Jabo

Another one not going...sigh. Sorry you're missing this one Kelly - I might be in the London area 24th-25th though.

Good grief, that's some noise! Must, must, must do Chino at some point! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Navy Wings report that the underside of the Sea Vixen has suffered substantial structural damage and will take at least two years to repair, probably more. Fault was due to a seized hydraulic pump which caused the quill drive shaft to shear doing major damage to the gearbox in the process. Bet that went with a bang.

lunchbox of DOOOM!

Judging by that, the spar in the starboard wing does look like it's broken, the wing has collapsed on that side when the aircraft comes to rest. You can see the prop blade that caused the injury in the crowd fly off early on Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Not confirmed FT, just speculation at this stage Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

+1. The general consensus seems to be that the main spar was broken when the torque generated by the prop strike threw the wing into the ground. I'd say this one will be down for a very long time Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I believe I have a photo of JE-J taking off from the grass but that's the only time I can recall it happening. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hmmm, IIRC the griffon spits operate from the hard runway unless it's been particularly dry. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Is that the griffon one that used to have the contra-prop? Nasty prang but you're right, the emergency response was not exactly rapid Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Cramped is right lol. Looks like they've got to fledge soon Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

True, there was a distinct possibility of that all going badly wrong Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Unfortunately the prospects for an early return to flight by the Sea Vixen do not look promising, Although a lot of the force of the aircaft touching down was taken by the underwing drop tanks the underside of the arcraft has still been ground down into the engine subframes (although possibly not the engines themselves). Likely to be fixable, but it's going to take a lot of time and money before she will fly again. Close ups of the damage can be seen here and you can help return Foxy to skies by donating here

Some photos from the Duxford Spring show... Unfortunately my zoom lens was playing up, so having nursed it long enough to get some shots of the Sea Vixen, I gave it up as a bad job. Still, it's given me some respectable results for a budget lens over several years so I'm not complaining too much. Hope you like 'em!