Africa

I think there must still be stuff to find in places like Libya – the desert war tracked back and forth across North Africa. It’s just a question of time – don’t forget the state of the Lady be Good or the LRDG Chevvy.

Reckon – if the geopolitical position wasn’t so tricky – that East Africa might be a happy hunting ground as well – Wellesleys, Bombays, Harrows and the like – all were shunted off to East Africa once they became obsolete – hey there might even be a Maryland or Baltimore still lurking on some forgotten field.

Think the engine currently with the RR Heritage Trust is on loan from Steve Vizzard according to FP of a few months ago. I may be wrong but I thought a brace of Peregrines were actually recovered by him from a bog up north somewhere (if that’s the source of the substantial wreckage he holds).

I guess if anybody has the technical infrastructure to recreate a Whirlwind it would be him. If he decides to pursue such a project, let’s hope he succeeds

Anybody know if anything else is buried with G-AGOI?

Given that Duxford cannot be preserved in aspic,I think the AAMs a great building, spoilt by

1 – hanging aircraft – which seems to be increasingly popular,
and
2 – too much crammed into it

Strange – I never used to be particularly bothered by the hanging aircraft in say the Science Museum but the heavy flying trapezes they seem to have used at Duxford seem so un-natural and really jar.

Perhaps it’s more fundamental than that – perhaps it’s the fact that hanging from the ceiling is so unnatural a state for an aircraft – if it’s flying you expect noise and movement. Displayed on the ground with undercarriage down and engine stopped represents a natural state and therefore doesn’t seem out of the ordinary.

Having lived in the Peak District National Park, where the Peak Park Planning Board generally seem to want to put a guillotine on any architectural innovation beyond that which existing in about 1920 – with the notable exception of the David Mellor cutlery factory in Hathersage (IIRC they even specify the angle of slope for roofs and height of chimneys) I think there is scope to overlay modern design on older environments – it just requires better architects (and those commissioning them to have a feel for context as well as cost)

In the Peak we look back and see the range of architectural styles that developed over a period of a thousand years. In 100 years time, they will still see a range, but that range will stop in the mid 20th century and the architectural evolution since then will not be represented.

The AGT seems to be looking to Cosford as their future home – at least that’s what you can glean from their website – which hasn’t been updated for a while.

They seem to want to move into one of the original hangars formerly used for the contruction of Horsas but this would mean reproviding Hangar space for RAFM.

Increasingly this place seems to be dominated by the politics of the playground. Perhaps William Golding used this place for his source material. If he didn’t, then that’s increasingly what this place is becoming – except that it isn’t a place – it’s a friggin website on a server where saddos like me and you interact vicariously using historic aviation and a PC as common denominators.

Yes, there is a clique here – whether you like it or not. I can say that from the outside (where I definitely prefer to be) looking in. Count the private conversations which by their very nature and content exclude others or the private jokes or comments or the “I know more information than you and I’m not telling you” type of post which always come from the same group of people. OK that may be uncomfortable – but most of the denials about cliques tend to come from those people who you would classify as being members.

Other people post but sometimes get talked over and as a result over time decide to walk. You have sometimes got to be thick skinned here – certain people like either to show their superior knowledge or put you down in a particularly sarcastic way.

I would have thought that the events of the last few weeks would have made people realise that “life’s too short” and just get on with things. It’s only a friggin website

Doubtless I’ll probably be ignored by many on this site now, but I think I’ll manage to live with it!

Mark 12 referring to the Spitfire in St James’ Park on 4th July – which as we all recall was painted as “4D-V”

“Pinch me somebody and tell me this isn’t TD248 in a new scheme and roaded in, the week before Leg-ends.”

Were the clues there all along if we cared to read them or is it all just a coincidence??

Tiger stripes must come into the scheme somewhere though

What might have been

Try these for size

http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?FULL=X72059
http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?FULL=X72060