Post by acklington on Jun 4, 2016 17:49:39 GMT 1
After several years abortive searching for the last resting place of Viscount G-BFZL, I've just found it!
It enjoyed one of the most varied of Viscount careers, and flew with more Air Forces (four) than any other Viscount. It was also well known as a regular with British Midland, and Manx Airlines, and it was the last Viscount to operate schedules for Manx.
It was then sold for freight work in the Congo, and it is well recorded that it was lost in an accident when it attempted a three-engined take-off on a remote dirt strip in the Congo. However, given the remote and inaccessible location, I always suspected that it was likely to still be there, or most of it anyway, possibly re-cycled as local tin huts. But the location was not identified and I could find no further details on the web.
However, after another search today, and with many thanks to this Viscount website
www.vickersviscount.net/Index/VickersViscount435History.aspx
The location was finally identified as Bondo in the Congo. And here it is, or at least it was in 2012
www.google.com/maps/@3.81373,23.6734,1531m/data=!3m1!1e3
Still very largely intact!
Any feasible suggestions as to how to get it back, will be most welcome?
It enjoyed one of the most varied of Viscount careers, and flew with more Air Forces (four) than any other Viscount. It was also well known as a regular with British Midland, and Manx Airlines, and it was the last Viscount to operate schedules for Manx.
It was then sold for freight work in the Congo, and it is well recorded that it was lost in an accident when it attempted a three-engined take-off on a remote dirt strip in the Congo. However, given the remote and inaccessible location, I always suspected that it was likely to still be there, or most of it anyway, possibly re-cycled as local tin huts. But the location was not identified and I could find no further details on the web.
However, after another search today, and with many thanks to this Viscount website
www.vickersviscount.net/Index/VickersViscount435History.aspx
The location was finally identified as Bondo in the Congo. And here it is, or at least it was in 2012
www.google.com/maps/@3.81373,23.6734,1531m/data=!3m1!1e3
Still very largely intact!
Any feasible suggestions as to how to get it back, will be most welcome?
