WADR I don’t think that the AN-2 was loaned to Newark just to help to secure a sale; although I may well have misinterpreted the negotiations with the owner.

For context, here are the opening three paragraphs from an article I wrote on the topic for FlyPast in summer 2003:

“During the summer of 2002 well signalled changes in the Civil Aviation Authority regulations for aircraft flying under foreign registrations led to Newark Air Museum being approached by several Antonov AN-2 ‘Colt’ owners, offering to loan their aircraft to the museum.

Indeed in September 2002 the museum trustees had agreed to accept Antonov AN-2 into the collection, however a few days before the anticipated delivery date fate intervened and the aircraft was eventually exported to Brazil.

Despite a degree of disappointment, museum trustee David Hibbert had established a string of contacts amongst the AN-2 fraternity and he continued to correspond and nurture these people.”

Anyone remember the ground run at Cockpit-Fest that year? 😮

Sorry if it was your model stall that was blown away, we should have done a better risk assessment!!

I’m sure that a small collecting tin on your display would be acceptable – it only becomes an issue when groups starting leaving tins around the site or going around ‘rattling their tins’.

In respect to XV230; one of the people killed in the incident lived locally at Collingham, Notts and had NAM secured the R1 as was originally hoped the airframe would have included some form of memorial to him and his colleagues.

Picking up on the phrase ‘been around for years’ it’s interesting to note the similarity of ages of the ‘equipment’ for current land speed record attempt i.e. a F104 fuselage and a previous idea of using another aircraft fuselage from the same aviation era.

This concerns the fuselage of Supermarine Swift WK277, which is now on loan at Newark and before it came to the museum in the late 1960s Dizzy Addicott had a Rolls-Royce powered design for a similar attempt back in the 1960s.

Someone did build and fly a replica of the Wright Flyer and this is what happened http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123170874

:confused: I’m slightly confused by the Syerston comments I know people that live in the former accommodation on the camp side of the A46; plus the recently opened new road has a major junction and footbridge to service that accommodation.

My understanding was that he former Mess site on the Flintham side of the A46 was actually sold by Crown Estates to a Muslim Foundation that briefly ran it as a school, which has since closed.

Sorry BH – but the best description for each participant is still ‘Cockpiteer’ and the more we have the merrier! 😀

…… If there is someone with deep enough pockets, there is no good reason not to maintain and fly a Harrier in Britain, subject to the aforementioned safeguards….

WADR there is an issue and it relates to spares availability.

There are certain small Sea Harrier structural items that are highly valued both in terms of their material of construction and their use for ‘potentially’ operational airframes – having dealt with a request to acquire such items off SHAR – ZA176 I have a degree of understanding of some of the issues involved.

I’m not certain of the compatibility issues between SAHRs and ‘normal’ Harriers, but I would presume that the situation has worsened since the recent sale of the Cottesmore airframes.