Johnny Kent, in his book “One of the Few”, tells of the test flying he did to find an effective cable cutting method. This involved flying a Fairey Battle fitted with various devices into cables. Fascinating stuff.

Firstly, my thanks to Andy in Beds for taking the time to my question, I apologise for the delay in replying. Secondly, thanks are due to Bruce for creating a thread specifically for this subject.

Is anyone under the age of 25 contributing to this discussion? There may lay the answer?

I’m 27, so not a million miles away from that particular age band ( at least I like to think so…). I consider myself very fortunate to have served an apprenticeship within the aerospace industry, and even more so for being able to make a career out of it. Granted, testing gas turbines isn’t rebuilding Spitfires and the like, but it’s close enough for me and has close links to my passion for vintage aviation. This is something that the company has gone some way to encourage and foster, which I am most grateful for.

The trigger for me quizzing Andy was a visit to the MBCC last week. Granted, the Apprentice Scheme that they have running is fantastic, but what was concerning was the demographic of the visitors. With the exception of the staff working in the building, I was fairly certain that I was the youngest person in the room. Now don’t get me wrong, i’m not saying that the place should have been stuffed to the roof with youngsters, or that every visitor should be doused with Just-For-Men, but the lack of young people was worrying. So with apparently only limited projects such as the MBCC Apprenticeship Scheme, how will organisations face the inevitable shortage of skilled volunteers in the future? Lets go one step further and jump say 20 years, how will organisations cope with a shortage of any volunteers at all? It is not going too far to state that the only option would be to pay for skilled work to be done, would we then see a mass rationalisation of museums as exhibits decayed and faded away?

Now the above is only an opinion, so don’t shoot me just yet…

Same Squadron codes? Sounds excellent, i’ve long wanted to see a formation of aircraft in markings from the same unit. Imagine the Mk I Spitfires or a group of Hurricanes representing a section of the same Squadron, would look stunning!

The “new” image looks great, well done!

No idea on the items unfortunately, the nearest item looks like a pressuised bottle, Oxygen maybe?

Dean

Very interesting film. I think it is sometimes a forgotten aspect of combat operations before the dawn of electrical computers. Never mind dodging the enemy, you have to get there first! I am reminded of a reply given to me by Tony Iveson, who switched from fighters to bombers, when I asked him which he preferred- “Bombers, I had someone to tell me where to go!”.

Wonderfully dry comment in the film- “The people on the other side wouldn’t co-operate”.

Thanks for sharing.

This is the problem. There is nothing to suggest that the building would actually attract people to aviation history. The museum already does that perfectly and to its fullest ability, with such a range of aircraft and variety of exhibits. The new building will not help, IMO.

But at the same time, what evidence is there that the building will not attract folk to Hendon? As I understand it, the construction shall be one of the largest features of the London skyline. Surely it will bring people to the site, if only to look inside the Beacon. And even if each person goes away with only the slightest inkling of what took place during the Battle of Britain, the building will have done it’s job. I think funding for a landmark building project would be far more available than that required for aircraft restoration. But that is just my opinion…

Roger- a wonderful idea, certainly something I would pay to see. It would definitely appeal to families too.

As for the Beacon, ok the money could be used elsewhere, but if it brings more people into our hobby, I can quite happily live with it.

As for the parking charges- I have no problem. £3.50 for entry into one of the best aircraft collections on the planet? Bargain!

Dean