using A340's and 744's respectively. The reason four engines was required was that the most sensible route is over the Antarctic and there is absolutely nowhere to divert to. I could of course be wrong on this, I don't follow what is going on on a day to day basis and am aware that LAN are replacing A340's with 787's on various routes. Its a shame because in my opinion the A340 is beautiful and the 787 looks a bit odd. Obviously that is not why airlines use certain aircraft but still.

 

[starrymarkb]

The A340-300 pretty much matches the 777-200 for fuel burn. Problem is improvements to the A330-300 mean it can now do most of the runs an A340 can do while being a lot cheaper to run (especially the RR examples)

The A340-600 was thoroughly trounced by the 777-300ER, though very little can match it for volume of belly cargo so if you carry a lot of cargo it's possible to offset the increased fuel usage (ie Lufthansa & Iberia)

 

[fowler9]

The A340-300 pretty much matches the 777-200 for fuel burn. Problem is improvements to the A330-300 mean it can now do most of the runs an A340 can do while being a lot cheaper to run (especially the RR examples)

The A340-600 was thoroughly trounced by the 777-300ER, though very little can match it for volume of belly cargo so if you carry a lot of cargo it's possible to offset the increased fuel usage (ie Lufthansa & Iberia)

Are two engined aircraft now allowed to do the runs from a South America to Auckland though? I know that the two engine aircraft give similar performance but I was thinking about engine redundancy and the laws that cover it. The most economic route between the two gives no alternative airports which was what the old rules covered. Can you now do that on say a 787?

 

[starrymarkb]

Are two engined aircraft now allowed to do the runs from a South America to Auckland though? I know that the two engine aircraft give similar performance but I was thinking about engine redundancy and the laws that cover it. The most economic route between the two gives no alternative airports which was what the old rules covered. Can you now do that on say a 787?

You can but would have to route further north for Alternates, however a 787 or A350's lower fuel burn would probably give an equal trip cost.

Aerolinas Argentina were acquiring second hand A340s not to long ago for this route, and then announced they were stopping the route!

Edit - the 787 is now passed for ETOPS 330 so can do it direct.

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=eze-syd&MS=wls&DU=mi&E=330&EV=410&EU=kts

 

[fowler9]

You can but would have to route further north for Alternates, however a 787 or A350's lower fuel burn would probably give an equal trip cost.

Aerolinas Argentina were acquiring second hand A340s not to long ago for this route, and then announced they were stopping the route!

Edit - the 787 is now passed for ETOPS 330 so can do it direct.

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=eze-syd&MS=wls&DU=mi&E=330&EV=410&EU=kts

When you say they can now do it direct does that mean they can do South America to New Zealand direct but using a slightly longer and more northerly route? Or is it viewed now that the engines are that reliable that you can go over the antarctic with no alternates on only 2 engines?

 

[starrymarkb]

Basically the 787 can fly the direct route over Antartica now. It has just been passed for ETOPS 330 which means 5.5 hours flying time from an Diversion Airport on a single engine. The 777 is also ETOPs 330 (iirc the A330 is ETOPs 240 so must take a more northerly route towards Polynesia)

However it would mean getting approval from the NZ and ARG authorities (or countries of departure and destination) as ETOPs is only standardised up to 180 mins by ICAO. Anything beyond that is at the discretion of the local aviation authorities. NZ is fine with it, Australia is much more bureaucratic, so in reality it's probably easier to use an A340 or 747 for Australia

 

[fowler9]

Basically the 787 can fly the direct route over Antartica now. It has just been passed for ETOPS 330 which means 5.5 hours flying time from an Diversion Airport on a single engine. The 777 is also ETOPs 330 (iirc the A330 is ETOPs 240 so must take a more northerly route towards Polynesia)

However it would mean getting approval from the NZ and ARG authorities (or countries of departure and destination) as ETOPs is only standardised up to 180 mins by ICAO. Anything beyond that is at the discretion of the local aviation authorities. NZ is fine with it, Australia is much more bureaucratic, so in reality it's probably easier to use an A340 or 747 for Australia

Ah thats a shame, the A340 was lovely to fly on. That said Aerolineas Argentinas will have them for a while longer if I can get back down there. With the Australians being funny does that affect the flights that stop in Auckland? Thanks for all the info by the way.

