With the recent night photo shoot done and dusted, it was time to move the Phantom back undercover inside its usual home, HAS 25.
Usually just housing the Black Arrows Hunter and the Phantom, we now have to make sure that our recently arrived Night Fighter Meteor is also accommodated inside the HAS to protect it from the English winter weather.
So, a working party convened at the weekend to provide the necessary manpower to reposition some equipment and manoeuvre all three jets so that they fit neatly inside the available HAS space.
Our Hunter is reasonably small and lightweight enough to easily move around.
Our Meteor is a Night Fighter version, so quite large, but not all particularly heavy.
Our Phantom though is an absolute beast of a jet. It is very large and very heavy, and its wide-spaced main undercarriage means it is not as easy to manoeuvre as some jets are.
So, the ancillary equipment and exhibits and staging etc were repositioned to one corner, allowing some free space to move the aircraft around.
Now, the aircraft juggling could begin. The Hunter was shifted into one corner, then the Meteor moved carefully back diagonally into the other corner. The Phantom was then towed from outside the HAS apron area into the now emptied area inside the front area of the HAS. The prior planning diagram certainly helped make sure that the juggling and positioning of the airframes inside the available space worked out correctly.
This means all the Museum’s aircraft are now tucked up safe and dry inside our HAS for the winter.
Thanks go to all the Museum volunteers who made this happen.
A gallery of images of our Team in action on the day, with thanks to Sam.
