Don’t just consider it, do it.

Come on, get out and talk to people who don’t have a clue what you’re doing, enlighten them.

It’s good fun and you might learn something from someone who manufactured or worked on or flew the same type as your cockpit or even, as has happened at Damyns Hall, someone who worked on the actual aircraft your cockpit was detached from.

Alf’s pleas, he’s a miserable pleader, don’t do the event justice. The lack of flying is a disappointment but not so much as to make it not worth attending. The variety of forces represented there with high levels of accuracy and the arena displays are stunning.

And in response to a comment made privately to me, I don’t work for the event or the HMVA, I’m just a cockpit owner who thinks that we need to get out more and I’m putting my money where my mouth is, so to speak.

No indeed – but interesting to see that he sees it as primarily an issue of cutting migration, and has not, in his decently long post, considered the economic arguments.

I do think its time for some to consider the benefits of migration. By and large, and whatever you read in the press, people aren’t coming here to live on benefits. They come because they can get well paid jobs, and they benefit our economy as a result of this. I note yesterday that employment as a percentage of population is now at the highest level since records began, so you cant even claim they are stealing ‘our’ jobs.

Living where I do I can tell you that while some immigrants perform magnificent work in various jobs, many do come here just for the higher benefits and send a good proportion of the money back to their home country, bet that isn’t included in the Overseas Aid to corruption Budget. As to the refugee that are allowed in once they’ve entered the EU, look at the news, and on the streets round me, how many are fit young men and and how many are elderly or women or children?

Re the stealing of our jobs, there is evidence that immigrants are taking low paid jobs that would otherwise go to the indigenous population but this is possibly as much about rogue employers as the immigrants themselves. As in a previous post, many of them are little more than slaves and some die because of a disregard for safety on the part of their slave masters, and that’s not being emotive, that’s exactly what they are.

That is of course unless the second part of the EU legislation for deactivated weapons is rubber stamped into law by faceless unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. Not only will there be no deactivated weapons of any kind or anything that even looks like a weapon but also no weapons platforms. No flying ex-warbirds full stop.

Off now to make a cup of tea, I have of course filled in an Action Plan and Risk Assessment

Think I’d need something stronger.

Re the firearms directive, it went much further than was originally envisaged. Germany saw how stupid it is, it actually facilitates working weapon smuggling, and took advantage of an opt out clause. Our Government however is very keen to implement it. The danger for us, apart from increased terrorist acts and increased taxes to cover the cost of implementing it, is that not only will warbirds not be allowed to fly but it’s possible that they may not be possessed.

Anyone know where I can get cheap flights to New Zealand?

When the list was drafted back in February it only represented those V-Force squadrons that were being represented by veterans at the Reunion (at that time); it was not meant to be a definitive V-Force list.

I am now pleased to report that 15 and 214 are now represented as well; but not STCVSS (??) according to the details presented so far.

208 Squadron was an error made during the cut and paste phase of drafting the list – some veterans listed all of their RAF service, and that one escaped the edit! Apologies all round. 😮

Don’t see why you’re apologising, it was obvious to anyone who actually read the post.

‘

The knock-on ramifications to people who make air-shows are all-encompassing – ticket collectors, food vendors, stall holders, printers, gift/souvenir/novelty goods manufacturers, toilet providers, refuse collectors, programme sellers, it just goes on.

Not to mention the charities who would have benefitted from the air shows that are now being cancelled, the economies of seaside town’s that put on air shows that are being cancelled, even the Government will lose out on taxes from profits that will not now be generated.

I’m more of a mess up theory man than a conspiracy theory man but like many others I’m beginning to wonder if these changes are for a purpose other than improving safety, which they don’t, and funding the proper operation of the CAA

Not studied the new rules in detail but from what I’ve seen how can Farnborough and RIAT go ahead? From memory Abingdon is OK for sterile areas but display aircraft at Farnborough go over a road, and a pub, and at RIAT go over campsites etc.

Fully agree but often reply with quote is the only reply option available.

I delete the quote if it’s not relevant, as I had to here.