I own a Rochdale Olympic kit cart and until recently our AGM was held at Midland Air Museum. When I had some surplus mages and books I took them with me to the next AGM, gave them to MAM and said they could put whatever they wanted to keep in the museum and sell the rest. None of the items had a huge value so they weren’t worth listing on Ebay but I felt I did my best to pass them on to somewhere where they might do a little to help the preservation movement.
My other half often says that she is worried about what would happen if I pegged out. She has no idea of values or how to dispose of my car, motorbike, models or my motorsport and aviation books and papers. I have told her that I am sure that my friends would help out and the one proviso is that absolutely nothing must go back to my family.

Have to agree with G-ASEA about archivists. I have even seen items from the National Motor Museum archive which were disposed of in auctions – Not the way donated items should be treated.

Maybe I am being missing something here but I don’t understand how there is a need to commit £40,000 ( around £800 a week) to the Spitfire project in the coming year.
The replica has been built so the costs of maintenance must be minimal.
The trailer has been bought so again maintenance must be fairly minimal.
What other sponsorship and support is required other than insurabnce which presumerably is covered by a central RBL policy?
Maybe RBL is paying for fuel to move the replica to and from shows and maybe they are contributing towards the food and drinks for volunteers who staff the stand when the Spit is on show (although in my experience most genuine as opposed to “professional” volunteers usually take their own food and drink to keep costs down) so what other sponsorship and support is required?
What marketing is required?
You turn up, unpack the Spit, get out the stand, tables and chairs, make it look as attractive as possible and wait for the public to turn up, ask questions and possibly join the RBL or make a donation – hard work yes but not exactly rocket science.
I suppose there is always the possibility that they have had to pay for the pitch at some events although my understanding is that at many events charities either get free pitches or a greatly reduced rate. If RBL aren’t getting any discounts when it comes to space at events then maybe someone in RBL should be a little more pushy when it comes to negotiations with organisers.
I just can’t see how any of this adds up to an average of about £800 a week.
As far as awareness of the Legion and its work goes. Surely there is a leaflet available outlining the aims of the legion which could be given out at events to those who show a genuine interest. If there is no leaflet then someone in publicity isn’t on the ball.
Of course the other possibiltiy is that there are such leaflets and every one of these is charged out to the Spitfire project workers at x pence each and this is where a large part of the £40,000 comes from.
I also don’t understand how you can possibly assess how much awareness of the RBL the replica has generated. It is such an intangible thing to measure.
In my view the RBL statement has a lot of words but doesn’t really say much. It seems to emphasise all the negatives without seeking to find any positive way to move forward other than “let’s not worry about the money we have already sunk into this – let’s just cut our losses and run. – sorry not impressed.

I hadn’t realised what an impact the occupation had on the residents of the Channel Islands until I visited Jersey a few years ago and went to the underground hospital.
The main emphasis has always seemed to be that we fought a war against the Germans in mainland Europe and there was a funny little place called the Channel Islands that the germans invaded for a while but it had little effect on the population and everyone there lived happily ever after. My visit was a real eye opener and made me appreciate the sacrifices that made by many Channel Islanders.
As regards the obscure civil aircraft destruction posts – please keep them coming as they fascinate me as well. It amazes me how many aircraft have been left to rot or tucked away on farms and in buildings over the years and just occassionally a little gem surfaces from the most obscure of places.

Thank you for the support. Do you think that we should have a team anorak?

I would be more than happy with another anorak but my other half says she has quite enough to do washing the aviation, classic car and classic motorcycle ones that I have already so I think I had better give another one a miiss.
She has noticed the way I gaze lovingly at almost anything with wings when I take her to Old Warden and has offered to try to grow a pair of wings of her own provided it would guarantee her a little more attention. I declined the offer as I knew I would never have the funds to get her certified as a new type by the CAA.

Not been to the RAF Museum for ages and don’t feel too inclined to go if the areas I really want to see are likely to be closed when I get there but I thought the LVG was taken back from Shuttleworth because it was going straight into the Milestones of Flight gallery.

So can we assume that there is a risk that EASA may come to stand for something like “Exterminate All Special Aircraft” in the future.
I assumed that the reason UK operators have not sought a special exemption for DC-3 ops is that the application would be too expensive to make it financially viable. All credit to the DDA for getting an exemption.
I was wondering what will happen with the Lufthansa Constellation. My understanding is that EASA rules mean it should be equipped with modern escape chutes. I suppose it would be possible to fit them but surely there would be weight and space problems so I assume that Lufthansa will seek an exemption for the Connie when it is back in the air.

Pleased to see her back on her wheels again. It is also good to see that local firms were prepared to help out at what must be a difficult time (in money terms) for them.