I had a pleasure flight in the Auster, G-APKN at Skegness Ingoldmells in 1969. My dad sat beside the pilot and I as a then slim 18 year old sat in the little seat in the back. IIRC Skegness airfield came up in the Auster thread on this forum a few months back, because of its association with the Auster pleasure flights and someone posted some pics of Skeggie airfield on that thread.

Taken around 13:00 Tuesday

Taken around 16:00 Tuesday
Your photos are excellent, Martyn, what were you flying yesterday, as I may also have a photo of your aircraft?

I’m headed for an afternoon at Duxford tomorrow (via Easyjet Newcastle to Stanstred); won’t promise any pics; it will depend where they are parked in relation to the public areas and on the lighting conditions.

So after paying £34 in taxi fees what did you actually do there (apart from have lunch)?

I took photos, some of which found their way onto a North Weald album on my website.

Would like to be able to recommend Solway Aviation Museum at Carlisle, but the buses are few and far between in low season – really little more than a schools service; though in high summer season you could use the Hadrian’s Wall bus as we are just a short walk from the stop where the wall crosses the minor road through Laversdale village.

I visited North Weald a few weeks ago – there is a bus from Harlow which takes you to the museum, though as I visited on a day when the museum was closed, and I went direct to the Squadron Club for lunch I used a taxi
(£24) from Harlow Railway Station. Afterwards the Squadron Club arranged a taxi for me which took me to Epping, London Underground, station for £10.

Last week I visited St. George’s Chapel of Remembrance at Biggin Hill (train from Victoria to Bromley South, then 320 bus, which stops outside the door – first stop after the passenger terminal entrance.) This is the route I would recommend – afterwards I was headed to Croydon and had intended getting the 464 bus as far as the new tram terminus at New Addington but as the bus was full I had to walk this section – the walk over the Salt Box Hilll road to New Addington is not a pleasant one as it is a narrow road with no footpath and a lot of traffic.

Next stop Duxford next Tuesday, after which our museum at Carlisle re-opens for the season, so apart from Cosford and Bruntingthorpe in June I have nothing else planned at the moment.

if it means making up bits to preserve that aircraft, rather than make a replica, so be it.

Sounds fair to me.
The Hampden at East Kirby will in my view be a worthwhile project, as although much of it will be new fabrication, it will incorporate and preserve a significant proportion of an original aircraft.

Personally I think replicas are a waste of space in a museum and I’d scrap the lot. There are plenty of real aircraft worthy of preservation. If a type is extinct we can remember it in small scale models and photos.