Just for the record a Constellation, Bristol Freighter and a couple of Daks have graced past PFA rallys at Cranfield……. (the good old days !!!!). Oh yes, the BBMF Lanc also paid a visit and as I recollect stopped overnight on one ocassion.

Planemike

Went to several of the Cranfield rallies but I missed those. My loss – particularly the Freighter and the Connie.

Mike
That is terrific progress. Hope to get up for a visit when the weather gets better.

I think it is fair to say that nearly every UK display is fair value for money compared to other events like football, horse racing, speedway, motorsport and classic car shows.
The money invested in acquiring and maintaining aircraft for displays is significantly greater than that needed to maintain the equipment used in most other public events (with the possible exception of some race cars) yet (unlike most other events) aircraft owners get a comparatively small return on their investment and are usually fortunate to break even let alone make a profit from a seasons display flying.
We are very lucky to have people who have deep pockets and are prepared to invest huge amounts of money in maintaining and learning to fly vintage aircraft and in displaying them for our pleasure.

[QUOTE=RPSmith;1535378]It’s easy to criticise 20 – 30 years on and/or with a big dollop of hindsight.

Today it seems readily acceptable to cut a large aircraft to transport and then stitch it back together at it’s new home. I’m not critiscising but (in the UK) such operations are fairly new and I doubt it would have been considered when Strathallan closed.

I think you are right. Certainly when I was at Southend I don’t think there would have been any credence given to a project which involved moving a large aircraft in sections unless it came apart comparatively easily and into manageable sections at transport joints.
I think the truth is that over the past 30 years or so there has been a huge increase in the level of expertise available to most preservation groups possibly in part because more retired engineers are involved now whereas in the 60’s and early 70’s most involved were probably enthusiastic but mainly comparatively unskilled amateurs.
The methods of transporting outsize loads have also improved and bigger and better roads make it easier to move outsize loads around the country.
It can be quite easy to forget that things have moved on a long way since the days when Sea Fury WJ288 was towed to Biggin Hill on its own wheels and with the wings folded (behind a Landrover I believe) with no police escort or road closures to become the first exhibit for what would eventually become the Southend museum.
Try the same trick now and you would get every police vehicle and health and safety rep in the country on your case.

I may have got this wrong but the way I read it is that it will no longer be possible for a European operator to fly 1-11’s as Airbus have withdrawn the type certificate because they are no longer prepared to provide any kind of advice or engineering support either to operators or to the authorities.
I suppose in other parts of the world it will still be possible to fly 1-11s
provided they are able to obtain a C of A in their country of registration although it may be that the C of A would not be valid for operations within Europe.
Presumerably there is also the option for Airbus to pass the responsibility for the type certificate to another company (if anyone wants it) provided EASA are happy that the new holders of the certificate could provide the required
back up.
I appreciate that the last option would be unlikely as the chances of anyone wanting to take over the type certificate are very small but am I right in thinking that in theory it would be possible for this to happen?
As the QinetiQ aircraft carry military serials I presume that they are unaffected by any rules governing civil operators.
Is there anyone out there who can confirm that either this is a fair summary of the current position or that I am way off beam and haven’t understood the way type certificates and EASA operate. – Thanks

Apologies if someone has posted this already but according to the latest Flypast moving the aircraft to Lyneham and the offices to Hinckley has saved £10,000 a month.
The obvious question is why weren’t these options looked at sooner. After all if the same move had been made a year ago there would be another £120,000 in the kitty now that appears to have been wasted by not looking at alternative bases for both the aircraft and offices at an earlier date.
When times get tough every business in which I have ever been involved has made the reduction of overheads such as rental costs a major priority – it is just pure common sense. I lost my business during the last recession but by relocating and reducing overheads I managed to survive 4 to 5 years longer than I would have done by staying put in my original base. Even when I did go under I was on the point of finalising a rescue package and it was only because of the actions of a couple of people unconnected with my business or my financial backers that the rescue stalled and I closed the doors.
I really hope they do raise the money required but at the same time if they are successful I hope that the whole way of managing fund raising and the costs involved in managing the funds are put under the microscope so that in future there are less people with their hand out for a share of the funds before the money reaches the cause for which it is donated.

The timing of the 2 shows is unfortunate and maybe the organisers should have worked together to space them a little further apart. I suppose they both wanted to take advantage of what will hopefully be the better part of the year for weather.
It will mean one deep pocket month for many but the eventual cost over the season to attend both displays would be the same regardless of them being one week or two months apart. It just means a bit of careful budgeting to make sure the money to attend is available at the right time and there is always the option of buying tickets in advance to spread some of the cost over a longer period.