Hornet Moth For Sale

Personally I think that a Baliol would sit very well at OW, its in their mandate and fits nicely with the Prentice and Provost,however not at the expense of the Hornet moth. I believe that the Hornet Moth should stay as should all of the DH types and I tend to agree with David that the Jungmann, whilst a pretty and tough little thing, is not directly in keeping with the collections mandate.
I also agree that the Auster line and Turbulent should be represented at OW. I personally would love to see a T6 / Harvard there as I think ,although the type is well represented in the UK ,they have gone out of vougue and one representing an aicraft that RAF pilots trained on would be popular at OW.
Its probably a good time to buy a Harvard as everyone seems to have deserted them for Yaks !!.
I do not however want to knock THT and the committee at OW as I think that they have done a great job in bringing the collection and the venue into the main stream airshow calendar and making it as popular and unique an venue as it clearly is.
Phil

The Auster and turbulent are well represented in the UK also. At least the harvard has a bit of oomph and makes a bit of noise to keep the audiance’s attention

The Harvard as a type is well represented in the U.K – maybe a little broader imagination could bring in types such as the Auster and Druine Turbulent which have been a part of British aviation for many years.

On the subject of Turbulent I hear that Turbi(the 2 seater) G-AOTK is now hangared at OW.

I think the bottom line is that the general public want to see something fly, if they come and most of the stuff is grounded by a little bit of wind then they wont come back. Personally i wouldn’t mind if they brought more hardier types such as a Harvard or a Stearman as long as they didn’t get rid of ‘one of a kind types’ eg Hind, Gladiator, Tomtit, Tutor etc. If they were to sell something well they have 3 x DH60’s so surely one of them would of been a more logical step.

I have to say I agree with David and Andy’s comments,selling the Hornet Moth does seem a little bit ga-ga.As David pointed out,this particular aircraft has an extensive history of military and civilian use in Britain and therefore seems to be a very fitting aircraft for the collection.Like Andy,I do find it odd that the collection states a lack of public interest as a reason for putting her up for sale-how many people know what an English Electric Wren is,or a Parnell Elf??I know these are unique machines,but Hornet Moths don’t exactly grow on trees either.
As for the Jungmann,I’m not sure what to think about this one.My understanding is that the Jungmann has been purchased because it can be flown in relatively poor weather conditions,and so will give the public something to see when some of the collection’s less tolerant aircraft are grounded due to the weather.That said,I think David’s point about it having little British significance is very relavant and to my eyes it pales into insignificance when compared to the Hornet Moth.Besides,what will Private Pike shoot at if he doesn’t have the Hornet Moth to have a go at?? 😀
As for whether we should comment,ofcourse we should.It’s a free world and the Shuttleworth Collection relies on donations and membership fees etc from the general public,and they as the ‘consumer’ should always be allowed to express thier views. Whether these views are right or not is another matter,but we’re entitled to them all the same!

Ewan – The Hornet Moth in question was used by the Coastal Patrol Flight during the war and indeed spent many years in civilian service training pilots.
Many would argue that as an airworthy preserved example it’s of significance to the U.K. Now in comparison the Spanish built Jungmann for example was built post war- differs in a number of ways to the German built article and until very recently i.e 1970’s wasn’t even used in the U.K.
As for the Polikarpov – well interesting aircraft – maybe a few British survivors of Korea were kept awake at night by them but that’s about the depth of British involvement with them.
The Auster for example is a home produced machine derived from a Taylorcraft design. It went on to see sterling service in WW11 ,Korea, Malaysia and numerous other campaigns. How do you find a comparison
with imported Cherokee’s and Cessna 150’s? Whilst I wouldn’t deny they are a part of the British aviation scene I think Richard Shuttleworth was a pioneer in preserving British light and military aircraft. I think the collection should continue along those broad lines.
As for commenting on their choices – well it’s free world – you have commented on my comments which rather endorses that.

Should we stand by and make no comment? Maybe you should view some of the articles written on the sale of the Percival Gull to New Zealand or indeed the sale of the Avro Rota to Kermit Weeks. Likewise very positive comments were aimed at the collection regards the purchase of the Lysander . A number
of the aircraft in the collection were donated by private individuals and large companies – should we care little about their future?

Maybe Manonthefence wants to buy it? If I look at his Avatar, he might be interested. 😉

J.V.

If the Shuttleworth Collection hadn’t sold off some aircraft in the 1980s, and then spent good money buying them back (Provost), then they could probably afford to keep the Hornet Moth a leetle longer.

maybe a little broader imagination could bring in types such as the Auster and Druine Turbulent which have been a part of British aviation for many years

Not sure what you mean by this David? Certainly, the Turbulent and Auster have been part of the UK aviation scene for years, but so have the Piper Cherokee and the Cessna 150! Maybe we ought to let the Collection decide what aeroplanes they collect, and just enjoy…….
😎

Hornet Moth.

Personally I’ll be saddened to see the Hornet Moth leave Old Warden.
I know to Joe Public one Moth looks much the same as another but should public ignorance be the guiding policy to what a museum holds?
I’d like to see a Balliol at Old Warden but I’m not convinced it would appeal to Mr J Public any more than the Hornet Moth.
Once one gets away from places like this forum I’m always appalled at the ignorance of the population at large.
Recently when I stood at the fence with some of our other erstwhile forum-ites I heard a father telling his son that he didn’t know what it was—it was the Sea Hurricane!!
I say keep the Hornet Moth please Shuttleworth collection. Selling the family silver is a one shot deal.
Also wasn’t that aircraft presented to the collection?
Has anyone considered how that might influence future presentations?
All the best
Andy