At Bruntingthorpe, still with the intention of moving it to Cosford at some point I believe. If they can be bothered, that is. :rolleyes:

So are you going to tell us what it is Daniel? Or is this another one of those “I know something you don’t, but I’m not going to tell you what it is because it makes me feel important” posts?

…the United Kingdom finds itself in the position of being forced to buy more AgustaWestland helicopters under the threat of the closure of Yeovil?

There won’t be another major UK military helicopter buy for decades. Training and SAR are being privatised, and the current fleets of Wildcat/Merlin (RN), Wildcat/Apache (updated/remanufactured) (AAC) and Chinook/Puma 2 (RAF) will soldier on for a long, long time to come, so your point is a moot one really.

Amongst all the discussion of hanging aircraft, I have never heard a preservation professional, anywhere in the world, say that it is a good idea from a conservation point of view to hang aircraft up, putting stresses through load paths they were never designed for, often cutting holes or bolting on brackets to areas which were never designed for.

It depends on your definition of ‘not too distant future’. Didn’t Duncan Sandys make a similar prophecy back in 1957?

If I were Mr. Weeks, I’d get the B-24 ready and the Martin B-26 as well. He might even break-even on the deal.

His support operation are not able to operate these types from his home base on a ‘fly occasionally’ basis. Both were marginally airworthy when he acquired them, and that was years ago. They were then parked. They would need a thorough going-through, from top to bottom, before they are even capable of flying again. Do you really think an intercontinental tour is a viable option for him?

It was the arrival of the B-52, not the B-29, that necessitated closure of the M11.

I did hear once that there were other runways in the UK longer than Duxford’s, but I’m not sure if it was true. I did also hear that there were other venues that feature historic aircraft, but I certainly don’t believe that one!

If the recent trip by the Canadian Lancaster has taught us anything, it is that involvement from Duxford is not required for a visit to be a success.

That was the one which frightened the crap out of me at La Ferte in 2005, when the then-owner lost control at low level. A good job the airfield there is on a hill…

See this video, at about the 0.55 mark http://youtu.be/BRuOU8kH1II