‘Storm Eunice‘ battered the UK on Friday setting new records for the highest ever recorded gusts in England and causing chaos to transport all around the country. These sorts of conditions are gold dust for journalists and the usual ‘weather bomb’ headlines were out in full force!
We got away fairly lightly here in Gloucestershire, although a ‘Boeing 737 collided with our van!’ Well, technically, a piece of 737 fuselage stacked up in our yard was blown over and broke our rear light but, hey, that doesn’t sound anywhere near dramatic enough.
As most people hunkered down in their homes and offices, an unexpected aviation phenomenon took off! For those of you who haven’t seen or heard of it, BigJetTV is a live streaming channel on YouTube, that broadcasts a variety of aviation activities from around the UK and beyond. The host, Jerry Dyer, seems to be something or a ‘Marmite’ character. It’s fair to say he does make the occasional technical gaffe in his commentary, making aviation professionals and enthusiasts cringe - he doesn’t profess to being an expert - but he has an infectious enthusiasm for what he does and, although he’s been doing his thing for 6 years, Storm Eunice took him to another level. His livestream was broadcast from the top of his van near the threshold of Heathrow’s runway 27L and, as the wind gusted to over 50kt, the landings were entertaining, to say the least! There were over 20 go-arounds during the day, each met with Jerry’s colourful commentary.
The viewing figures were incredible, peaking at over 220 000! The mainstream media picked up on this and Twitter went into overdrive, with several celebrities tweeting along as the nation watched! We suspect not much work got done on Friday. The highlight for us was the glorious sight of an ATC freighter 747 landing late in the afternoon, with no less than 135k people watching the Queen of the Skies!
Aviation often gets a bad press; Friday made it cool again! Hats off to the pilots, cabin crew, air traffic controllers and ground staff who certainly earned their corn that day.
The 747 is still keeping us busy. There are only three BA airframes left to scrap in the UK now. We believe G-BYGD will meet the axeman imminently at St. Athan and G-BYGA probably won’t be far behind at Kemble. G-CIVN has had something of a stay of execution and is reportedly ’mothballed’ for the time being as a spares source. We’re processing BA’s CIVK, CIVD, CIVH, BYGE, BYGF and BYGG at the moment and have built up a small number (i.e. 4!) ‘stock’ pieces from VD, VO, VZ & VY, each with the polished finish and Landor blue clocks, which are available on the website now, along with our Virgin ‘Tinker Belle’ coffee table. Our lastest batch of window pane clocks are done too, with GE, GF & GG the latest to join the fold.
We‘ve also confirmed in the last few days that we’ll be back at Dunsfold on 2nd April, alongside the preserved, Landor scheme Jumbo, G-BNLY. We had a couple of great events their last summer, where we got to meet some of our clients and got ‘up close and personal’ with the aircraft. You can book your tickets for the event here…https://threshold.aero/landor-experience-day We hope to see some of you there.
The Queen of the Skies’ (slightly) younger sister, the Boeing 777, is also in the workshop, with British Airways’ earliest fleet members, G-ZZZA and ZZZB undergoing their transformation. This gave rise to a particularly interesting client project over the Christmas period. We were asked to obtain the coloured ‘speedmarque’ section from a 777. We duly obliged and trimmed to the clients’ requirements. Delivery to mainland Europe, however, was proving to be very expensive and complicated, so a plan was hatched! Trawling the various airlines’ oversize baggage requirements, it became apparent that Wizzair’s generous allowance was the best option. With Covid restrictions aplenty, it still wasn’t an entirely straightforward process, but the client arrived at Luton, via Dublin and we met him at the Terminal! It is somewhat ironic that the mortal remains of a 777 went to her final destination in the hold of an A321! That wasn’t the end of the journey. The client’s car was a fraction too small to take the boxed up section, but the Long Stay parking staff at Milan held onto it for a few more days until the client was able to return with a bigger vehicle!
That’s pretty much the largest ‘tag’ we’ve produced, but all our other offcuts get put to use too.
Our final pieces from the Virgin 747 fleet are available now as we approach the end of that material. It’s genuinely important to us that nothing goes to waste and that we are able to produce pieces that suit all budgets.
We are well aware that, for many, buying one of our larger pieces is a significant investment. Consequently, we have partnered with Klarna, which will allow clients to spread their purchase cost over three months, interest free. You’ll find the Klarna payment option when you checkout on our website.
We have lots of other projects in the pipeline too. Having recently acquired Avro Vulcan, Red Arrows Hawk and an Alvis Leonides radial engine, 2022 looks set to be another eclectic mix of workshop shenanigans!
If you’ve got something specific in mind or are looking for a particular piece, by all means get in touch. We love what we do and it’s genuinely a pleasure to share it with you.
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