News

Latest News Update

Please remember to ALWAYS refresh your browser, keeping you up to date with the site and news.

June update 2013

SHE’ S BACK.
On the 8th of June XT752 was unveiled to the public and press with a great blues band the Del Vincents playing well into the evening along with other warbirds attending in support.
We have been overwhelmed with the gratitude sent to us all over the world of the kind remarks about how well her refurbishments have gone.

Please go to our Gallery page WN365/XT752 and scroll down and you will see just a few of her recent images prior to the public entering the debut party.

We will be placing many more images up in the next few weeks of this event and others so stay tuned.

Keep your kind support coming, as you can see this “ICON HAS RETURNED”.

June 2013

This month will be a very short update as we will be updating twice within the next four weeks with some very interesting news for all you supporters.
“Janet” is in great shape thanks to everyone who looks after her, and in the next update this month the latest pictures will be unveiled.

We would like to continue to thank all our friends, sponsors and volunteers who have a great passion for XT752 and the amazing history she has. Of all the historic aircraft in the world she is definitely at the top of the list and deserves the continued best efforts for a great flying future, so all generations can continue to appreciate a very special era that produced without doubt one of the most technically advanced and unique aircraft of all time.

YOU MUST STAY TUNED THIS MONTH  

May 2013

This month we celebrate the finalisation of “Janet’s” refurbishments. It is a fitting celebration for all of us to see this wonderful aircraft that so many historians and supporters world wide admire, return in her rightful glory.

Many exciting things are planned for this season starting this month, and we will keep you informed as we go along.

We haven’t added pictures of “Janet” in a completed view yet to her images page as she will be unveiled to the public shortly. When this happens at the same time we will update the web page.

We have added a few images of some work carried out in the last few months, so please take a look. You may have never seen a Double Mamba engine before or how the propellers look when they have been dismantled.

This months news is a short update for everyone as we will be placing a great deal more in the coming weeks when she appears.
We will also tell the story in more detail of the hurdles “Janet” and the team had to overcome and the reasons for them from the moment she was stranded in Newfoundland right up to this day, which gave everyone more strength and determination to keep this great lady alive as time went on.

Keep an eye out for “Janet”

April 2013

We guess everyone can’t wait to see the end of our cold weather and the warmth to arrive.
Great progress is moving along with “Janet” and plans are in progress for her public unveiling.
On the subject of unveiling, we are proud to announce we have just taken the first shipment of Revell 1/72 scale model kits of XT752 which we helped with some touches included in the kit.
On the front of each kit is our web address so scale modellers can hook up to our website to consult images of “Janet” to help their build.
On our shop page we have now listed our kits and owner Shannan Hendricks will be signing each kit when purchased. All proceeds received go to looking after XT752.

Our future plans for our website when XT752 is complete will be to keep you posted of her appearances and go into detail regarding the sponsors, products and techniques used on XT752 along with credits to the guys and team that lovingly take care of her. Later on in the year we will also be looking at a total renovation of our well known website.

On the ongoing theme of information. Every time we have public visits to see XT752, new as well as repeated questions come up and we would like to share them with you with the answers as we are sure many of you would ask the same if you were with us.
1. (Q) How fast does she go (A) Approximately 260kts max continuous with two engines running
2. (Q) How fast does she go with one engine running (A) Approximately 160Kts max continuous
3. (Q) How much fuel does she carry (A) 600 Gallons
4. (Q) When was she built (A) 1954
5. (Q) Who caringly owns her (A) Shannan Hendricks since 2004
6. (Q) How special is she (A) She is one of the rarest historic aircraft in the world and has a history that is unprecedented. Twice a prototype and new development of only eight dual control types ever built. The only Gannet civilian registered to the Fairey factory. The only dual control Gannet sold to Indonesia and then bought back to continue service in the Royal Navy. The last Gannet in the world to land on the Ark Royal aircraft carrier.  The longest serving Gannet surviving in the world. The oldest Gannet surviving in the word.

We look forward to seeing you in May. WE APPRECIATE ALL YOUR KIND SUPPORT.

March 2013 

Spring is on its way “finally”, and with it brings some great announcements and surprises in the coming couple of months.
XT752 also welcomed more sponsors both private and corporate in recent months which is wonderful, complimenting the hard work by everyone.

Since her refurbishments started she has brought together a family of the best professional skills, state of the art products and huge hearted efforts that one could only dream about. She truly does represent the best of the best, and does so very humbly for such a grand lady.

Another exciting announcement and update is that XT752’s very own model replica kit from Revell will be on sale in multiple countries and with us later this month. We will be officially launching the kit here in the USA beside XT752 herself and our website shop page will have the kits detailed and listed for purchase. Every purchase of these kits from our shop comes with a letter of thanks from XT752’s team of which all proceeds go to supporting her.

A very unique opportunity for modellers could be realised, as Revell also manufacture the mighty Antonov-124 kit. We are sure it won’t be long before models of the AN-124 and XT752 are built by enthusiasts in settings side by side commemorating the amazing mission in 2010 of one coming to the rescue of another to preserve and save history.

