Thunder & Lightnings - British Aircraft Corporation TSR2

British Aircraft Corporation TSR2
Survivor T5
Brooklands museum (forward fuselage), Weybridge, Surrey

This TSR2 nose section was built using production jigs and was intended to be used for ejection seat and air conditioning trials. After the programme's cancellation it continued in use at RAE Farnborough for thermal and materials tests in the Concorde programme, ending its days being used for birdstrike trials. These consisted of firing bird carcasses at various speeds into the windscreen area. Relegated to the Farnborough dump, she was rescued by the Brooklands Museum, cosmetically refurbished and put on display. Inspection finds it to bear only superficial resemblance to a 'real' TSR2 nose - the appearance here is much more agricultural with big rivets and structural ironwork under the floor. The cylindrical projection near the front of the nose was a mounting point for the original stand, enabling rotation to various angles for blower tunnel escape system tests.

Information on this page current as of 21/04/2010

Find other photos of T5 on the following sites:

Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - IrishAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net

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wayne green from Berkshire	Posted at 10:29pm on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
What a worldbeater this would've been. Designed by the best when we were the best and in common with now politics got in the way. Still beautiful and wouldn't look out of place in a space movie! Awesome TSR.2