Three RAF 17 Squadron F-35B's based at Edwards AFB are en-route to the east coast for Westlant 18. (See F-35B thread). Presumably, four will come from the UK to make the "seven" that Jerry Kyd mentioned last year. I think you mean Westland 19... either that or those guys are a little late...

I watched a video the other day that suggested floatout would be early next year, but I'd be damned if I can find it again. I'll post it if I can find it

It's funny how empty the deck looks... an invincible deck would have looked quite crowded with 5 merlins and a few dozen crew. It'll be nice to see her with a full complement of aircraft, now those pics will be impressive!

A nice one from above

I lived in Gosport for a while, I used to always schedule time off work if I knew Ocean or one of the Invincibles was due in port, sadly, its a 3hr drive for me now... and a day off is no longer on the cards since going self employed. I'll have to surprise my wife with a long weekend in Portsmouth n...

Amazing picture of QE in that task group and she looks just as big as the American carrier. But what really struck me was the difference in the greys used by both navies, the RN hips look positively white compared to the American ships. I wonder if anyone can tell us why there is such a big differe...

cockneyjock1974 wrote:I think I'm right in saying that plane on the table is George Bush's Grumman Avenger.

It's definitely a Grumman Avenger, I got to see one on the USS Intrepid on my last trip to NY... as for it being George Bush's, isn't it a little small???

Fantastic spot! Great photos, looks very nifty in that layout. Never realised they had an actual model of it. If you've never been the Aircraft Carrier 'experience' next door is probably the best museum display/exhibit I've ever seen. Usually the interactive displays like that never live up to the ...

In order to save costs, they're looking at recycling redundant signs from Britains A roads instead

Flanders81 wrote:

SKB wrote:I hope not, I wouldn't fancy living near a floating nuclear reactor whose crew have a national average IQ of only 98.

You know the average IQ is a 100? 98 seems quite a reassuring number to me.

Actually, average US IQ is 98, UK is 100

Forgive me for being pedantic, but what is the total length of HMS Queen Elizabeth? Some websites proclaim 284 meters and almost as many others put her length at 280 meter. Is that just rounding? Does anybody have the precise dimensions? I asked the same question about a year ago... apparently 280m...

SKB thanks for clarifying that, I did always think it'd be abit weird to have to defferent designed decks even if it was only a minor difference lol Had it happened, it wouldn't have been a minor difference. The angled deck was for CATOBAR, meaning both carriers would have operated a different vers...

SDL wrote:Do we know what the Land Rover thing was from a few pages back?

Here you go SDL
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/land-rov ... ve-review/

SKB wrote:I am assuming that both Portsmouth and Plymouth are still too shallow for US carrier visits?

I believe the draught of a Nimitz class carrier is around 11.5 metres, not much more than QE

andrew98 wrote:River class renamed type 31

Probably not far from the truth

bobp wrote:Good news too see that the paintwork is getting attention. QE2 news has dried up just lately.

Great news indeed. She'll be fit and ready for the high seas before we know it! Any news on PoW's progress?

swoop wrote:

Jessie wrote:I noticed them at the end of the tour when I was last down there. I Impressed my wife by spending a whole 45 minutes studying the models closely while filling her in on every detail of the build process so far.

An educated woman is a happy woman!

I wholeheartedly agree

I was in Pompey a couple of weeks ago. The work on the new QE berths is not really visible from the public areas. HMS Diamond appeared to be getting all the attention whilst alongside. EDIT: If anyone is heading to RNAS Yeovilton's Fleet Air Arm Museum, both QE models that have been seen around the...

If what happened? If you mean a split between As and Bs, that isn't going to happen, the plan is mapped out for the B. There is no money to buy As, and there is zero appetite to reduce Bs. We are already at the minimum to sustain the FE@R that we require. So you mean to say that, if we get 138 of a...

Ron5 wrote:Is this new?

Nope, this one's been doing the rounds for a while

SKB wrote:

shark bait wrote:I guess its just a trick of perspective that the gap between 100 and 50 looks a lot less than the gap between 100 and 150.

Yes, that does look a bit odd. Perhaps the painters made a mistake?!

Hmm, maybe an imperial /metric mishap

Before I found the forum that predated this one, 'Navy matters' was my go to site for updates on CVF, astute etc. It was an outstanding resource for all things navy.

SKB wrote:Oh, they removed the aft ramp? How odd.

Fair play SKB, that was a cracking gag

Great photos, good job CJ!

Easydiver, good find on that article, it was an enjoyable read

We'll all have to chip in to buy you a camera with a decent zoom lense CJ Don't do that until we've got Flyco looking better. Give it a few weeks Forgot to say, you can buy him a better camera so that he can take pics of Flyco now Will do, when as you know the pea souper goes away! I shall wait wit...