Very interesting thread,certainly you could never see this amount of detail in a magazine article. It is especially good for those of us who never actually worked on airframes/engines and just saw the aerodynamic exteriors. Yes we all see cutaways but your pictures bring it all to life. And as a result I cannot take for granted all the small myriad parts that make these complex flying devices operate.

Moggy, that one shot epic take from Atonement has been recognised as an influence on the director of Dunkirk, even on the recent trailer you can see tracking shots which echo that sequence.It is all for the good when visual narrative is allowed a place in modern movie making especially when many recent action films take great delight in rushing from one scene to another due to an unwarrented fear that the viewer will become bored.

It is common for aircraft heading for scrapping to have logos ,owners details covered,perhaps the habit just stuck regardless that it was museum bound. Heres a link to the next one,kindly donated by Fedex http://gbr.orbis.org/pages/flying-eye-hospital-uk

Ships of the size of a carrier need considerable space to berth and if considered a static museum location then they have occupied a site with commercial prospects .In this age of shrinking budgets and the need to make access safe with transport links,parking then you struggle to find a location for long term use. There are examples of well meant ship museums and commercial ship static projects which have failed when land port owners change the terms or obstruct planning permission even when the land has been purchased.
Sending this carrier for scrap is understandable in a time when pressure on berths in suitable locations is great.commercial berths make money .

It would take courage to admit they were lost,very low on fuel and in site of unidentified islands and then plan to ditch all the flight very close to the islands with a view to getting ashore . Also I have been told that when becoming lost it is best to reverse track and head back to the last known definite fix rather than carry on in the hope that something will turn up as per the original plan.

A complicated person,Mr Kirk,he made a decision many years ago to pursue legal matters himself after he decided that justice was not being correctly applied to him and his family. I have seen this happen to a local man up here in North scotland and it is very stressful but if you feel you have been wronged it is hard to give up. He has also fought against being committed to being placed in a secure unit without release when his mental health has been questioned, that is a nightmare situation. As for his flying, well there are many varied approaches to judgement of risk and prior experience plays a big part in his current adventure. Bush style flying takes a certain aptitude and certainly an attitude of judging risks on the spot.We are not getting all the facts here and I think there will be some stories to be told when the rally finishes, the organisers will have to give answers.