We will be updating the images again in the next couple of weeks so please keep looking in the Gallery sections.
We also plan to detail our sponsor’s products along with the technical details and applications very soon which will be useful and interesting to all restorers of mechanical items that have and will go through similar hurdles.

February 2013

As promised we have added some new images to our Gallery page under WN365/XT752. These images have been taken over the last couple of months and as you will see the protective plastic and sheeting are mostly in place. This is to protect her during the work of putting her back together.

Its fun to see these images as they are sneak views of certain areas which will give you an idea of how she is looking and coming back together.

We included a picture of the back of the pilot’s seat which is very historic. It shows her original stencil of her days when she was launched as the prototype WN365. This seat obviously was the one that got away from the factory and the military when they reworked and renamed her as XT752.

This refurbishment has been like turning back time and we are very fortunate to be able to share it with you. Being able to see and record her original yellow training bands as WN365 once again while we were removing her paint, was an opportunity that rarely comes along for any aircraft let alone one as historically special as XT752. We then struck out lucky again with seeing WN365 on the pilot’s seat.
We will definitely be preserving WN365 on the back of this seat and not tampering with it, as its all part of her history.

Over recent weeks we have had the pleasure of having many visitors come to see “Janet” now she is so close to completion. We were very happy to meet a group of Cubs in the general age range of eight years old, accompanied by their parents. Despite being young they all had very adult questions while having a bucket load of enthusiasm to see all the areas of “Janet’s” airframe.

Usually four questions are always asked by our young visitors which is, how fast does she go, how does she fold her wings, how many bombs does she carry, and how do those propellers work!!!

Obviously we have great fun answering them all, while having a great time teaching our next generation and adults the special history of this wonderful aircraft.

“See you in February” 

January 2013

Happy New Year!!!

Out with the old and in with the new, hopefully the new years resolutions will stay firm and it will be a prosperous year for every good hearted supporter.

We are just adding the final touches to “Janet’s” new paintwork, as every marking and descriptive word on her is painted, and not applied in stickers.

The fun part is now happening with various items being fitted each day, still while most of her is covered up for protection. Over the Christmas she has been looking like a massive wrapped present with bits of wrapping slowly being removed as days go on.
All our visitors love to try and spot the latest work that has been done and spend time with the team talking about “Janet”.

We will be adding more images to this website in the next couple of weeks as we are holding off until a few major completions areas to her have been finished ready for you all to see. It’s very exciting.

More and more updates will now be coming as we get closer to her anticipated RETURN!!!!!  

December 2012

We are nearly at the end of the old year and start of the new. Approximately seventeen months has passed which has gone by so quickly since “Janet’s” refurbishments started, now her paintwork and parts which are returned back to her airframe is now virtually completed and nearly ready for her final stages to start.

The team have been working extremely hard especially on her paintwork as original fonts, locations of markings, colours all had to be researched for applying, of which everything has been recreated in paint and not stickers or transfers. This process has seen miles of masking tape, masking paper not to mention the massive amount of hours and patients. During December we will be adding more updated images to the Gallery page under WN365/XT752 so you can see for yourself how she’s getting on.

Some more exciting news for our readers and modellers is that we can officially announce that Revell the well known international model plastic kit manufacturers will be launching in the early part of 2013 a brand new kit in their line which will be of our wonderful lady XT752, commemorating her amazing history, survival and return to the sky. Modellers will be able to recreate XT752 using many of our references taken from her refurbishments.

Another exciting bit of news is that for a long time our leader Shannan has been asked to publish her personal record of events and experiences, covering many details of the hurdles over the years that she and the team have travelled through to make sure “Janet” could be kept flying for people of all ages to appreciate and to preserve one of aviations most unique historic treasures. We are pleased to announce that a book is being written for publication that will be full of her “AS IT HAPPENED” experiences she encountered along the way that are certainly as unique as XT752, and will make very interesting reading for everyone. We will keep you posted.

The next time our readers update will be added will be 2013, on that note Shannan the team and our sponsors would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for your support and have a Merry Christmas and a great New Year.
We will see you in January 2013.

PLEASE KEEP THE SUPPORT GOING STRONG 

November 2012

We hope everyone had a great Halloween.
More big steps have taken place over the last four weeks which has transformed “Janet” in a spectacular way, which will without doubt excite her supporters when she is unveiled.

We have had some great feedback this month from many of you, and it’s great to hear from people not only in the USA but also in the UK where many supporters are also eager to see her fly. We are all very proud to be able to care for such a rare aircraft with a valuable history representing an era in aviation engineering that will never be seen again.

When you measure up the history of “Janet” she is one amazing survivor.
 
She is as follows;
The oldest Gannet in the world with the lowest flying hours, making her just a baby in flying hour terms.
The world’s first T2 prototype that became a second platform for the new T5 development.
The only surviving T class Gannet out of two that served for the Indonesians then purchased back to fly for the Royal Navy.
The last Fairey Gannet in the Royal Navy that was specially selected by the admiralty to land on the UK’s Ark Royal as a farewell to the Gannet type.
The last flying T5 Gannet in the world
The only ex-military aircraft in the world of any military type still flying that became a true prototype and new development twice.
And finally from what our researchers have found is that she is the oldest flying military turboprop aircraft in the world.

