But I’m an enthusiast, I’m probably an easy touch. What the operators of museums and collections have to do, particularly in these straitened times, is ensure that all those boxes are ticked for members of the public.kev35

I think you have hit the nail very firmly on the head.
For museums to be successful they have to attract the ordinary public and also try to get them to revisit on a regular basis.
I am sure that the founder and helpers at Lasham had good intentions but the unpalatable truth was that to a member of the public it appeared to be little more than a collection of derelict aircraft. There were signs of work in progress to preserve them but I am probably right in saying that nothing ever really got finished simply because they lacked the manpower and finance to maintain such a large collection. In some ways they would probably have been better off with fewer properly restored airframes but then the other side of the coin is that there would then be the perception that “there isn’t much there to see” so really it was a no win situation. The positive side is that the airframes were saved and many have now moved on hopefully to a brighter future.
I was at Hendon a few weeks ago and noticed that there were a good few youngsters aged from 10 or so to early teens – probably the sort of age where I first showed an interest in getting involved with working on aircraft rather than just looking at them. While it was obvious that a few were already very knowledgable about aviation there were some _ particularly in the early teens group who were very obviously out to find something to break or a way to be a nuisance including an attempt to flood the toilet floors while I was in there.
There must be something that museums can do to try to engage these young people (yes I know part of the problem can be poor parenting) and get them to appreciate what they are walking past (thats right PAST – some of them weren’t even looking AT the exhibits as they were to busy seeking out ways to cause trouble).
It does seem to me that the staff at Hendon and in the Science Museum do little to “enhance the visitor experience” by offering information and advice about the exhibits to those who show an interest.
As a teenager I worked at Southend it was quite common for youngsters to ask how you got into the Sea Fury as it was a long way from the ground to the cockpit with no obvious way to get onto the wing. A minute or so pulling the stirrup out of the fuselage and demonstrating the spring loaded step in the wing root and pulling out steps in the fuselage left the youngster (and his dad) educated and entertained. I suppose I would get brickbats for doing that today as I never had a risk assessment to see if there was a chance that I might injure myself or the public by trapping my fingers in the spring loaded stirrup or folding steps.
Museums also need to maintain presentation standards. When I visited Midland Air Museum each year to go to my car club AGM it did seem that a lot of the exhibits were quite dusty and much the same could be said of Hendon, Duxford and some parts of South Kensington although the ground level exhibits in the flight gallery do seem to get dusted regularly. I have no doubt that others have similar problems but these were places I have visited and noticed the dust myself
I know it is difficult to keep everything clean, particularly large airframes where regular access to top surfaces can be a problem (especially in these days of Health and Safety assessments) but dirt and dust tend to imply neglect and once the public think things are neglected they often don’t return for a second visit.
Keeping the public entertained and also educating them a little at the same time is a very delicate balancing act but it is one that aviation museums need to master if they are to keep the public coming through the gates to guarantee their future.

Is it from China or the former Soviet Union? :diablo:

Don’t know but there could well be a whole squadron of them at Legends (unless they sell out beforehand).

I am sure that someone has already mentioned Debden but rereading this thread reminded me that the 1968 Debden Air Fair included a motorcycle sprint with an appearance by Alf Hagon and also Marlene Parker on the works Lambretta sprinter – she was well known for record breaking on Lambrettas – as well as an appearance by Spitifres and Buchons from the Battle of Britain film which has already been covered in another thread. I had to pester the life out of my dad for weeks to get him to take me.

I thought that rather than using attachments you can upload pictures as a personal album in your user profile and then copy the url for each picture to post it onto a thread. It is then possible for anyone to look at the album in your user profile (if you make it public) as well as the individual picture(s) from the album on a thread. Sorry if the description is a bit vague but a bit of digging around in the rules and your personal profile should make it all a bit clearer.

Brooklands….

I think Brooklands is probably unique in that it started as a race circuit which then attracted aviators. It is also the only one where the race circuit was discontinued and the airfield developed rather than the airfield losing out to the race circuit.

I think the reason I mentioned a 1/18th scale toy/model was partly because I sorta fancied one myself:D

The problem is that toys and models no longer overlap. Toys are definitely toys and not detailed enough for most enthusiasts and the models produced now are very definitely collectors items and any handling or test flights by a child will turn them into something resembling a scrapped airframe in no time at all.
My advice is buy something for yourself and tell the other half it was a bargain to pass on to the grandson when he is old enough to appreciate it and buy the grandson something he can enjoy now without having adults grab it every 5 mins to stop him breaking it. That way everyone is happy an Christmas Day.

For a 3 year old I would suggest something smaller but robust like matchbox Skybusters – plenty available on Ebay and you could always buy him more than one to start off a mini air force. They take up much less room and will withstand far more play use than most of the larger models that are around.
You could also look at the Corgi Showcase range or the small range LLedo made (later taken over by Corgi) which include WW1 types and a Tiger Moth. Both ranges are are small scale and not as robust as Matchbox but they are still pretty strong and are affordable (should be around £5 or so each). Corgi Showcase are made to fit one size box so no constant scale but they made a good selection of prop driven taildraggers.
You could also have a look at the models made by Newray – again a search on Ebay should throw some up- they are not as robust as Matchbox but are good value.
If you want something that flies then something cheap and simple would probably best fit the bill. Found these people on Ebay
http://www.myskies.co.uk/
The chuck / catapault gliders would probably be OK. Most 3 year olds have a short attention span so short flights and lots of launching would probably be ideal.
If you want something a bit more complicated something here might fit the bill

http://www.flyingtoys.com/index.php

Silverlit have a good reputation but you might feel these are bit complicated at his age.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

I can’t believe that you managed to do such good quality work in such a short time. I must admit I haven’t had huge amounts of practice but it takes me hours to do anything remotely worthwhile with photoshop.
The admittedly rather jerky animation on my website home page took me 3 days and several attempts to get to its current state.
When I am feeling brave and patient again I will have another go and see if I can get Little Toni to fly more smoothly.