Interesting post,I shall declare my hand first in that having been a close friend of Peter for 30+ years I get to fly all of Peters aeroplanes when he needs to move them en masse to aviation events …its tough work !!!.I do know that Peter pays considerably more per airframe to hangar each of his aeroplanes than I do my own comparable aircraft at a mid-priced South Eastern Uk airfield.In addition to a cheaper price I have the following benefits package not found at OW a)no public access to my aircraft b)aircraft taken from hangar ,fuelled and oiled ready for me ,at OW its a hard DIY job requiring a minimum of 2 people often more.c) Year round runway no winter waterlogging.d)Virtually unlimited access/operation, OW has very restricted access hours for owners.So regarding keeping aircraft at OW there are many downsides for a private owner even if the rate was cheap which it is not.Maintenance at OW is to a superb standard …the engineers are the very best….the engineering bills presented are eye-wateringly high.I know Pete reckons his aircraft each cost £1000+ per hour to operate some even more,next time you are at an air show or even more so training week notice how often Peter,s aeroplanes are flown by collection pilots to maintain currency all at no charge to the collection.
The new german aircraft add an interesting area to the collection and note the Storch is being restored by an engineer employed by Peter.A large inventory of top quality, ex-RLM modern workshop equipment arrived by the lorry load at the same time, courtesy of Pete benefitting both the Aircraft and Car Sections. I am told that The Collection had first pick of it.You can be assured that the arrangement between Pete and The Collection is a profitable one to the collection, providing much-needed funds, as well as a breath of fresh air. They have achieved a terrific collection at a stroke, filling an important void at OW. THe only other ‘German’ aircraft they had before, following the loss of the LVG, is their post war Spanish Jungmann.
I ,m hoping to see the Prentice fly eventually (a friend owns another one) but they are not that rare in this country and I believe its restoration to the high standards of Shuttleworth was proving very expensive, perhaps effort that would be better directed at the Spitfire!! which is now in need of a lot of attention.
The recent newsletter talks about more private owners coming to OW .I think the reason is simple the collection wants both the profits they generate from engineering ,hangarage and fuel sales plus the added variety of more interesting aircraft.I do hope the above points clear up any doubts about the costs of being a private owner based at Old Warden.Feel free to ask more questions!!.
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