Supporters around the globe can definitely take pride in helping us protect her history and her future. 

October 2012

As the fall arrives preparing us for the winter, we have been able to finally close up on certain areas of “Janet”

As time draws closer to her completion not only are we privileged to see her transformation first hand but have constant reminders how much she means to all her supporters by the good will and support we constantly receive from everyone.

As you know she has been changing bit by bit and due to many of the areas now finished, painted and fitted, she is wearing a total masking cover to protect her.
We thought it would be fun to add some pictures on the “Gallery” page under WN365 / XT752 Images section of certain masked areas to challenge you all to guess what parts of her you are looking at, so we can see how Gannet clever you are!

Within the next few days pictures will appear in the section mentioned for you to start guessing. Let us know by using the contact page what area you guess is covered and we will add some of your guesses to our “Blog” page. Next month we will publish the answers to see if you’re correct.

KEEP THE SUPPORT GOING. 

September 2012

We would like to start of this month by remembering Neil Armstrong and sending our warmest condolences to his family. A Naval aviator, engineer, professor and astronaut that will be remembered in our world’s history for eternity.

This month update on “Janet” is that we have happily progressed with many of the smaller jobs needed to be accomplished which are now wrapped up. We are also excited that more help and corporations have joined forces to aid “Janet’s” progress along the way which we will be detailing at a later date.

Also a great deal of behind the scenes work is going on at the moment which is the usual way during the latter part of refurbishments of an aircraft of this magnitude. It’s all to make the correct results possible and we are more than excited to do it.

Over the next weeks, more major steps will be completed narrowing down what is left to do, and in next month’s report we should be in a position to add more images for our readers to look forward to.

Until our next report “KEEP THE SUPPORT COMING”  

August 2012

It’s an exciting month with people in every country cheering on their own Olympic team.
During the last month we have steadily been re-fitting painted parts finalising various areas of the refurbishments, while allowing us to concentrate on certain other parts that are still outstanding for attention. Last month also became very busy with a great number of people coming to have a tour of “Janet’s” progress. In one visit alone we had nearly fifty children ranging from five years old upwards, and all were eager to ask very well educated questions, amazed at “Janet’s” huge presence.

Visitors who have been involved with aviation for years that come to see “Janet” are in awe of Fairey’s engineering. Its without doubt that experiencing first hand Fairey’s design achievements within XT752 what huge impact the Gannet type must have had on the worlds aerospace designers all those years ago, as well as being the first turboprop aircraft in the world to enter active military service.
It’s always exciting for us to be able to educate our visitors on British historic aviation, while having such a great aircraft to demonstrate comparisons in aviation evolution from both sides of the Atlantic. This is something we take onboard as extremely important for our future generations understanding of history

Everyone is really excited to see “Janet” take to the air again, and we are looking forward to her completion as soon as possible this year. One thing for sure, 2013 is going to be an exciting flying season for this very rare lady.

We would like to continue to ask aviation enthusiasts from all walks of life that value history to remember that at all times XT752 and her history benefits from your kind support in donations and purchases of our shop merchandise.

Be part of a very unique movement to keep a very unique aircraft alive!

July 2012

Summer is certainly hotting up with temperatures into the 90’s and “Janet’s” progress is certainly moving forward excitingly well.

Most of the bomb bay which is huge for an aircraft of this size approximately 18’ long, a tapering 5’ wide and approximate 3’ deep, along with the wheel wells, undercarriage legs, all wing root sections, have been finished and most of the serviced parts replaced in these areas so far.
The wing and fuselage internals after servicing have also been protected against the chance of any corrosion during the years to come.

Its hard to give our supporters a real indication of the amount of extra work that has gone into “Janet” being that she is a search and destroy Gannet differently to an AEW version that didn’t carry weapons, being there is a huge additional amount of square footage to care for in the weapons areas.
If you just think of the dimensions of the bomb bay and that each bomb bay door had to be refurbished inside and outside along with the complicated bomb bay internal area that houses a multitude of mechanics, weapons systems and carrier points, it all adds up in comparison to almost refurbishing a light aircraft in its own merit.

We are glad to say we are on the home run now and a great deal of her is back together. We have been forced due to the unavailability of certain needed items to approach companies that still survive today who originally made parts for the Fairey Gannet in order to have the required items re-manufactured, so whatever the hurdle we will overcome it to get this great historic aircraft back to life, and a very important reason for all our supporters to continue to donate to help her.

Importantly volunteers and donors are a major key to the survival of most historic aircraft and we want to recognise and thank them all no matter which country you are located, it’s a team effort.

We would like to bring to everyone’s attention Mr Tony Sargeant an amazing aviation artist who has captured incredible moments in time on canvas for clients internationally. His accurate research of XT752 flying at her last military base in Lossiemouth, and an eye for detail has resulted in a masterpiece that commemorates this venerable aircraft and the military who cared for her.
This massive oil painting that is 80 inches in width! will be presented personally by Mr Sargeant and placed alongside “Janet” later this year.

