During my active membership of the BAAC I attended some meetings with a variety of people from a wide variety of backgrounds,historians,artists,recovery teams,museum staff,county archaeologists,divers,collectors ,MOD rep and landowners.

Discussions have included exactly the area covered here and the passions were also evident. So I wonder what the current BAAC members can add?
Is there now a Code of Conduct which is published?

Regarding publishing accounts of wreck recovery and investigation that was one of the main aims of BAAC magazine and also WWIG magazine .Other accounts would pop up from time to time in After the Battle mag and Aviation News. I used to collate all those sources and update my data files which I still have. No doubt Atcham Tower was way ahead of me and he has no doubt got a shed full by now !

Self taught by experience or qualified by recognised coursework, are these two ways of achieving the same result? In my view it depends who you are trying to convince with the result and how good the result is.
Academic reports are deemed of little worth by peer review unless the writer has qualifications. However the public can be enthused by self taught passionate people. Combine the qualified with the passionate and you get a result like Time Team.
There is room for both within archaeology but it does require good communication skills to avoid the Them and Us attitude which in the longer term is of benefit to no one. Talking down to a keen person who has not attended University is a sure way to sour enthusiasm.

A large amount of Aircraft wreck recovery is rescue archaeology when carried out by those who have an interest in the parts as useful for historical ,restoration purposes. Due to the changing prices for scrap metal it has been considered risky to leave a site alone once discovered. Even in recent years in the Uk despite legal aspects it is well known that complete sites have been cleared for scrap.And trying to protect sites is almost impossible.

As for the name, I believe it came about because Peter Moran and David Stansfield were looking for a way to improve standards of wreck recovery and formed the Aviation Archaeologists Association which was then used as a heading in the Flypast mag. Oh and not forgetting the regular column by Atcham Tower in Aviation News with a similiar title.

Getting back to the matter of human remains, my view is that full recovery should be carried out when remains are found. I do not agree with refusal to excavate sites when they are accesible.

Fairly narrow appeal is the first hurdle to deal with and I am not sure a stand alone museum could pull in enough to pay the rent across each year. I would suggest Kemble because an active airfield could add to the pull.

Oddly enough France could be better, support for light aviation has always been stronger than the UK. If you are looking for sponsors be aware that Red Bull will not operate in France.

Good luck.

The conflict of operating aircraft and having schemes to attract wildlife including birds at the same location is certainly one to be resolved .The new owners will need to decide what they are aiming for . My experience in airfield wildlife management tells me that having both is not an option. What happens outside the boundary of the owners airport/airfield/aerodrome is often also outside full control. But on the actual site of a new aircraft operating area I would expect suitable precautions to be taken rather than actually seeking to attract birds.

The photos being shown are fascinating and certainly highlight the lack of space in books and magazines for such gems. Keep posting thanks. I am filling in gaps in my photo collection relating to my early days as a spotter at Blackpool and RAf career when I had no decent camera.

As for the suggestion that they are in the wrong bit of the forum, I think its not always possible to get every one to take time to search all over for the exact place. At the moment it is easy to see which are photo threads and the subject headings are clear. Its a lot easier on here unlike a real library to see what you want to look at.