Blackburn Buccaneer - Survivor XK526
S.2 XK526 - RAF Honington (gate guard), near Thetford, Suffolk
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Buccaneer S.2 XK526 at RAF Honington, 25th July 2015; Richard E Flagg
XK526 was first built as an S.1 and took to the skies on the 29th of August 1960 before being converted to an S.2 in 1962.
The airframe made its final flight into RAF Honnington in 1980 where it was used for instructional uses as 8648M, just three years later, XK526 was placed on display as a gate guard and a memorial. The aircraft was re-sprayed with a high gloss finish, the canopy was also painted black to hide the empty cockpits and to protect to perspex from clouding up over time, this does make it look rather like a mock-up!
Over time, XK526 has been left aside resulting in the main port undercarriage leg starting to collapse. Thankfully, talks are currently underway to help give the airframe some tlc which would include a re-spray, and to jack the legs back up which will need to be held up with a gag. A gag stops aircraft undercarriage legs from collapsing, these can often be seen on aircraft in museums.
The airframe made its final flight into RAF Honnington in 1980 where it was used for instructional uses as 8648M, just three years later, XK526 was placed on display as a gate guard and a memorial. The aircraft was re-sprayed with a high gloss finish, the canopy was also painted black to hide the empty cockpits and to protect to perspex from clouding up over time, this does make it look rather like a mock-up!
Over time, XK526 has been left aside resulting in the main port undercarriage leg starting to collapse. Thankfully, talks are currently underway to help give the airframe some tlc which would include a re-spray, and to jack the legs back up which will need to be held up with a gag. A gag stops aircraft undercarriage legs from collapsing, these can often be seen on aircraft in museums.
Information on this page current as of 01/09/2021, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of XK526 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net