We have placed an image on our “SHOP” page of this wonderful painting. A limited numbered amount of official prints 37x19 inches will be signed individually by Tony Sargeant himself are available for purchase and orders are being taken “NOW” so dont miss this unique opportunity.

 To see Mr Sargeant's other amazing artwork please go to; http://www.tonysargeantart.co.uk/ 

Please check out more images within the site.

Happy flying and have a safe 4th of July.

March 2012

Spring is just around the corner, and despite the odd snow fall and freezing weather “Janet’s” progress is going steady.

Within the month of February turned the corner for “Janet” and the final paint application to the bomb bay was completed thanks to Akzo Nobel.
The refurbished parts of the bomb bay are now starting to be fitted, which along with all of the soda blasting preparation by Church & Dwight (Armex) and Sodablast Systems the paint applications has wonderfully transformed the bomb bay beyond recognition from when the work first began.
This has given an extra boost to everyone, by seeing the start of her coming back together.

We would like to add our continued thanks to all our sponsors, enthusiasts and supporters who are pulling together along with us to make it happen. Thanks to “Janet” we have found new friends around the world especially from many parts of the USA, England and Germany who have all brought together a great spirit to succeed, contributing their efforts along with ours.

The special opportunity to bid for your name to be applied on the cockpit side has been delayed just for s short while due to some interesting options which we will share once a decision is made, however to reserve a place for your name on the drop tanks is now open (please see last month’s update on how to reserve your name place)

The next few months will see a great deal of moving and lifting equipment being used as we put more of “Janet” together, but more on this next month.

Thank you all for the support of “A ONE OF A KIND AIRCRAFT”

February 2012

Last month has seen a great deal of hard work preparing the bomb bay and wheel wells for the re-instalment of removed parts and final painting in these areas as well as work on the power plant area.

During her refurbishments it has been necessary to replace certain items that have been for various reasons unavailable to us.
In these circumstances having parts and tooling specifically made to specifications are extremely costly and sometimes require minimum orders, therefore all your support, sponsorship and donations help “Janet” in many of these areas.

To help her along the way with the cost of needed manufacturing of various items and parts we have decided to allocate one of her refurbished drop tanks for financial donors who pay $1,500.00 USD for their own name or a loved one or someone dearly departed, of which we will apply and continue to apply in the future if we have to repaint the tanks. The donor will also receive a certificate showing the location of the applied name.

As space is a premium to apply names we are taking the donation of
$1,500.00 USD and placing the required name on a first come first serve basis.
To order a place please go to our website donations button and send the required amount with the required name you wish us to apply on XT752’s drop tank and we will do the rest. 

Lastly one more exciting decision has been made for one very special person. We have decided to auction at a starting entry bid of $10,000.00 USD the rare position on her airframe under the second cockpit canopy for the winning person or their loved one or dearly departed name to be applied in company with the famous name of test pilot Peter Twiss during her painting in the return of her magnificent colour scheme of orange and silver.
We will be giving you the entire details next month regarding the online auction for this rare one off opportunity. BE THAT ONE SPECIAL PERSON IN THE WORLD.

Please remember that all donations received go towards XT752’s return to the sky.

January 2012

Happy New Year!

Last year saw the start of an intense time, where refurbishments on “Janet” have since continued twelve hours of almost every day!  
It’s very exciting seeing the very hard work paying off which was necessary on the return of her overdue delay in Goose Bay, and now entering into the year she is planned to fly again, along with everyone’s continued help.

XT752 and her history as a prototype and the world’s last airworthy example is a very important surviving link in historic aviation. She is also the only true historic prototype of a totally new development of any type of historic aircraft still flying in the world.

Being responsible for such a rare and wonderful aircraft gives us the ability for XT752 to do special things in the future. We were saddened last year to hear that Fairey’s well known test pilot Peter Twiss had passed away without him being able to see XT752 take to the sky again, but he will be paired once again out of great respect when his name is applied to “Janet’s” new paint.

“Janet’s” attendance at airshows and events will represent her technical designers at every stop she makes.

This year will also see her being part of more exciting developments which will allow many of you historic aviation enthusiast’s opportunities to get closer to the behind the scenes action of keeping these wonderful aircraft preserved and alive, of which we will keep you soon informed of all the new information.

As this year progresses with her refurbishments we aim to update this news page every two weeks instead of every month to keep everyone closer up to date with events as it happens, so please keep looking and please keep the donations coming in, as she needs everyone’s continued help for survival.

Lets make it a great year for XT752

December 2011

Merry Christmas everyone, the Christmas month is finally here.
In the festive spirit “Janet” has a picture in the Gallery page WN365/XT752 section wearing her Santa hat, sharing a special wish for Christmas to fly for everyone’s enjoyment in 2012.

November despite being a short month due to the Thanks Giving Holidays has seen a great deal of work carried out applying the latest AkzoNobel base primers, protecting her metals during the next few months of maintenance work before her final colours and top coats are applied.

