Ark Royal

buffaloskinner · Post by **buffaloskinner** » Tue 11 Sep, 2012 2:59 pm

Too many metal thieves!!!!!

carith · Post by **carith** » Tue 11 Sep, 2012 5:28 pm

tilly wrote: raveydavey wrote: The ships bell is on display at the Civic Hall - presumably it's the original as the ship has been out of service for a while now.I still think that the City of Leeds should have bought it and floated it up to Clarence Dock - that would have got visitor numbers up! There might have been a problem with depth on the river Aire.Then there is the matter of getting it into Clarence Dock. getting the Ark Royal into clarence dock?? a bit like the car in the Woodpecker problem.

BarFly · Post by **BarFly** » Tue 11 Sep, 2012 6:26 pm

Johnny39 wrote: I can see perfectly the point you are making Ravey but let me float this one past you. How about mooring it in the Humber, as near to Leeds as possible, north bank of course, and using it as an extra runway for Heathrow? Just a thought. I look forward, with eager anticipation, to your input.

Don't know how they'd get it there but how about mooring it on Yeadon Tarn and using it as another runway for Leeds Bradford? landings there are already like carrier landings, or so it seems, so the pilots would be fine with it I'm sure.

simong · Post by **simong** » Tue 11 Sep, 2012 6:40 pm

BarFly wrote: Johnny39 wrote: I can see perfectly the point you are making Ravey but let me float this one past you. How about mooring it in the Humber, as near to Leeds as possible, north bank of course, and using it as an extra runway for Heathrow? Just a thought. I look forward, with eager anticipation, to your input.

Don't know how they'd get it there but how about mooring it on Yeadon Tarn and using it as another runway for Leeds Bradford? landings there are already like carrier landings, or so it seems, so the pilots would be fine with it I'm sure. Fitzcorraldo style, up the Chevin. I'd pay to watch!

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Tue 11 Sep, 2012 8:13 pm

BarFly wrote: Johnny39 wrote: I can see perfectly the point you are making Ravey but let me float this one past you. How about mooring it in the Humber, as near to Leeds as possible, north bank of course, and using it as an extra runway for Heathrow? Just a thought. I look forward, with eager anticipation, to your input.

Don't know how they'd get it there but how about mooring it on Yeadon Tarn and using it as another runway for Leeds Bradford? landings there are already like carrier landings, or so it seems, so the pilots would be fine with it I'm sure. Nice ideas both, but I'm sticking with Clarence Dock - and you're right about making full use of the flightdeck, so let's rebrand it "Leeds City Airport" and then executive business types can fly straight into the city centre (almost), rather than landing miles away...Just think of the close up action shots of the arriving aircraft you could get from Crown Point Bridge!

somme1916 · Post by **somme1916** » Tue 11 Sep, 2012 8:28 pm

BarFly wrote: Johnny39 wrote: I can see perfectly the point you are making Ravey but let me float this one past you. How about mooring it in the Humber, as near to Leeds as possible, north bank of course, and using it as an extra runway for Heathrow? Just a thought. I look forward, with eager anticipation, to your input.

Don't know how they'd get it there but how about mooring it on Yeadon Tarn and using it as another runway for Leeds Bradford? landings there are already like carrier landings, or so it seems, so the pilots would be fine with it I'm sure. Yes,indeed.....with some of the past landings at LBA ,it might as well have been on a flat top....might even be better with the arresting wire to stop you quickly....had a couple of "bouncers" here myself.Think passengers "invented" reverse thrust as a stopping mechanism....at least in thought !

BarFly · Post by **BarFly** » Tue 11 Sep, 2012 8:39 pm

somme1916 wrote: Yes,indeed.....with some of the past landings at LBA ,it might as well have been on a flat top....might even be better with the arresting wire to stop you quickly....had a couple of "bouncers" here myself.Think passengers "invented" reverse thrust as a stopping mechanism....at least in thought ! If you look on YouTube there are some "interesting" landings at LBA including one where the plane looks to be hovering over the runway and a lot coming in sideways.Leeds City Airport does sound like a fun idea though.

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Tue 11 Sep, 2012 8:54 pm

Geordie-exile wrote: Launched in 1981, decommissioned 2011...three decades no? According to the MOD press release: launched 1981, commissioned 1985, decommissioned 2010 (and presumably the last 2 years in store / being stripped of owt useful / sensitive), so 25 years in actual service.

somme1916 · Post by **somme1916** » Tue 11 Sep, 2012 9:13 pm

Seems a massive mistake to de-commision so early......it will have cost hundreds of millions....and scrapped for £3m.All leaving the country without any military capacity to launch planes from a ship which has proved vital in past military arenas.Reminds me of when they decided to scrap these ships as well as hawker jump jet harriers....What's all that about ?Surely a VTOL aircraft is a massive help in such areas and requires no airstrip to operate.It would seem the MOD are sometimes out manouvered in key areas where basic common sense would be the best option.Heaven forbid we'd need that capacity but it would be folly to leave yourself exposed as indeed we currently are.

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Tue 11 Sep, 2012 9:46 pm

somme1916 wrote: Seems a massive mistake to de-commision so early......it will have cost hundreds of millions....and scrapped for £3m.All leaving the country without any military capacity to launch planes from a ship which has proved vital in past military arenas.Reminds me of when they decided to scrap these ships as well as hawker jump jet harriers....What's all that about ?Surely a VTOL aircraft is a massive help in such areas and requires no airstrip to operate.It would seem the MOD are sometimes out manouvered in key areas where basic common sense would be the best option.Heaven forbid we'd need that capacity but it would be folly to leave yourself exposed as indeed we currently are. Don't forget that the entire Harrier fleet had just undergone a costly refurbishment programme designed to keep them in the air for the next 15 years. No wonder the Americans snapped them up at a bargain price...A cynic might wonder that getting rid of either part of the aircraft carrier / jump jet equation was specifically designed to justify the removal of the other...