I attended the funeral of a WWII groundcrew member of my Sqn in Copmanthorpe a couple of weeks ago, so it gave me the opportunity to have a quick peek at the museum. Firstly I didn’t realise my F1250 got me free entry, which was nice. I put the entrance fee into one of the donation buckets on site.

Sadly Lindy was all wrapped up, can’t blame her as it was a tad nippy!

Friday the 13th was outside in preparation for her photoshoot too.

Even though it was a flying visit, it was a nice way for fill an hour or so. Please pass on my thanks to the extremely helpful chap on the entrance gate, who very kindly allowed my the use of the church storeroom to change into my No. 1 Uniform.

Gents, thanks for your replies. My initial thought was Halifax, but am happily corrected. I’ll pass the information on. I actually know hte guy that posted the photo, so I’ll point him in the direction of RAF Disclosures. Should anything else be found out about the man or aircraft in question, I’ll update the thread.

Fascinating glimpse into the past though.

In a nutshell, (and in my limited understanding) the International Trade in Arms Regulations. The US governments way of controlling and protecting their interests. A good example is ex RAF Phantoms and why there are so few in preservation. The US are very touchy about where redundant equipment can go once it’s service life has ended. They were worried that parts from the RAF’s Phantom fleet, or indeed complete aircraft, once retired, could find its way into the hands of operators they perhaps didn’t want it to. As the VAAC harrier has US kit on it, they would want all of their stuff removed prior to its disposal to a museum or preservation group etc. However, as it’s gone on loan (I think!) to the RAF Museum, it may well have negated the need to remove anything. Should the RAFM dispose of it in the future, they prospective buyer would have to speak to the US and get ITAR approval to own it, or they’d just remove anything sensitive prior to it changing hands.

As the Aircraft has stayed in RAF Ownership, is there any issues with ITAR?

Stopped in at the BDAC to have a look last week.. What a wonderful little museum they have! The staff do a great job and are very friendly. Some of the cockpits have power applied to some systems too. The Jaguar they are restoring has come a long way since the acquired it!

It would appear Matthew Wilkes has some questions to answer. He’s registered on here as WB556.

It would seem that he’s attempted to acquire black mike on behalf of a different trust, deceiving everyone else in the group set up to save her and get her to brunty.

He appears to be uncontactable now and has effectively made off with almost 11k in donations.

Exciting development that!! Very well done to you all for securing them! Watching with interest.