Aircraft preservation – what it means to me?…. At one time I would have simply stated that fixing old aeroplanes was the whole point, but not now.
The preservation movement of aircraft is possibly the biggest and most widely spread of all the different types of heritage protection. I can’t think of any other group of people WORLD WIDE who group together for the benefit of all, in so many ways! The nearest rival for sheer numbers is the classic car movement. It is rare for the car restorers to do something for the public… That is not to diss them at all (I’m one myself!) but more to do with the fact that they can USE their own vehicles. The military vehicle restorers do a similar job to us, but the scale is smaller – for now. Aeroplanes catch the imagination of the general public and as such are prized items to be preserved. The logistics of such projects generally determine that the aircraft are to be static forever, but some people have taken the next step and breated new life into old machinery. At the other end of the scale, are the people who are able to operate those aircraft. In general, I think we have the most widespread and fluid preservation movement, as well as being fortunate enough to have a large public appeal.
As for how can we help our preservation movement? – We have a very fluid industry here – from the archivists to the pilots, from someone making a new instrument panel to someone flying a nuclear bomber, and we must do what we can when we are able. Every little helps. Thirty years ago, many museums were formed from a collection of enthusiasts (usually meeting in a pub) and resulted in a few airframes in a fiels with no clear plan of what to do with them… many of those collections are now amazing – rare aircraft, solid collecting policies, and catchment areas of national size. To use MAM as an example, I guarantee that the bloke who had the first ‘lets get an aeroplane’ idea never really thought that it would blossom into the amazing facility it is now. NEAM is the same, although a few years behind MAM.
When Mr. Collins first started his hornet project, he probably started with ‘I wonder if it would be possible to make an instrument panel’ or something similar. Look at what he has done…
Mr. Walton was probably the same – ‘Maybe I should buy the last flying Vulcan and keep it going – you never know what might happen in the future’. Look whats happpening there!
Someone said further up the tread ‘ Little Acorns’. Dead right.
Do what we can, when we can – everything helps.
Men Women and Children who have ever donated, cleaned, built, repaired, researched, or helped in anyway are just as important as the money men and the pilots. Everyone needs to give themselves a pat on the back.
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