I was fortunate enough to see CSS fly a few times and would love to see her in the air again.
The runway at Old Warden was lengthened to allow CSS to operate from there after Hatfield closed but my understanding is that she is a bit of a handful during landing and maybe it would be better to operate from somewhere with a wider and perhaps longer runway where there is more of a safety margin if something goes a little wrong during approach.
The downside of this is that she wouldn’t be on display at OW between flights but I am not sure that many of the ordinary public (as opposed to diehard enthusiasts) who visit Old Warden on non flying days entirely appreciate the significance of CSS anyway.

There was talk of the Bianchi replicas being moved to Stow Maries. I believe the arrival date for the first one was expected to be around 25 October so hopefully they will be there soon. If this all comes to fruition they will certainly add even more atomosphere to the place and make it even more of an attraction for enthusiasts.

I think most of us appreciate that an owner has the right to privacy and may have worries over security and possible theft or damage.
Equally, as an enthusiast it is very frustrating to know that something is out there and we don’t even get to see a picture of it. By all means keep the location secret but a picture against a non descript backdrop which won’t reveal the location is greatly appreciated by most of us.
I have a particular interest in air racers so i am really pleased to hear that this one is being well lokked after. I would love to see this aeroplane and to see it fly would be even better.

Notice its still a Hadley rather than a Handley and also without mention of all the other mistakes. Pretty poor. Richard

It is poor particularly when the item is listed by a well known and well regarded preservation group. What is even worse is that if the item had been listed and described correctly it would probably have generated more bids and raised more money for DAS so someone’s carelessness may ulimately be costing them money which they can sorely afford to lose.

Doesn’t exactly fill any prospective buyer with confidence…
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-SEATER-HAWKER-HUNTER-JET-/220875912141?pt=Motors_Aircraft&hash=item336d3af3cd

That listing is total bulldogs.

It hasn’t changed my outlook at all. Having never been involved in aviation as a living I have no technical knowledge to pass on but having been an aviation enthusist for 45+ years I have been able to pass on little bits of information now and then. As a result of someone contacting me through the forum I have also been involved in helping someone find out about his father (who he never met) who was involved in aircraft preservation in the early days.
I have also learnt about and attended some events that I wouldn’t have known about without reading the forum. I enjoy reading the posts and contributing my odd bits and pieces from time to time.

At the end of the day it is up to the seller of any item to have a realistic idea of it’s value before either quoting a sale price or accepting an offer.
If you undersell something through a lack of knowledge then there is only one person to blame particularly now when it is comparatively easy to do some research on the internet to get an idea of values and desirability.
I have no doubt that he may have sold his Spitfire for less then the market value BUT when I was young static Spitfires weren’t worth a great deal of money as there was no real warbird movement and no one producing parts or with the expertise to put them back in the air. Did the buyer hang on to it for a time and then take advantage of the fact that most old and interesting aircraft tend to go up in value if they are well looked after and properly stored ( the storage alone usually costs money)or maybe the buyer carried out some work or accumulated other parts to make a more complete project before selling it on. We don’t know the whole story.
I remember Bill Francis bringing TB863 to the Southend Museum. I spoke to Bill many times and, as a teenager, I used to look at the battered and holed wings and found it very hard to believe that he would ever manage to get her to fly again. I am sure I wasn’t the only sceptic but she did fly again albeit a good time later and with a new owner. I am sure Bill must have sold her on for more money than he originally paid but he spent money moving her at least twice and put in a lot of work as well which justified his apparent profit.
Whatever the circumstances the Swift plainly needs a large amount of money spent on it to return it to a state where it would be a long term exhibit for a museum. It is rare but there is no chance of flying it and there must be a very small number of potential buyers for a static airframe particularly one which needs so much restoration, probably has limited spares availability and will need to be kept indoors when finished.
I honestly hope someone can work out a deal to rescue this one. Going by the Ebay pictures it will not be too long before the only taker would be the scrapman if it stays where it is with no TLC for much longer and I somehow don’t think the scrapman would be prepared to part with half a million pounds to take it away.

Do I detect a note of ‘if onlys’ here? What am I offered for a ride in a DH 82a, a DH 83c, a DH 84a and a DH94 all on the same day,place and pilot?

Stan

If you think my small piece of fabric fom G-AIDF would be any use for your Magister restoration I am sure we could sort somethng out!