This is how we did it at Blecthley Park years ago.

😮

Is that the Vixen cockpit that now resides at Wellesbourne?

Must admit that I always use a strong caravan chassis or a car trailer (thx Baz!) for moving a cockpit over any distance, but use alsorts of crazy ideas to lift them and hump them around in confined areas, bits of wood and planks, castors, ratchet straps and car jacks.
I have been lucky at work occasionally getting the use of a telehandler and heavy fork lift.
Caravan chassis are great for moving cockpits about, they can be found cheaply, at different weight capacities, choices of single or twin axle or brakes, and they are nice and low down and easy to modify to hold a cockpit.

Merry Christmas all, hope you get the projects, books, models etc that you wished or asked for!

I’ve some objects to wrap, and it being the 21st century, most of them (and the wrapping paper) has serial numbers, which I’ll ignore. 😀

Don’t forget to keep notes, they could come in handy…
Merry Christmas:)

Hope you all, and your families, have a great Chistmas!:)

No, most of us here over-rate an interest in a minor aspect of history to being of importance in history of greater significance.

I know a significant number of people interested in aviation history, myself included. I know very few historians qualified in the history of aviation, and the main ones I know of have no need for items like serials. Which actual aircraft was where is almost always irrelevant in history – what might be thought of as (or was) ‘grand narrative’ history.

I think you may be widening the issue there slightly,
I don’t think many here would think that individual aircraft identities or spotting has much or any affect on history in general, but at our particular enthusiast and aviation historian level, then they do become important.
It might seem like we over-rate the interest here, but isn’t that what the forum does – it presents a condensed version of our (quite varied) interests.

Neither, they are going into one of the E sheds south side.
Re BA and the Super hangar, not sure that is cut and dryed, there are various companies showing interest in various activities at Saints, but then there has been for a long time without anything coming to fruition.
Twin Peaks will be used by DSG and the VC-10s until they finish.

Must admit I knew of this potential move since July, but I have to keep quiet about some things.

BTW the HFL activity mentioned in the linked forum is nothing compared to what we are hearing will be possible.

I was just about to post the same response to James, so will agree with Dave.

The individual numbers are important, perhaps more than what we at first realise.
Not only does a serial, or code, number help locate an individual aircraft, its fate, or even a crash site and onward discovery of resting place of deceased crew members, but as importantly it also allows us to corraborate production numbers of aircraft, numbers of aircraft on sqns and the movement of aicraft.
Where an ORB might sometimes fail (or is missing) a spotter recording the number of an aircraft can reveal the movements of the aircraft and whole units, something which does become historically important.

During restoration of an aircraft the serial is very important for tracing its history, and again what spotters have noted and photographed about that particular serial and airframe become quite important.
Look at some of the RAFM aircraft histories, some of what they know about their exhibits comes straight from someones note pad.

I must admit though, the term ‘spotter’ is an odd expression which doesn’t sit that happily with me, there are very wide interpretations.