Wanna buy a RAF Jet?

Former RAF jets acutioned off with no reserve!

Shame I didn't have the money, I've always loved the harrier since I was a kid!

I know they'll probably end up in some air museum somewhere and theres probably be a long list of conditions of sale about use etc... but how cool would it be to actually own a Harrier or a Tornado?

a reply to: ukmicky1980

The Harrier, as I understand it, is pretty much airworthy and could return to the skies much like the old Vulcan. For less than £40k, it's a steal.

Whoever got the F3 got a bargain - its pretty much the only one left in the world and I suspect it would take much more work to get it into the sky.

There is a privately owned Harrier that has been flying around the US. It had to make an emergency landing at Pax River during flight testing over a hover pad.

My dad worked on the harrier a lot, they take a TONNE of time and money to keep working.

Yes it would be awesome to own one, but you cant actually use it or it will break in a matter of hours/days.

I do believe Jeremy Clarkson bought a lightning jet fighter and has it on his front lawn

Cool as that is, once its there, its staying there, have no delusions of being able to switch it on!

a reply to: ukmicky1980

I'd love to buy it but I have no where to park it and I doubt it would fit in my garden

Wonder what the MPG is on one of those things , that's the ultimate big boys toy

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: ukmicky1980

I'd love to buy it but I have no where to park it and I doubt it would fit in my garden

Wonder what the MPG is on one of those things , that's the ultimate big boys toy

ha! too right, it burns tonnes of fuel in a flight, esp if you ever use the vertical take off. It weighs like 7 tonnes, thats ALOT of air you need to push down, not like speeding down a runway and using aerodynamics to get lift.

It must cost thousands of dollars to fuel it, and be dry in hours.

One expensive toy indeed!!!

a reply to: gortex

Rough guesstimate, at max speed, a little over 2 mpg.

a reply to: ukmicky1980

Hitch hiking years ago I got a lift from a long haired gentleman who worked for a well known musician. The musician has a collection of jets and the long haired gentleman was on his way to the RAF base near Barnstaple for a jet pilots refresher course. He said it cost £1,000 an hour and anyone with the appropriate skills, and security clearance presumably, could go on one of these courses. I bet that's all changed now.

A few years back I saw a jet come low over Stroud, it sent out a black smoke trail and wrote an anarchy A in the sky.

The conditions of use are probably, can you afford to pay for any damages? Then go for it.

a reply to: Kester

Well you can fly helicopters anywhere you like pretty much, just stay out of certain airport zones and stuff, often you dont even need to register a flight plan as long as you stay under a certain height.

I seriously doubt its the same rules for a jet plane though.

a reply to: Biigs

VFR is VFR is VFR pretty much. The rules are slightly different for fixed wing and helicopter, but that's only because fixed wing flies higher than most helicopters do.

a reply to: Kester
Sounds like RAF Chivenor.Used to holiday near there with my parents a LONG time ago and saw my first EE Lightning at their annual airshow do it's legendary vertical climb into a clear blue sky until it was invisible.This one instance sparked my interest in aviation that is still as strong some 40 or so years later.

Damn, if id'a known I would have sold everything and tried to afford to buy the Harriet Jet. But Id'a probably got about 5 grand for everything I have which means I'd be 101 thousand pounds off been able to buy it with no home to go back to.

On a real though, I would love something like this even just to put it right out side my house, where my car would go.
Every morning, every dinner brake, every night, in fact every chance I have I would be sat in the Harriet in front of my house.

Thinking deeply about this, If i had no children or a girlfriend I would really consider getting a mortgage out on that Harriet

Maybe next time

If i was a millionaire i would buy one, put in a flat screen tv and swap out the chair for a leather comfy one and use it as my own personal cinema

i had a dream the harrier could be adapted for space flight

originally posted by: stuthealien
i had a dream the harrier could be adapted for space flight

I think you need to stop eating curry just before you go to bed (LOL)!

a reply to: Biigs

I flew a small helicopter in the military and it carried 65 gallons of gas. At today's fuel prices it would be $390 to fill it up and fly for around 2 hours and 15 minutes with maintenance it would come in at about $200 an hour to fly. Who could afford to feed it? Most of the surplus military aircraft are worn out and very unusual to find a complete bird. For collectors, they buy several to get one functional aircraft.

a reply to: ukmicky1980

Those are bargain prices for such hardware. Yes, they're outdated. The bragging rights would be well worth it. Like n00bUK and Biigs said, having it on your front lawn would make your neighbors envious of your big-boy toy.

I wonder how often John Travolta flies his Harrier. Does John stores and operates his Harrier from his house? If he did, Harriers are loud and would drive his neighbors crazy.

What would be more badass is buying yourself an A-10 Warthog. Since we civilians wouldn't be allowed to have the Avenger minigun on his/her A-10, I'd mount a heavy duty, multi-barreled paintgun. Hey, a boy-in-a-man's-body can dream.

originally posted by: guppy
a reply to: ukmicky1980

I wonder how often John Travolta flies his Harrier. Does John stores and operates his Harrier from his house? If he did, Harriers are loud and would drive his neighbors crazy.

I didn't know JT had a Harrier? Last time I saw photos of his house there was a Boeing 707 "tucked" under his front porch and something smaller I can't remember now,maybe a Learjet or Grumman Gulfstream? It's a proper airstrip that's shared by a few other people who's houses are next to it and 707s aren't exactly quiet so I'd guess the neighbours are used to it by now.

a reply to: Imagewerx

It's a fly-in community. They're becoming more and more common. You have a hanger that is like your garage, and just taxi out of it onto the runway. They have everything from small single engines, up to his 707 at them. They pop up everywhere.

Wonder if they 'flew' them from the auction house LOL