Rumour has it the hangars at Coventry will be flattened and tHe road through to baginton closed to build a new business park.

Its not rumour, its all found in the scoping document for the planning application.

You can view some of it online, but there’s a map of the proposed development in Baginton Post Office that shows it better. Not all the hangars are going though one of the smaller ones isn’t on the new plan, and Rowley Road isn’t getting closed. I understand from talking to some of the villagers that from the rugby club onwards it is to be made restricted access. It shouldn’t affect MAM at that.

Shackleton WR963 is staying at Coventry. Whether or not it will be in her current position is anyone’s guess. I’m told the Nimrod is also staying, as is the DC6 Diner (G-SIXC).

Regards,

Rich

Nostalgair – here’s a little education for you.

Some (if not all) of your recent comments make a mockery of a lot of hard work done by the staff and volunteers at Coventry.

If these people want to make some money they need to be less insular in their marketing, when they have an open day dont just invite the local labour councillor, some big wig from the mayors office and a Lady Godiva lookey likey!

Insular marketing? You’ll find leaflets for Airbase in the tourist information offices locally and a number of other places. Some even in other air museums.

Airbase opened properly on April 22 2011, with the Lord Mayor of Coventry in attendance. Covered in the newspapers, covered in the aviation press, and on the local TV news.

Later the same year, the Mayor was back again – this time for the dedication of our Shackleton. Every major milestone achieved in the last 18 months has been covered, and covered well.

There has been roughly one event a month, as it was figured out fairly quickly that the place is event driven. The night runs, and the more recent open cockpit day, and a couple of car shows have shown this.

Invite local schools,take them round the aircraft, give them a cardboard model of a twin pin, fill them up with hot dogs and thrust a family discount pass into their clammy palms,

Local schools? We had the week long Imagineering, and the heritage open days. You can get family tickets. For a while there was reduced entry if you came back more than once in a certain period.

that way ill guarantee within a fortnight theyll be back with the clan, daddys credit card to spend in the museum shop and trusting the british climate youll make a killing on the Airbase brollies!

You would lose your guarantee. While there’s always something different Airbase is difficult to get to. Most of the uninformed people looking for an air museum get as far as Rowley Road, and stop when they spot Midland, unless they’re booked in for a pleasure flight. The number of times I’ve directed people by phone (up to and including this weekend just gone) would boggle the mind.

The difficulty of access to Airbase where it stands would be compounded by the planned developments around the edges of the site – which are to include the closure of entry into Baginton off Rowley Road or Bubbenhall Road, and the closure of the airport’s West Gate.

Moving a collection like this is lunacy.

Please. Share your vast experience of doing such a thing. Then maybe I’ll believe its lunacy. Do you honestly believe this is a decision to be taken lightly?

the grass is never greener on the otherside, and has anyone thought what effect the salt laden cornish air will have on the fleet?i doubt it,

A Shackleton and Nimrod that did 40 years maritime work, DC3’s that do pollution control, and don’t forget at one point RVL used to be on site who had a Coastguard contract. I’m sure the idea of salt air has never once crossed anybody’s mind.

It strikes me theres been some palm stroking here, and what of what they leave behind?

If you truly think bribery is involved you’re an idiot.

im sure the Shackleton lads will soon tire of opening up on a drizzly sunday morning to answer questions from a host of chile bearing grandads a long suffering wife and the local boy scout group!

I’ve opened and worked on ‘963 in rain, wind, snow, sun, and ice – weekly – for the past three years. I will quit the task when I’m stone cold dead and not before. I don’t care who it is that wants to look at our Shack, I’m just happy to let them.

Most if not all of my little team are of the same mind. Please don’t presume to speak for us.

what they have at coventry is a golden nugget which needs brushing off and giving a good polish!

No matter how many jewels there are in the collection, polish doesn’t make more visitors.

I’m keeping an open mind about the whole thing until I know a bit more about it.

Rich

I have just been trying to figure out the copper tag. It reminds me much of the weight tags fixed to old coal sacks – though I doubt the Bedouin have many coal deliveries! It is also marked Cad Cu (Copper Cadmium?) and a weight that looks to be 127 lbs. An odd thing to be with a flier or the P40. One assumes that it must have been something personal to the pilot (if associated at all with the P40 or the pilot) as it bears no AM stores reference. I realise this was a US built a/c, but did a UK based manufacturer supply parts to Curtis? If not, and if it is an AM piece of kit fitted to the P40, then wouldn’t it have an AM stores reference? Certainly a curious mystery.

So you have something circular, of a metal that is easy to keep relatively shiny, and with a hole in the centre.

Possibly a makeshift Heliograph?

Rich

Good luck guys.

I can’t believe the Inspector dismissed the appeal – from the tone of his report it seemed like it was going to be a positive decision. To see the word dismissed at the top was surprising.