scotavia
January 25, 2007 at 7:14 pm

Does the BBMF need more support?

With the govt in the Uk looking for cost saving ideas ie scrap the Red Arrows I am wondering about the future of the BBMF.

I am aware of the Lincolnshire Lancaster Association,however what about the rest of the flight? Is there a way now of showing just how much the BBMF means to the people of Britain and also those who served from overseas? As far as I am aware the flight is the largest operation of its type in the world within an Air Force .

I feel it is time to raise this issue now rather than wait until the powers that be suddenly decide to cease funding the flight. Does a support group need forming or is this already done by the LLA?

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By: Bluebird Mike - 25th January 2007 at 21:48

I am aware of the Lincolnshire Lancaster Association, however what about the rest of the flight?

The LLA supports the Flight as a whole- didn’t they help finance some replica cannons on a Hurricane, for example?

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By: scotavia - 25th January 2007 at 19:39

Thanks Jackattack, good news.,and interesting background. I suppose if money is not the current issue then a letter of thanks to the flight would be of use. They certainly are a superb tribute, I just hope they come back to North Scotland soon!

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By: jackattack - 25th January 2007 at 19:32

BBMF

The BBMF comes up for scrutiny about every 3 years as does the Red Arrows so there is nothing new in this. The BBMF is a heritage asset. Many years ago, the 3 services were asked to nominate something that would be funded by public funds The Navy chose HMS Victory, the RAF chose BBMF and the Army chose a tank museum I believe. Thats why the Army historic flight and the Navy historic flights operate through sponsorship to some degree. Unfortunately, while a good gesture, actual budgets were not agreed at the time so now we have to fight for money to support the BBMF. Current monies are controlled by the Nimrod IPT of which BBMF is a part.
BBMF will be transfering to the Typhoon IPT in the coming years. It has a bigger budget so the level of granularity of finance may work to our advantage. Nothing is completely safe in this day and age but I am quite confident that there is life left in BBMF.