Now then-when I were a lad (now 80) I tried to follow up the history of the Taylor Wagtail and I remember hearing the story that it was displayed on the forecourt of a garage/ petrol station on Moseley Rd Birmingham. So I recall I jumped on a bus or two to follow up this lead. I think that I found the garage but when I enquired about it I was told that it went into disrepair and it was eventually broken up and bits were buried. So I drea a blank. Anyone got a picture of it?

[QUOTE=sopwith.7f1;1882607]I would assume that the Snipe the RAF museum get from NZ, will include a large quantity of original parts. From memory the RAF museum had the remains of 3 wings, some ailerons, 2 Bentleys, many wooden members from the front fuselage, a number of cowl/shield items, some cockpit fittings, some struts & other various parts in store, & I believe that these were shipped to NZ some months ago.
Assuming the above reccollection of the original parts is correct, then the RAF museums Snipe, will probably contain far more original parts, than a lot of flying aircraft that are considered by many to be originals. Think about the many Spitfires, Hurricanes, DH60 moths, Mustangs etc etc, that have been rebuilt in recent years, from small piles of damaged & corroded/rotted original parts, the resulting airworthy aircraft, contain hardly any original parts.

Hello Sopwith.7F1
If you are thinking about the Snipe parts which are stored at RAF Stafford, they in such a bad state that they could only be used as “patterns” to make new parts. The photos attached have come from a friend who has been on a “spotters tour” of the stores there.

[QUOTE=powerfix;1882580]Hi Bruce ….
As I reiterated above , The “skill shortage” mentioned was specifically in connection to Cosford “at present” , NOT private firms nor indeed while Cardington was operational , when DH9A , Supermarine Southampton , Fokker DVII , Bristol F2b and the Dolphin were all museum projects with others in waiting .
However , all the aircraft you quoted ( BE2 , FE2b , DH9) were recreated by private firms .
As against the Cardington Liberty powered 9A , ex Krackaw , reconstructed many years ago and which particular model is probably unique ; the relatively recent DH9 from India .

As far as WWI aircraft are concerned , following nearly 10 years in operation , Cosford have finished off the Dolphin , while the LVG , Farman and Morane still remaind in storage .
There were therefore plenty of airframes ready & awaiting restoration for exhibition at Hendon , ( presumably the coming 14-18 aniversary being a publicity factor ) …without giving away our heritage .

Hi Powerfix
I don’t know why there are so many folk who are having a pop at the RAFM Cosford MBCC. They are always on a very tight budget-that’s one of the reasons why stuff takes so long to be done-also projects like the Dolphin are on and off the back burner -hence the time taken. The skills ARE available-on woodwork and metalwork-both with paid staff and volunteers, some of whom have been assisting for 9 years or so on a one day a week basis to manufacture all manner of parts too numerous to mention. (Although I see that some mention has been made on the “Dolphin” posts.)
For a change, let’s give credit where credit’s due.

Dolphin

Whoops!. My mistake-the original basket of parts came from D5329-NOT the tail bits!!

Dolphin

Well, parts of the tail feathers came from D5329 but the rear section of fuselage is from C3988