One of the UK’s recently withdrawn Hawker Siddeley 125 Dominie T1 trainers has been flown into retirement at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, Shropshire.
The first of 20 Dominie trainers to have flown, on 30 December 1964, aircraft XS709 was flown to Cosford from the service’s Cranwell base in Lincolnshire on 11 February.
“We are pleased to have received a Dominie aircraft,” says museum curator Al McLean. “It will be a significant addition to the museum collection.” XS709 will be placed on public display in the next few weeks, having ending its operational life with a little over 16,100 flight hours recorded.
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Both images © RAF Museum Cosford |
The RAF’s first student navigators to have trained on the Dominie T1 graduated in April 1966, and the last completed their instruction on the type with 55(R) Sqn on 19 January this year.
Six of the aircraft took part in a farewell formation flypast over Cranwell the following day, with their retirement having been brought forward by two years largely due to the cancellation of the RAF’s BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 surveillance aircraft fleet.
Six of the RAF’s other retired Dominies are now being offered for sale by the UK Disposal Services Authority, with offers sought by 7 March. “All of the aircraft are considered unserviceable and they do not possess a certificate of airworthiness for civilian purposes,” it says.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
