Phillip,
We do certain things in life because we have passion.
A lot of people have a passion for things aeronautical.
Some of those people have a passion for a combination of aeronautics and history.
Fewer people have a passion to preserve aeronautical history
Very few have a passion to preserve a specific item that is historic and aeronautical.

You are going through a period of your life persuing your particular passion but it may not have a happy ending. You can, it seems, sense this end already. I too am in a similar frustrating situation – although I am still hoping for a happy outcome. IF it is an unhappy ending there will be a great sense of loss, not like losing a parent – I would perhaps liken it to unrequited love?

Keep on with the struggle, do your best, b*gger anyone else who says they’re bored listening, ‘little men’ can – and have – won great battles. When the fight is done, if you lose you should console yourself with the knowledge you did all you could do.

Roger Smith.

The Manchester is an unusual subject. Are these recently built models?

Roger Smith.

she was however modified by AWA at Baginton (AKA Coventry Airport) to PR status after the war.

surely you mean West Midlands International Airport 😀 😀 😀

Roger Smith.

ps – now you say “don’t call me shirley” 😀

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band “Shaved Fish” from 1974 or 75 has a small image of a B-17 – although this is a model.

Lindisfarne’s 1979 album “The News” has it’s title on the front sky-written (over Lindisfarne) by a Sopwith Pup watched by a Conquistador on a horse!. On the rear cover the sky-writing is only half done as the Pup goes down in flames.

Roger Smith.

DH106 I didn’t intend to imply the Avro Manchester was related to the Vickers Wellington

25 deg south I was aware of the relationship of the York to the Lancaster but hadn’t got time to work out a way of illustrating that via the computer keyboard :confused:

My original idea of ‘family’ was concurrent or follow-on designs from the same design office thus the Tudor would be an addition to the Manchester family.

One could argue a family line from the Sopwith Tabloid to the Hawker (sorry BAe) Hawk but I was thinking of aircraft with structural commonalities.

Roger Smith.

The Musee de L’air et de L’espace claim to be the first truly aeronautical collection in the World having been formed in 1919. Perhaps that should be qualified as being the earliest surviving collection as Britain formed a collection of WW1 aircraft which was assembled in the Royal Agricultural Halls, London at about the same time. Although some of the aircraft survived, the collection did not.

With the Smithsonian, it is perhaps necessary to differentate between collecting aeroplanes for (then) present-day teaching purposes and collecting to preserve for future generations to look at (and learn from).

Roger Smith.

snailmail address for him in the new “Wrecks and Relics”.

Roger Smith.