R&S. 4 Bobsleigh (Desford Trainer)

I was pleased to see a petition has been started to try & save the RS 4 Bobsleigh aka the Desford Trainer & keep it in it's current airworthy state.

It seems a real shame for it to get to the stage of flying condition & make several flights (only 55 mins flying time from it's permit to fly at airshows etc!!!)) only for Leicestershire County Council to pull out there support & then the aircraft to be grounded forever at Newark Air Museum. I thought it was worth signing anyway even if the decision has already been made & whilst a lot worse could happen to it than being stored at Newark Air Museum it just seems such a shame when it now could have many years flying life left since it's last restoration.

I just signed the petition "Save the Desford" and wanted to ask if you could add your name too.

This campaign means a lot to me and the more support we can get behind it, the better chance we have of succeeding. You can read more and sign the petition here:

you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-...are&utm_source=email

A few pics from a couple of photoshoots at Spanhoe where the restoration & test flights tok place -

Excellent photographs there Stevie, especially the last one. I have signed the Petition, and passed it on to my Brother.

Thanks Paul. Much appreciated.

netcompsys wrote:

It would be good to see it flying, perhaps Old Warden would be a more appropriate home

Desford on Bloom should reapply the tail markings so it represents a UK aircraft rather than a French one.....

I think they stuck the decals on back to front

GREAT NEWS (Courtesy of www.facebook.com/SaveTheDesford/) -

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Save the Desford - Leicestershire's Aeroplane

Well, we’ve done it! Or at least we almost have. Yesterday afternoon, Leicestershire County Council voted to postpone the decision to transfer ownership of the Desford to Newark Air Museum until after the county councillor elections on May 6, 2021. This means we have just over five months to work to secure the aeroplane’s flying future.

We’d like to thank you all for your tremendous support over the past week or so, we genuinely couldn’t have done it without you. The Desford may have been forgotten while in storage between 1981 and 2014, but we don’t plan on forgetting you – we plan to use this page to keep you updated on the aircraft’s progress and, potentially, opportunities to see it.

We’d particularly like to thank Peter Bedford CC who represents Desford at Leicestershire County Council meetings. Peter put to the council a compelling argument on behalf of both Desford residents and stakeholders in the aeroplane and we’re extremely grateful for his assistance.

It’s been incredibly heartening for us to see just how much the Desford has meant to people, and despite the seemingly insurmountable odds we faced last week, we’ve even heard from airshow organisers who’d relish the opportunity to have the aeroplane at their events!

Subject to local and national lockdowns, we plan to offer ‘Desford Days’ where members of the public will be able to come and have a look at the sole surviving Reid and Sigrist-built aircraft. It’s only proper that the first of these will be open to those who live in Desford – where the aircraft was designed, built and took to the skies 75 years ago. There are also plans are also a foot for a third @Threshold.aero-organised photocall with the Desford, some of its hangar mates and maybe even some visiting aeroplanes, too.

Te Desford was resident at my local field , Christchurch, in the 60s. Here is a photo from then by Dave Smith.

If it was possible a far better home for it would be Old Warden.

MartynJ wrote:

If it was possible a far better home for it would be Old Warden.

I couldn't agree more & if it was to be grounded & kept in a Museum I think the test flight Hangar at Cosford would be a more apt place for it despite Newark being (slightly) closer to Leicestershire.

Sadly the Desford was never to return to the skies & airshow circuit in the end following the Councils withdrawel & the aircraft made it's final flight from Spanhoe to Newark Air Museum on the 19th August 2022.
Unfortunately, after a couple of false alarms for the last flight earlier during that week when I was up at Newark waiting only for the weather & other reasons to cause it to be cancelled,
I had to go to work on the actual day of the flight annoyingly. Thankfully I made sure I had a few Friends there to get some photos.
 
Waiting for the final flight. Thanks to James Stancombe for the Photo
  
In flight & over the banks of Rutland Water. Thanks to Jamie Ewan
    
Final touch down on Newarks (should i say Winthorpe) runway with Dan Griffiths at the controls. Thanks to Melvin Ridgeway
   
..& finally, tucked away in Newarks Hangar. I understand the aircraft will be displayed more prominently in the future.

Sorry, for leaving it so long to post these up but I wanted to photograph it in the Hangar as part of the museum before posting.

A real shame it didn't continue as a flyer.
Steve