Many of her removed parts and surfaces have been prepared and are steadily being replaced back on to her airframe. Even the insides of every panel cover and openings which in total are many, as well as a great deal of areas never seen, have been lovingly stripped of paint, prepared and repainted. Things are certainly coming on well.

Many media companies are covering her story and visits are taking place regularly. It’s great to see everyone’s first glimpse of “Janet”, no matter how young, how old or what background they come from, everyone smiles in amazement of her huge presence and technical wonder. It’s fantastic to witness.  

As it’s close to Christmas we would like to send our warmest wishes to all “Janet’s” supporters and sponsors around the world. The long road has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination, achieving up to this stage of her return to flight. But thanks to everyone’s amazing perseverance, fantastic support this irreplaceable one of a kind aircraft is successfully coming back to life.

Please keep the support and help coming in for 2012.

HAVE A HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, we will see you in the New Year. 

November 2011

We hope everyone had a great Halloween which now brings us into November.

Progress is going well thanks to everybody "well done".

“Janet’s” airframe parts are starting to be Precoated and primed. We are fascinated using this great surface treatment called Precoat and enjoy using it.       

This treatment does away with harmful etch treatments usually used with aluminium in order to key the metal for painting, and its easy and quick to apply. Once applied you can see the dirt and oxides run out of the bare metal in front of your eyes ready for painting

More visitors and volunteers are continually welcomed, and we have been excited to demonstrate some of the new products and techniques that are being used.
It’s a great honour and feeling when experienced classic and custom car builders as well as aircraft owners and operators come to see “Janet” and then want to ask for advice on how to get the same results to benefit their own projects.

“Janet” is now almost hangar bound for the winter. This will allow for a great deal of component servicing and system testing ready for the start of the spring.

The site is allways updated with new pictures, so please go to the Gallery page and click WN365 / XT752 Images button to see the latest pics.

We are saving to buy some further specialist equipment to maintain “Janet” and additional storage space so PLEASE help her with a donation whenever you can

Have a warm November month 

October 2011

The fall season is certainly here, and we have had some ups and downs as far as weather this year.

The good news is that “Janet’s” total paint removal process is almost complete. During her in depth soda blasting using Soda Blast Systems fantastic equipment and the world best quality blasting soda by Armex, a division of Arm & Hammer we were able to uncover and document many unique markings that had been forgotten in her history many years ago. Using the blasting method we were also able to identify areas and parts accurately that needed minor remedial attention which would not have normally been easily seen until more serious evidence had shown up later in time.

We have also been experimenting with different techniques which we have developed to gain the most effective way of using the blasting equipment coupled with the gentlest way to remove stubborn paint. One additional piece of equipment we have been using is Armex’s blasting nozzle which blasts the soda at supersonic speeds, making the paint removal process very powerful by any standard.

Filming is due to start this month for another Discovery program and we will copy everyone in with some images of the filming in our Gallery section as soon as we can.

New products are also being used on her in the coming weeks and we will give you more details of what they are and what they do to help “Janet’s” long term preservation

On a very sad note, we had learnt that one of the most venerable and outstanding test pilots in the UK passed away at the beginning of September and we wanted to acknowledge this great man.

Peter Twiss Fairey’s own test pilot, world record breaker, and the man responsible for test flying a majority of Fairey’s aircraft including our own XT752 prototype when she was developed all those years ago is regretfully no longer with us.

He will be missed by many.

Without doubt we feel it would be very fitting and in our ability to honour this great man in a way we hope he would have liked, and when XT752 is repainted we intend to apply his name on the side of her front cockpit below the canopy in tribute to him.

Rest in peace Peter

September 2011

The end of summer is nearly here, and although it’s sad to see another season end we are happy to have accomplished “Janet’s” progress targets to date despite the weather hold ups.

“Janet” now looks amazingly different without paint, but wonderfully like new thanks to the new technology, products and techniques which have been applied to her gentle paint removal.

This month has also seen the unique cockpit canopy’s magically transform from their many years of service wear, to like new condition thanks to Gene with his great patients and skill.

We will be posting on our Gallery page this month under WN365/XT752 images, some great pictures of “Janet” without paint, so please keep a look out.

Another wonderful historic find the team have made, is during the stripping of paint the remains of the original training yellow used for the wing bands when she was WN365 were uncovered on both wings. A picture of this is also on our Gallery page under WN365/XT752.

Shortly her refurbishment schedule will accelerate to the next level, so please keep looking at the Gallery image pages for the latest pictures as we keep you up to date, as well as new developments with TV coverage and further filming.

Please keep the support coming forward, this great aircraft definitely deserves it.

August 2011

July has been a very busy month. Some of the team have been working on “Janet” in outside temperatures nearing the 100 degrees in an all out effort to get her ready for paint preparation on time, as a great deal of this preparation needs to be done outside of her hangar.

So many visitors have been coming to see her progress and offer their help, and we are so fortunate that there are so many good people that support her.

This month should see the end of her preparation for painting, and the start of her new technology AkzoNobel preservative primers and paints being applied using the latest electrostatic painting equipment by Graco.