 

[Temple Meads]

Wow, some fascinating pictures there James, thanks for sharing!

 

[heart-of-wessex]

Cheers guys

Looks like the VP 727 was some private yes, just googled the reg and that's pretty much all I can find about it.

Yes I do like the Gulf A340, only 10 years of service, but it's been there for a year and pretty much only had it's engines out, might be on sale perhaps for a bit first but then it is in the scrap pad. They do move the Corsair 747 and the Gulf A340 a lot though, every time we do a re-visit, they are both parked somewhere else

 

[fowler9]

Cheers guys

Looks like the VP 727 was some private yes, just googled the reg and that's pretty much all I can find about it.

Yes I do like the Gulf A340, only 10 years of service, but it's been there for a year and pretty much only had it's engines out, might be on sale perhaps for a bit first but then it is in the scrap pad. They do move the Corsair 747 and the Gulf A340 a lot though, every time we do a re-visit, they are both parked somewhere else

Dead interesting mate. I have wondered if the Corsair 744 was one of the ones flying Liverpool fans out to Istanbul back in 95.

 

[heart-of-wessex]

Dead interesting mate. I have wondered if the Corsair 744 was one of the ones flying Liverpool fans out to Istanbul back in 95.

Apparently so!

http://www.nwan.co.uk/athens.html

 

[fowler9]

Apparently so!

http://www.nwan.co.uk/athens.html

Ah wow. Thanks for that mate. Got my years mixed up, twas obviously the 2007 final when the 744's turned up. Will have a nose and see if they were there for the 2005 one.

 

[455driver]

Whats all these posts about 744s?

 

[heart-of-wessex]

Whats all these posts about 744s?

747-4's, or 747-400 series

When we see a 747, generally you'd just say 'oh look, a BA 74'

 

[fowler9]

Whats all these posts about 744s?

Was just wondering if the Corsair 744 in the photo was one of the ones that airlifted a load of my fellow screaming scousers to the footy from JLA.

Sorry mate, as above.

 

[455driver]

747-4's, or 747-400 series

When we see a 747, generally you'd just say 'oh look, a BA 74'

So its just people being lazy or trying to show how clever they are! :roll:
When talking about aircraft on a plane forum I can sort of understand it but talking about planes on a rail forum its just plain (sic) rude, in my opinion.

Maybe I should start using all the internal names for stuff when answering questions on here, just so I can feel all superior like!

 

[fowler9]

So its just people being lazy or trying to show how clever they are! :roll:
When talking about aircraft on a plane forum I can sort of understand it but talking about planes on a rail forum its just plain (sic) rude, in my opinion.

Maybe I should start using all the internal names for stuff when answering questions on here, just so I can feel all superior like!

Ha ha, come on mate, this forum is not short on people using jargon for railway terms or anything else. Until we are forced to not use jargon like happens in my workplace it doesn't seem like the worlds biggest hardship that you don't understand everything someone says in a thread under Other Public Transport. I wasn't trying to be clever, I was just saving time not typing 747-400. If we are going to be petty there are many sub types within 747-400. Sorry mate, missed a smiley off the end and don't know how to edit it. Ha ha. Wasn't having a go.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Actually it could get confusing with 748 as there also is the Avro 748. That said both are that rare in this country that it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Minilad]

Will probably be popping into Kemble tomorrow on the way back from Fairford. Always a few interesting bits and bobs there

 

[CC 72100]

To be honest, I've even seen news reports from non-aviation specialist sources referring to 737-800s as 'Boeing 738s'... I thought it was a misprint at first

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Cheers guys

Looks like the VP 727 was some private yes, just googled the reg and that's pretty much all I can find about it.

Last owner was IDG corporation http://jetphotos.net/census/aircraft2.php?msnid=727-19282 and it was originally a Japan Air Lines machine https://www.flickr.com/photos/emdjt42/5179000891/ , then went to Hapag-Lloyd before becoming a corporate jet.