I am pretty sure that NF389 is a FAAHF machine. It was certainly the FAA display Swordfish in the early sixties and the link is to a FAAHF page.

Janie you probably did work on the CASA / Heinkel as it was at North Weald late 90’s early 200’s and may well have been there for a long time before that. It had been woith Paul Raymonds collection at the Whitehall Theatre after the closure of Southend.
The aerial shot of the museum must be quite soon after opening as the green hut burnt to the ground when the paint store overheated during a very hot spell and it was replaced by a prefab.

Thought you might loikre this picture of WG655 taken this Saturday. The remains of the Boscombe Sea Fury (VZ345?) were also in the hangar. Not too sure what has happened with the colours. I had to enhance the picture as it was too dark, looks fine on my computer but the colours are breaking up when I view it inon the web.
[ATTACH]173466[/ATTACH]

As Bruce quite rightly pointed out there is no point in us all working in different directions. My current health and related lack of ability to stand for long periods together with a recent hernia op mean that there is now way I could even contemplate much in the way of hands on action at present so I felt the most constructive thing I could do was email my MP giving what I thought was porobably the best option for preservation particularly in view of the short time until scheduled scrapping. I thought it would be a good idea to post the text from the email here so that anyone contemplating a similar approach to their MP would know what I proposed.
Please don’t get me wrong I am not saying that any other solution is better or worse than my proposal – simply that I felt my suggestion offered a viable way of rescuing the aircraft which would be initiated from within the organisation that plans to scrap her ie the RAF which should mean there aren’t too many communication breakdowns and that the scrapping may be deferred pending the investigation of preservation options open to the RAF Museum. Email sent to Robert Spink MP is below:-

I appreciate that as an MP you have more pressing things to deal with but I was hoping that you might try to help save the De Havilland Comet C2 that currently guards the gate at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire as I understand that the airframe has been scheduled for scrapping in a few weeks time.
The airframe is significant as it is probably the last complete early short fuselage Comet in the world and is externally similar in appearance to the first Comets which suffered pressurisation failures.
The airframe was owned by the RAF Museum so presumerably at one time they considered it to be a significant aircraft but when it was transported to Lyneham for gate guard duties the RAF Museum relinquished ownership and I understand that since arrival at Lyneham comparatively little seems to have been done to maintain the aiframe. As it is now surplus to requirements at Lyneham it would seem appropriate to pass ownership back to the RAF Museum who should at worst have the room and facilities to store it properly pending restoration.
I do appreciate that we can’t save every aircraft on the planet and also understand the problems and costs involved in moving and restoring a large airframe but I do believe that in heritage terms this is a significant aeroplane and therefore it should be saved rather than being allowed to fall under the scrapman’s axe.
If the RAF Museum don’t have the funds to finance a move then perhaps it would be appropriate to obtain funds from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. You will find more information at the link below.

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=91279&page=2

Anything you feel able to do to highlight the plight of this historic aircarft would be appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email.

Regards

Tony Avis

Interesting to see that there is supposedly an exemption from the new airliner restrictions for Daks. I had noticed that the programme on the website for La Ferte Alais included pleasure flights in a JU-52 and I had been meaning to post asking how a JU-52 could operate passenger flights in France while the Dak was not allowed here. I had thought it was the traditional French way of resolving these problems by forgetting that the restriction existed but I assume the JU-52 has been granted a similar exemption.

Thanks for the info. Looks like I was halfway there which isn’t bad considering that it must be 35 years or so since I last saw the nose section.

To avoid any confusion the casino referred to is the one actually on the shoreline not the one in the Kursaal. The display line starts around the pier and goes westward to a bit past the casino. I should think somewhere on the front below the Cliffs Pavilion would be about right but I have always found photography difficult from the seafront road as there are too many heads in the way. Problem is if you choose to go up the cliffs a little the fairground rides and/or the trees on the cliffs cause problems.
For a fair bit of the day you will also be photographing with the sun in front of you so I have always found it a difficult place to get good photos.
The other alternative could be a trip up the pier. Assuming access is still allowed I think you will find that you can only go right to the end which is about a mile offshore but you should have the sun behind you and the display aircraft should pass between you and the shoreline but I don’t know how far away they will be.
Hope this helps a bit.

It is true that there are still barn finds (although Bruce is quite right in saying that the Bugatti along with other significant cars are out of sight (so they haven’t been seen for a long time) but their owners and usually their location are well known to many people within the vintage / classic car world.
It is extremely rare now to find significant race cars in barns as most historic race cars have well documented histories which means that for the most part their owners and movements are well known or can be researched relatively easily particularly since the advent of the internet.
This ease of research hasn’t always been popular with some owners or some dealers especially in cases where it is now possible to shed some light on the history of cars and other vehicles with a dodgy provenance.
Around 15 years ago I met Colin Seeley (the legendary motorcycle frame builder) through a friend. He told us he had attended a major motorcycle auction a while before and one of the bikes on offer was described as a Seeley Matchless. As the auctioneer described the bike prior to getting the bidding started Colin stood up and said “before you go any furhter I would like to say that I have inspected this bike and it is not a Seeley Matchless. In fact I can’t find a single Seeley part on the bike. Oh and if you are wondering how I can be so certain my name is Colin Seeley.” He then sat down and I believe the bike was withdrawn from sale.
He told us he took this action because he was fed up with other people making money from his name using false provenances. I admired him for his honesty and having the balls to stand up and say his piece. If only everyone in the classic vehicle world was that honest.