Thanks for clarifying the “flying wires” – It didn’t occur to me that he meant control cables.

I understood the Rapide was an airworthy restoration that didn’t actually belong to the museum. I wasn’t even aware that they had an Otter and certainly didn’t see it when I visited in June 2011 so it had either gone or was well hidden.

Elvington has held car and motorcycle race meetings for a long time so anyone who buys a property near the airfield should expect some noise. Race meetings are only be held on a comparatively small number of weekends each year so the overall disturbance must be pretty minimal. The landowners obviously need to make an income from the site and the most likely alternative would be for the airfield to close and the site turned into an industrial site or housing estate which would undoubtedly increase the overall noise level on a daily basis as well as creating more traffic in the area. The locals need to get real and appreciate that things could be a lot worse. I suspect the local council would be quite happy to see houses or industrial units on the site as it would give them a nice big increase in income from business rates.
We have a rugby field about a quarter mile away. Although there are 2 streets between my home and the rugby field I can still hear the shouting and often make out the offensive language used by some of the spectators on a Sunday morning but it appears that this is generally regarded as acceptable because the noise comes from a rugby field and not an aviation or motorsport facility.I have yet to meet a motorsport or an aviation enthusiast who feels a need to shout and swear while watching an airshow or motorsport event but it seems perfectly acceptable for those who go to watch what are regarded as socially acceptable sports like football and rugby to shout out offensive language and ruin the chances of others enjoying a quiet day without the threat of noise abatement measures – slight case of double standards?

We get the ITV local news that covers the South coast and according to their report the boat was running with a Rolls Royce Meteor engine. The owner did say during the interview I saw that they had the original engine back in the workshop but it was very expensive to overhaul.
From the costs angle a Meteor engine makes sense and it is a great acheivment to have her running again after all these years.
I think this one is Bluebird K3 or possibly K4 so maybe we will get to see her running on the same water as Bluebird K7 one day – that really would be a sight.

I couldn’t manage the cockpit ladder due to my knee problems but had a good wander around underneath and was there for the APU run. The sheer amount of work you have put into XL426 is unbelievable and you all have my respect and admiration for your devotion. Look forward to the day when she moves under her own power again.

Let’s hope they are all found safe and soon.

From the owners point of view it is a difficult situation. If the location of a collection becomes common knowledge there will always be enthusiasts who want to visit.
A perfect example would be Doug Arnold’s aircraft at Blackbushe which never appeared to be easy to see but many of us fuelled by the enthusiasm of youth and a love of historic aircraft still tried and doubtless caused a lot of work for Doug Arnold in chasing us off. It could be argued that the collection could have been made accessible but it would cost money for the public liability insurance to allow visitors and for staff to keep an eye on things. It is also pretty inevitable that at some point there will be a visitor who is casing the place to return later and lift whatever can be removed easily and to discourage these “visitors” the Mustang and P-51 were guarded by very large dogs.
It would be great if all owners felt able to share their collections, but quite apart from the fact that others own them for reasons other than a love of old aeroplanes, it can be expensive and risky to let others see what you own.
I own a classic car and a classic competition motorcycle, both of which are stored but few people know about them simply because I am concerned that they may go walkabout if their location became common knowledge.

Really pleased that the Varsity has got a new home and I am also surprised that she appears to be structurally so sound after so long outside. If she does fly again that will be a real bonus but whatever happens I hope she is kept inside at St Mawgan as there must be a lot of salt in the air down there.
In comparison the Southend museum was well inland but the salt air still badly affected the aircraft outside.