I grew up In Blackpool, being an avid spotter the local airport was our mecca. You soon learned the rules, getting round those big caverns with aircraft inside was a challenge best met by making friends with an authority figure, photography back in the sixties was an expensive hobby and i took few pics apart from the carefully eeked out 12 exposures on the fuzzy Brownie 127 that I treasured. I do recall a particular cheeky ****** who was a good runner. He would sneak round the hangers and often get chased. The attraction was Westair where newly imported Cessnas lurked. many years later I found out he was also a sneak thief and had taken headsets, so its no wonder people are concerned at strangers. I now realise that appearance is no guide to intent. Indeed con artists make a point of looking the part.
Theres a few types of spotters, from the ones who can just about scribble a reg down and cant tell a Jodel from a Cessna to the ones who have done it for years, have dictaphones and managed to get an aviation related job. As for keeping a low profile and banning photography, well if you have a secret worth hiding its hardly likely to be connected to a vintage veteran aircraft. But…the location ..airport,industrial estate) may also be the base for a high tech business which has a good reason to be careful.

Look for signs first, if a land owner has gone to the trouble of posting rules then follow them. If no signs and there are airport based people around just ask them, they will know usually if permission is needed. No people around and no signs then take the pics. On the larger airports/fields its quicker to use a long lens which also saves getting near the aircraft or buildings. Many airports with no scheduled services can look empty of people but get to close to sensitive buildings, equipment and you can be in trouble either legally or bitten by gaurd dogs. A scheduled services airport has strict rules in many parts of the world and you certainly will need a security pass to be airside, another reason for a long lens. And taking a vehicle airside without a briefing is not appreciated on any airfield.

As you have found out , when you show interest and have some knowledge you might get shown round.

One location does not fit all needs. The newly re furbished Hendon RAFM has a role but should not be considered in isolation, within RAFM there are other places to see more. I suggest any aviation minded visitor would include Duxford, Old warden at least. And for those who relish the hardware without frills then BHHH at Biggin. We are on a relatively small island with lots to view so it is good not to have all collections following the same style.

The last bare metal b 17 I recall was at Duxford , it later became Sally B, but did sit outside a fair while.

A very useful article for those who never saw the film of the ferry flight. Since then there have been some epic ferry flights of vintage and veteran aircraft. Risk is a strange concept, we can get scared about some flights as prospects and yet…take on driving all sorts of vehicles in condition from near new to old heaps and get so used to it that the risks are often ignored. When things go wrong we wonder how the hell we ever agreed to doing that drive…bet many have stories like that.

Looking forward to the appearance of the coverage of the varied events later this year, a lot of effort has been put in by true enthusiasts despite the problems caused by some areas of the official MOD. We have a legacy which includes airframes saved by a determined few and in some cases hidden away from those who would have scrapped them, until attitudes improved.

Good summary Malcolm, and the series underlines the challenges faced as being of a high degree which push people to limits which vary between individuals. The more recent story filmed of Geffrey Wellum expands the theme in a manner which puts viewers right in the cockpit of confusion.

See RAF museum file on ex Iceland Battle re build
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/1990-0691-A-Fairey-Battle-L5343.pdf

It had been intended to use parts
of three Battles (includ
ing K7571 and R7361)
–
mainly wing sections and
undercarriage parts
–
recovered
by RAF Henlow OCTU cadets
from
Larkhill ranges, Salisbury Plain, Wilts in 1970, also stored at Henlow
until disposed of to a Baldock, Herts scrapyard in 1974. (See Control
Colu
mn July 1969 and May 1971). These remains did yield a few small
parts for the project before disposal, however, including undercarriage
components and two flaps (Aviation Archaeologist Sep/Oct 1974 p.560