The History Channels “Monster Moves” program that XT752 stars in has been a huge hit around the world so far with the countries it is being shown, with further stations launching it. More TV coverage is in the pipeline for her supporters, and we will keep you informed.

Please keep contacting us from around the globe as we have had some great stories from many countries, and people who have been in contact with Gannets or love them.

In the next couple of months a great deal of movement will be occurring that will see XT752 coming back to a very high standard and we will keep you updated with pictures and the latest news.

Please keep your donations coming as she is steadily coming back to life and every bit of help from everyone counts a great deal.
We will be putting many more pictures up of her progress in the next few weeks.

HAPPY FLYING   

July 2011

June has seen some amazing weather systems at “Janet’s” home base at New Richmond Airport. The highs of over a hundred degrees then lows in the fifties accompanied by spectacular storms. Despite the weather though “Janet” has continued to have her paint removed in-between the rainy days with great progress being made, and further parts being removed for maintenance.

Its great news that we have also been approached by two international TV production companies who want to film some of XT752’s refurbishments and return to flight. This will be very exciting as the two programs are very diverse from each other. We will be able to give more information at a future date, so keep looking.

Discovery Channel's Monster Moves program that "Janet" stars in is making its way around various countries at this time, and the good news is that this program will also be aired on the UK's channel five very soon on the 9th of August at 8pm, so please keep a look out for it.    

A wonderful honour has just been bestowed on us recently. We have been approached by the organizers of the 8th Airforce Historical Society and asked us to chair a talk in August about XT752’s history for their veteran members that include WWII servicemen as they are also totally amazed over the technical design of our wonderful aircraft.
For us this will be a very special opportunity to meet these heroic survivors and exchange stories while showing them around XT752. We will cover this special gathering for sure in a future update.

As we had hoped, the younger generation has come forward to learn and look after “Janet”. Our youngest volunteer Jackson Bonnes (thirteen) from New Richmond wants to help XT752 return to the sky, and his great efforts since starting with us indicate he is competent and dedicated in learning to keep our aviation history safe for the future.
To see a boy of a new generation happy and excited while looking after “Janet” of nearly sixty years old, gives us confidence that the futures very bright for historic aircraft.

More updates will be coming soon about our special painting of XT752 with limited edition prints, and our new website page covering everything to do with her refurbishments. We will also have more of the latest pictures.

Stay Tuned      

June 2011

Continued good progress is being made on “Janets” refurbishments and more recent press releases covering the efforts have been written.

We have been excited to see original stencil markings hidden under many coats of paint that were applied to her airframe parts from the day she left the factory and are documenting these along the way (see the Gallery page WN365/XT752 Images section).

Support by our sponsors is of the highest degree and regular visits are made to help “Janet” along her journey back to flight. We should have our new refurbishments page up soon, which will be detailing our sponsors equipment and methods used, so keep a look out for it.

It’s also been a busy fun month for younger visitors from the Schools and Girl Scouts who came along in busses and cars at various times accompanied by their teachers and parents ready to ask great questions about XT752’s history and technical side supported by New Richmond Airports Manager Mike Demulling also present was CEO Monte Weeks of PTM, one of “Janet’s” sponsors.

We are glad to announce some other very special people who are now helping us support XT752 back to flight.
Tony Sargeant, who is an amazing artist and is well known in the aviation field of paintings. Tony has captured many historic aircraft on canvas which are now cared for in museums of fine standing. He manages to paint aircraft in large action scenes as though they are living and breathing, a truly gifted professional. With Tony’s great support for XT752 he is creating on canvas a special large portrait of “Janet” serving her last years flying at Lossiemouth to commemorate and immortalise her fantastic service life. The finished article will be exciting to see as there is a great deal of accuracy and points to add into the painting, this is not an easy task by far, anyone who served there will hopefully have memories flooding back when they see it.
As part of this very special and honoured creation we are happy to say we will be solely selling a limited edition of numbered prints of which we will be donating an equal percentage from the sales to various UK and United States military charities. These unique prints will sell quickly so please contact us early to enquire about purchasing.

We are very happy that Keir MacNally and David Hobbs who were both well known Gannet pilots in the Royal Navy are helping in the continued efforts to get XT752 back to full strength again. Both these men have a very special past with “Janet”.

David not only played a major role in the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton, but has a very long history with Gannets spending many years flying them, thankfully he also had a soft spot for them especially XT752 and if you go to our Gallery page under section WN365/XT752 Images, you will see some fantastic original shots taken by David while flying along side her, and another fantastic one of her on Ark Royal during preparation to depart on her last day aboard a ship in 1976. This was a special one off visit to the Ark Royal as the ship was locating near Lossiemouth and XT752 was chosen to fly out and visit her for one last time (thank you from us all David for these).

Keir has his special connection with XT752 as he did his conversion to type flying in her at 849 Squadron, headquarters flight at RAF Lossiemouth, between December 1973 and January 1974. As the last two seat T5 trainer XT752 was by then considered too valuable to risk landing on a carrier for training. After two years at Lossiemouth flying the AEW3, the COD and standards flying check or instrument flying tests in XT 752, Keir joined 849 Squadron 'B' Flight which formed part of the air group embarking on the carrier HMS Ark Royal.

