Avro Lancaster

Excuse the poor photo quality as it's taken through a window, but here's a photo of PA474 that I took yesterday going through her 6 month major service at Duxford.

The BBMF have announced that with on going maintenance she will hopefully still be flying in 2065!! -



Steve

I notice that there are no photos in this thread of East Kirkby's 'other' Lancaster KB976, a MK.10 AR that is staying at the airfield temporarily until a new home is found -


Nice to see her sporting two schemes -

Just Jane was also out enjoying the sunshine on my visit showing off her fresh new paint job -

...& hopefully one day we'll see & hear her rolling down this runway into those Lincolnshire skies -

Steve

Nice to see the Canadian Guest, 405 Squadron is still operational and flying CP-140 Auroras, so the four engined link continues.

I watched the Dambusters for the umpteenth time the other day. Something I noticed for the first time was the crew leaving a Lanc by a hatch on the underside near the front of the aircraft. Was this on the marks in service in wwii? AFAIK the only entrances/exits were the door rear right and the bomb aimers hatch.

The main spar was a PITA to negotiate and most aircrew don't fancy the humiliation to scramble over it. If the ground crew have a purpose made ladder to hand, then the front escape hatch (available since the first Manchester) would be preferred, for exiting at least. The ground crew, the rear gunner and maybe mid-upper would make more use of use the rear door.
Also, I think it looked more "rugged" for cinematic purposes to use the front. Makes coming back from an op less like stepping off the tube.

Thanks for that. I must admit I thought the only entrance was the rear door, and that the one in the nose was the bomb aimers window, never knew there was a hatch under the cockpit, you learn something new.

Now why was the door on right?

We saw the Lancaster at Booker airfield's Armed Forces Day yesterday 1.40pm. Today it is doing (Done) a flypast, Three flypast's, over Aylesbury at 12.16pm.

www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/people/lancas...is-weekend-1-8978895

The weekend flying programme for the BoBMF is posted up on their Facebook page on the Friday ; www.facebook.com/BBMF.Official/ .
Todays Lancaster prrogramme was ;