just imagine the insurance required for a ‘vintage’ aircraft carrying passengers, i think the cost would be prohibitive.

Not cheap – it would mean the aircraft having to earn its keep – for example: Classic Wings fleet at Duxford (this being a commercial operation, not a group owned aircraft).

anybody got an idea where this little baby is residing?

North weald , Essex.

Superb model, without question (but its a Napier Deltic diesel engine!).

does this mean the Patina owned P40B restoration is now progressing in the US.

It does – as reported in the press.

Yes, agree with Charlielima5 in that protection is not guaranteed. Only that due consideration is to be given for the history of a site before any re-development takes place.

But it’s a start – well done to all those involved in the process.

‘Protection’ for a listed building means that any proposed demolition or alteration of the building requires listed building consent. The protection applies to the building and, usually, also its immediate surroundings (to the extent that the ‘setting’ of the listed building is affected by the proposed development). The planners will take in to account the historic significance of the building and the site around it when they consider any application. As far as I can see the ‘listing’ applies only to the buildings under discussion and not to entire airfields although there could be discussion as to how far the curtelage or immediate surroundings of, say, a listed WWI hangar, actually extend.

Having been fortunate enough to find one of the rarest items in Aviation Archaeology a Spinner Badge from Defiant N1694 I was wondering exactly what the purpose of this item was?

The badge appears to be a press fit into the hole at the front of the spinner, held by a rubber disc and steel clip – I assume it acts as a cover, but for what? Is there a spinner fixing clip at the front as well as the back of the spinner?

Think about how a ‘spinner’ is made and why it is called a ‘spinner’. It starts life as a big flat disc of alloy in a lathe and is spun. Tools are then applied to the disc to form the required conical shape. The hole at the end was where it was secured in the lathe and putting a badge there is a nice finishing touch and fills the hole too.

You would all better serve the airfield by reading the report very carefully and trying to understand it in the context of currrent planning legislation, that way you may be able to offer the users some real help.The law says that if you carry out an activity on a site in the UK there must be planning consent in place for that use or you must be able to prove the use has been on-going for ten years. Digging up old photos fromthe 60’s and 70’s will not help. Many of the current uses, it appears from reading the report, are relativley new, including the use of the field for general aviation and training flying. If you undertake a new use on a site without consent you do run a grave risk in the first ten years. Ultimately one or more of the current uses may have to be subject of planning application and will, as the report says, be considered on their own merits. Thats the way our planning system works I am afraid.

What a fascinating thread.