You heard it here first 🙂

Jon

Very Nice – looks like it should do well! 🙂

😀 The 10th Cockpit-Fest http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/newsItem.php?id=39 😀

To be honest I am not fully familiar with the preservation scene in Australia and that’s why I wouldn’t like to comment on the detail being discussed or indeed individual airframes. The few aspects that I have commented on are more background themes and principles.

I guess that globally the independent museums face some similar challenges to the centrally funded museums, especially with regard to getting everything under cover and my views on that topic are well documented.

However I believe that the real difference might come in terms of ‘sense of ownership’. In an independent museum volunteers might be a lot closer to the airframes and perhaps might have a greater appreciation of what was financially and physically involved in securing a particular airframe.

Sometimes this is to the point that there might be a greater reluctance to move an airframe on elsewhere if it is beyond their skill sets to look after it properly. This can also lead to other issues because as those volunteers change and the skill sets become different then something that originally wasn’t attainable may become so.

Another strong feature in the UK’s independent museums sector is third party ownership, where individuals or other groups have airframes on loan with museums. This can cause friction and ‘sub-letting’ issues, which are difficult and time consuming to manage. So the drive to ensure that appropriate loan agreements are in place on everything has been very important.

Sadly I am slowly coming to recognise that perhaps BAPC is not as effective as it should be.

The reason for my questions is that in the UK current accepted Collection & Disposal policies would require that any airframe is first offered to other registered / accredited groups rather than to the private sector. Thus the perceived ‘cash windfall’ to pay for a building might not be as forthcoming.

I understand that the museum where I volunteer has literally just this week achieved accredited status and I’m told that the expected Collection & Disposal criteria are much more stringent than before.

As far as the lack of enthusiasts or volunteers and an aging group of volunteers, this seems to be a common problem across the globe.

The views expressed about getting down to the local museum echo my own often stated view – “wherever you are in the world support your local air museum!”

Would their constitutions; collection and disposal policies allow them to sell off exhibits as suggested?

In some cases selling off the ‘silverware’ might not be permitted other than to recognised bodies. Does Australia have a museum registration / accreditation system like here in the UK?

Bump! :diablo:

A couple more heading for Newark.