Just trying to start a discussion on future challenges for the preservation movement in the UK.
Top 5:
1. A ‘production BA Concorde’ under cover?
2. A roof over the Brooklands Collection?
3. Cosford’s remaining ‘outsiders’ under cover, including the likely additions
(C-130, Nimrod, CV-10)?
4. Duxford’s DAS ‘outsiders’ under cover (wishfull thinking?)?
5. Securing the future of many aviation related archives in the UK?
6. The Sciece Museum starts collecting material again, because they
officially hold the nation’s aviation collection?
The time (I think) of serious collecting in the Uk has passed, because there are simply not that many airframes (especially British ones) becoming available anymore. No more significant facilities will shut down.
It is time (I think again) to secure what has been ‘innitially rescued’ over the last 5-10 years.
What became available over the last 5-10 years in the UK is unique, as a result of the end of Cold War and the loss of industry.
I just hope that all the efforts can now shift to long-term functional developments rather then exiting short-term stunts.
I find it absolutely amazing that the Australians manage to get a very historic 707 airborne within a few months (and good for them) and hopefully manage to safely fly it to the other side of the world.
While in the UK the BA collection is being scrapped (because it is impossible to keep large aircraft outside for too long) and the by far most famous aircraft coming out of this country (Concorde) has been dumped at ‘stractegic commercial locations’.
I realize the successes achieved over the last few years. But surely with the money spent on soo many designer buildings more could have been achieved.
What do you think?
By: bexWH773 - 4th December 2006 at 16:03
Would be great to see Peter Vallance get his dream of a hangar for his collection of aircraft and get an even more amazing museum of his dreams. Bex
By: wv838 - 4th December 2006 at 15:10
Whilst in the area, I stopped in at the Manchester viewing park last week to take a peek at the concorde there. Cost me 4 quid to drive in but then it is 12 quid per person to go aboard. Now I like hairyplanes, but 12 quid? Nah…
It was sad to see the trident still sat on a mixture of pallets and tyres too.
By: MrB.175 - 4th December 2006 at 14:41
Getting a Britannia under cover!!! 😉
Preferably XM496 currently at Kemble but G-AOVT at Duxford and G-AOVF have got to be under cover soon…
By: Pondskater - 4th December 2006 at 14:39
I know it is controversial but we are going to have to accept the loss of more Vulcans, and even see Concordes scrapped in the next couple of decades. 🙁
But faced with 20 or so iconic airframes wouldn’t you put a few in the hands of places that can put them in long term preservation and the rest out on public display where they can be admired until – inevitably – the weather does for them. The alternative would be to keep a few and scrap the rest immediately. At least it has given me the chance to sit in the cockpits of two Vulcans – something that would never otherwise have happened.
As Springbok said, we have been fortunate in getting several new buildings to get airframes inside. It does seem that those who fund such things like to see “landmark” buildings with striking architecture – they like the double benefit of creating new architecture and aircraft preservation. This will be the way forward, but only if the cash can be found to continue to pay the running costs of new buildings
My pet project would be not just the preservation of the disparate aviation archives across the country but also to create a central record which catalogued them on-line in one place. That way the relevance of some important, smaller collections could be recognised. By encouraging their use we make funding their preservation more likely.
The head of IWM North saw some unique photos etc in my collection and said he didn’t mind which museum got them, as long as I told IWM where they went.
By: David Burke - 4th December 2006 at 12:46
Tim – With global warming the future is good for flying boats and arrid storage of airliners in the highlands of Scotland!
By: Binbrook 01 - 4th December 2006 at 11:43
I suspect there will be a lot more airframes going the same way as either the Airliners at Cosford, or the Vulcan at Blackpool over the next 50 years or so.
Given the weather conditions here and all that, just a thought…. 😮
Tim
By: RPSmith - 4th December 2006 at 10:52
They might put the Filton one on blocks in the shopping mall! Would that count??
Or hang it on cables – just to annoy us 😀
Roger Smith.
By: David Burke - 4th December 2006 at 10:27
They might put the Filton one on blocks in the shopping mall! Would that count??
By: FMK.6JOHN - 4th December 2006 at 10:07
I think Sea Vixen means in the sky 😀 .
John
By: David Burke - 4th December 2006 at 09:35
Sea Vixen – they have got one at Filton.
By: sea vixen - 3rd December 2006 at 23:39
my challenge for the future is to get a Concorde back where she belongs.
By: blurrkup - 3rd December 2006 at 15:43
In reply to No 1, the concorde at east fortune is under cover, so at least one of them will be. In this month flypast it says that G-BOAF at filton is going to incorporated into a heritage centre in the new Cribbs Causeway shopping centre.
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December 3, 2006 at 3:09 pm