British Aerospace Hawk

I am trying to trace the location of XX309.

The last thing I found was it in storage at RAF Shawbury in 2010.

Can anyone confirm this, or suggest it's fate after 2010?

Thank

Ian

Still reported as being in store at Shawbury .
I was on a storage area hangar tour on the 12 June 2014 but we were not allowed in one hangar due to it holding the Islander ASTOR aircraft . I didn't see XX309 so can only assume that it's in the same hangar as the ASTOR , sadly !

David wrote:

Still reported as being in store at Shawbury .
I was on a storage area hangar tour on the 12 June 2014 but we were not allowed in one hangar due to it holding the Islander ASTOR aircraft . I didn't see XX309 so can only assume that it's in the same hangar as the ASTOR , sadly !

Thank you.

Ian

Hi BVS.

Great pix. I remember doing a Hawk course at Dunsfold, probably in 1981.

ZG200 - was that the aeroplane which crashed in E Europe or the one that crashed at Dunsfold?

Bill

Hi Bill
ZG200 went in at Dunsfold in 86 whilst displaying for the Swiss Air Force visit,poor old Jim Hawkins was killed.
We had taken 2 Hawks over to Emmen,Switz in april 86 for a fly off against 2 Awful Jets,I was groundcrew on XX345 for Jim H during the detachment
We had heavily modded XX345 with a brake chute and later anti skid system etc so she was more representative of the 60 series Hawks.

rgds baz

WJT wrote:

Hi BVS.
. I remember doing a Hawk course at Dunsfold, probably in 1981.
Bill

Yes I did my Hawk T1 course at Dunsfold as well (1977) and worked on them at Brawdy until 1980,Dunsfold was a lovely place to be ,I ended up joining HS at Dunsfold in 84 when I came back from a years gliding holiday in zimbabwe (with a few workbreaks on Hawk T60's as a 'mister' )

rgds baz

Great photos.

Here's an interesting story regarding the Reds future. I was quite optimistic when I first read it until the amendment that was added at the end of the article -
(Courtesy of he BBC Website - www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37833311)

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The Red Arrows aerobatic team will be "around for a while yet", Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has said.
The announcement comes as RAF stations in Lincolnshire celebrate their 100th anniversary.
There has been some uncertainty in recent years whether the team, based at RAF Scampton, would be retained.
Sir Michael said: "They are a key part of our defence engagement..., and I don't think the public would let us lose the Red Arrows."

The Red Arrows currently fly Hawk jets
There has been speculation in the media in recent years that the Red Arrows could be axed as part of defence cuts in the UK.
In 2014, The Express reported the Queen was said to be worried about the team's future.
Politicians, including Labour's Vernon Coaker, have also previously said there can be no guarantees.
Speaking to BBC Look North, Sir Michael said: "Eventually we will have to replace the aircraft, and we will start to think about that in the next year or two."
He said any attempts to axe the team is "not a fight I would have".
The Red Arrows is currently taking part in a 60-day world tour aiming to promote "the best of British", which includes its first ever display in China.

The Red Arrows have performed more than 4,500 displays in 56 countries
RAF Waddington, Cranwell and Scampton are all holding events marking 100 years in the county.
Sir Michael added that "Lincolnshire is central to the RAF's story, and has a proud history".
He cited the Dambusters' role in World War Two, and the Vulcan involvement in the Falklands conflict, and the work being done today to tackle terrorism in the Middle East.
RAF Cranwell is also home to the RAF's Central Flying School, which under the leadership of Robert Smith-Barry, revolutionised flight training for new pilots.

Amendment: This story was changed on November 1 to reflect the defence secretary's comments that the Red Arrows fleet would be reviewed rather than imminently replaced.

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Steve

Qatar has just ordered Hawks. Now as it has been in production since the mid seventies does that mean its the longest production run of any military trainer?

bvs wrote:

We had heavily modded XX345 with a brake chute and later anti skid system etc so she was more representative of the 60 series Hawks.

rgds baz

I may have seen '345 when it was testing the brake chute.
17 Feb 1980; I'd got permission to fly in to Dunsfold (very rare in those days but as I was a controller at Farnborough it was allowed).
A Hawk took off, did one circuit for a touch and go; as it touched it streamed, then dropped the 'chute and departed to the west.
I'd already flown backseat in a Hawk (XX183) the previous year from Valley but that's another story!