SO PLEASE keep the contacts, support and help coming in, she needs everyone’s help to get airborne again.  

May 2011

We are excited to announce that major work on Janet’s refurbishments is now well underway with amazing support from our sponsors and supporters.
We aim to cover on an additional refurbishment page soon in our website in-depth details of the work, which we hope will not only give supporters a continued report of the progress, but also give full details of equipment, products and how they are applied in order to help other restorers and professionals see the latest cutting edge options that are now available on the market.

During April we were honoured to have some of our sponsors senior management and CEO’s personally arrive to see XT752, and began closely teaching and advising us in utilising their very best equipment and products that are available in the world today.

We were visited by MMLJ Sanstorm SodaBlast Systems, CEO Mr Benny LeCompte, who has donated the latest soda blasting paint removal system to “Janet” and spent time in teaching us how to get the best operating results. This equipment and the way it operates has to be seen to be believed, not only in removing multiple layers of paint back to the original aluminium without any damage to the airframe and to like new condition, but can be controlled to remove each layer for documenting her paint history uncovering various parts of her original markings and stencils.
This blasting process uses the very best Sodablast media made by Arm & Hammer to achieve the ultimate result. It is very important to have the very best granulated soda designed for blasting purposes. Delia Downes product manager of Armex a division of Arm & Hammer understood the needs of XT752’s paint stripping process, and we are very glad to say Arm & Hammer have kindly sponsored their soda product to support XT752.

  
   
The highly acclaimed international company Graco in conjunction with Midway Industrial Systems, reputedly manufacture and supply the worlds best electrostatic spray paint guns. As XT752's sponsors we were very pleased to welcome them this month, Management Michelle Striggow and Mike Spartz spent some time advising us on the best Graco spray equipment package to use for the best results on “Janet”, and Graco have kindly come forward in donating this for the very best paint finish anyone could wish for. This equipment is totally outstanding as it electrically charges the paint before it hits the airframe compelling the paint to stick on painted surfaces especially in hard to get at areas, with a massive reduction in overspray.
In the paint development area, we are honoured to have as sponsor Akzo Nobel, the internationally acclaimed aviation paint manufacturers. This company is one of the very few if not only aerospace paint companies that specifically researches and designs paint systems for aircraft use in commercial, military and civil sectors. Their paint systems are highly researched and tested for long term protection of aircraft airframes and extremely tough and durable in all types of climates for many years without degrading before re-sprays are necessary. Akzo Nobel’s management Teresa Dubaniewicz and Eric Abston travelled out to see “Janet” and spent a great deal of time matching paint colors to the original colors that XT752 wore at Lossiemouth and compilating a paint system that would suite XT752’s metallurgy with the aim to preserve her airframe. Akzo Nobel will be applying the latest in paint technology, especially under the paints top coat. A very new and exciting Akzo Nobel aluminum primer product that completely does away with horrible etch priming will also be used on XT752.

“Janet” has now been partly disassembled with many major parts removed for paint strip and inspection.
This was very kindly aided with the great support of our sponsor Hyster and Brett Schemerhorn and Jonathan Dawley Vice President, Marketing
NACCO Materials Handling Group, Inc in conjunction with Arnold Machinery Company and manager Randy Sabatka, who donated the latest Hyster 8 ton forklift. This latest Hyster makes easy work of difficult lifting problems in tight areas, especially using the fingertip controls instead of the usual big leavers commonly seen in most forklifts.

Apart from our very exciting month so far with some of our great sponsors, keep looking for a new additional webpage in our site for the refurbishments, and follow XT752 path back to flight and see the latest products from our sponsors.

In the meantime we will be posting a few pictures from Aprils refurbishment work on the Gallery section under WN365 / XT752 Images page.

XT752 is supported by some of the world’s product leaders to help her back to the sky again. Join us and help XT752 in her quest.

YOUR DONATIONS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE, PLEASE HELP US GET HER BACK IN THE AIR. 

April 2011

On the 5th of this month, Sky TV's History Channel Monster Moves program was aired showing "Janets" recovery from Goose Bay to her home at New Richmond Airport, Wisconsin for the start of her refurbishments. We have been told by the production company that the multiple repeats of this program will then start and circulate around various countries on independent channels with the series also being shown on UK's Channel 5 later in the next few months. Also this month we are working on a refurbishment page so you can view various images of the work on XT752 as it continues.

We have been so overwhelmed with the kind encouragement and good will, not only from valued new and existing supporters and donors, but in particular a highly valued organisation called Vulcan to the Sky, also the Royal Navy Historic Flight both in the UK that have been responsible for committing to the very important cause of keeping some other key historic British aircraft "Alive"

We feel our monthly news section shouldn't always just be about our special aircraft XT752 even though we are so very proud of her, as we also want to support and mention the great efforts that are made by some other passionate groups around the world keeping these aircraft flying, who also need the continued recognition for public support as much as XT752 does to help them succeed with their quest.

