Hi, Thanks for the help, the aircraft is currently in pieces but should hopefully be in the air for next year (Normandy 65th tour), the large rudder has now gone and replaced with the original smaller style mk5 fin and i’m just in the process of rebuilding a Lycoming 290-3 to reinstall. the old girl is in quite good shape and quite a straight foward restoration project, also reinstalling the flare pistol and original intrument panel, replacing the oval seat backs with the original low straight sided type with sutton harnesses, and reintroducing the correct wing mounted aerial wires so hopefully she will be as per her original spec.

Would be great to complete her history, the RAF museum have copies of her movement cards and the repair work cards from Eindhoven but as i mentioned the OB’s only deal with the Squadron Spits and Typhoons as you would expect and the only auster listed disappears from August 1944 from 430 Sqn.

Do you know if the individual Advanced Landing Grounds have their own OB’s as i think her only logical use would have been as an inter Squadron run about.

Also keen to find out why and where she was fitted with a desk arrestor hook.

Thanks guys…..

P.S Always looking for auster 5 parts and spares

Why would any company keen to make money want to run an aging Dakota fleet when there are many cheaper, more readily available machines about? Your absolutely right that they will still be flying but the new EU rules will certainly be another nail in the coffin for historic aircraft and unlike so many types in the past that are now near on extinct we still have the opportunity to save one or two for future preservation……….

Just think if people 60 years ago realized the significance of saving a few Lancaster’s, Sterling’s, Halifax, mossys etc etc when they were been sold off for scrap….. Probably the same thing we will be saying about Dakotas in a few years.

Just a dream i have, and i doubt anything will come of it, but who knows????

Thanks for the support, i appreciate that funds will be a problem but we are in a unique position, at least here in Europe and over the past few months plenty of relatively cheap aircraft have come up for sale.
I’m sure that the lack of cash will make the project fall flat on its face before it begins but I figured that if someone else suggested it then I would be prepared to pay not a donation but as a share holder to see it work so just maybe enough of us might make a go of it.