We are very pleased to have good links and friendship with the UK's Vulcan to the Sky organisation. This wonderful Vulcan aircraft XH558 is the last left to fly in the world, and we have a particular soft spot for her as XT752 and the first Avro Vulcan VX770 shared the same stage together as prototypes at the very beginning of their makers history. Additionally the Vulcan type spent a great amount of time during its military service here in the USA.

We have had many people suggest they would love to see XT752 and XH558 fly together one day. We are happy to announce that as soon as XT752 is up and flying and ready to visit her old home in the UK we will do everything possible along with the help of XH558's team to achieve this special commemorative flight of our historic prototypes for all the supporters and enthusiasts to see.

Another great part of the UK's Royal Navy is its Historic Flight at Yeovilton. With great effort and resources their professional team preserve and fly some of the best British naval aircraft from past years in commemoration. We thank them for their very kind words of support and encouragement and we will do our very best to honour them and the Royal Navy by refurbishing and keeping XT752 alive and cared for as good as she could ever be, along with the help of everyone's continued kind efforts.

It is so important that people of all ages understand the immediate urgency to help efforts in keeping these aircraft flying before its too late, and support them in every way possible without delay. These aircraft represent a special past where parents and grand parents have taken inspiration and experienced fascination from such powerful iconic aero engineering designs. What remains is the very last of a legacy from these far distant days. So with the help of everyone's continued donations may they long grace the skies so we can continue to grant them the rightful opportunity to still fly together, if not little else will be left in the future of rare historic importance and physical inspiration to pass on to our younger generation. "That would be Unforgivable"

March 2011

Spring is coming and the news to support "Janet" is spreading world wide.

Its been a good month, one of "Janet's" kind supporters and one of the original servicemen to look after her in her service days has joined the team in our quest to get her back in the air. Its great to share moments like this when great people who played amazing parts in her history unite once again. As her refurbishments continues we ask if all the Gannet servicemen and women can continue to try and take time to contact us especially any who were part of XT752. Its our aim to also have XT752's website as a future meeting place for Gannet ex-service personnel from around the globe.

We are also very happy that the launch of our website shop has generated immediate interest with sales in various countries, and very proud that purchase orders and kind support have been coming from Germany associated with one of the retired Gannet Naval stations. Please keep all your support going strong.

This month we will be updating our sponsor page with new additions, and happy to announce the launch of the History Channel's new Monster Moves series from the 15th of March 2011 at 9pm, so keep watching each week for "Janet's" program. It was great to work with the TV production team who understood the great importance of documenting the preservation efforts by so many involved in the series, trying hard to keep our worlds rare heritage safe, and at the same time make it fun and interesting for general viewers of every age to watch. "We Thank You"  

There is also possible positions to join the refurbishment team, so if you have previous experience on any aircraft of this era and possibly type, please don't hesitate to contact us with your interest.

Please remember when possible to give a little thought to helping us get XT752 back in the air.

ITS HISTORY WE ARE KEEPING ALIVE.  

February 2011

Its All Systems Go!

The begining of the year has now brought a frenzy of positive activity from "Janet's" international team, volunteers and corporations. Many meetings and conversations have taken place making sure she has the very best people and products that industries can offer for her important refurbishment. As she is irreplaceable, she needs the best detailed attention, parts and support that the world has left to offer, and everyone involved has been double checking each and every stage of the refurbishment work for the very best results. Presently "Janet's" electrical and hydraulic systems are being worked on, and shortly her major airframe components will be carefully removed, soda blasted inspected,refurbished and re-sprayed using the worlds leading paint technology system, designed to accurately represent "Janet's" colours when serving at Lossiemouth, Scotland, and to protect her airframe for many years to come. (more to come in detail on the amazing equipment and products being used on "Janet" during the refurbishment stages)

We are also please to announce this months opening of our online shop where you can only purchase our official XT752 team clothing apparel, with some great selections. There will be a growing line our official XT752 merchandise as well, so keep visiting our shop page. All profits from sales go directly to the preservation and airworthiness of XT752. 

 January 2011

"Happy New Year" to everyone

Our new year has arrived at last, we have had a great response from supporters and readers of our website and making new good friends, long may it continue. Within the next couple of weeks we will be adding more additions to the site so please keep looking. We are also excited as previous Naval servicemen who have cared and worked on "Janet" throughout her military history are continuing to contact us with support and offering help, we will be adding these very special people's letters and emails to our "Blog" page soon, as well as updates from "Janet's" work team. Also in addition we will be updating our "Gallery Media page" with recent magazine articles written about XT752 around the globe. LETS MAKE 2011 A GREAT YEAR TO SUPPORT XT752  

December 2010

Most of us are now focussing on the festive events for Christmas, and what Santa will bring on the "Big Day"

This month we are very humbled with the response we have received from children's school's and volunteers who are joining us in the new year to spend time learning about "Janet" and helping our team with the refurbishments at New Richmond. There is always room for one more so feel free to contact us any time.

Now without any further delay "Janet" and the team wish you all a healthy, safe and Merry Christmas with a Happy New Year especially to our's, and our allied servicemen and women in conflict at this festive time who are unab