Well it’s happened, my guess is Mr O’Leary will be licking his lips and ready to take over most the routes GSM had.
Sad news, but i knew it was gonna happen. Reason, poor management.
XL went bust because again poor management.
Thomas Cook, Thomson, Easyjet, Monarch still fly because the people upstairs know what they are doing.

BA called, they want you to replace Willie Walsh

Have done twice this year – once at Detling ‘Military Odyssey’ and then a one-day event in Maidstone at the end of October. I/we will go anywhere where there’s an event, from Nuneaton to Italy last year!

As a young and impressionable historic aviation nut I turned up at the hangar of a well-known single-aircraft warbird operation with an introduction and an attempt at an ingratiating smile, offering to do no more than make tea and polish things. I was treated in a very off-hand way, and the memory of that reception has stayed with me, even though I am now completely involved in another project with a far more friendly and inclusive outlook.

If this is how young ‘keenies’ are regarded by any particular operation then there might be a problem keeping things going. It’s worth remembering we were all young, clueless but keen once!

Although i’m still with the group I first started with, for a couple of years in between i’ve lived away for University and tried to get involved with various museums/organisations (not just aviation) and had a similar reception, despite previous experience – wonder how many young people don’t bother getting involved because of the reception they get when they try to

Just seen the price – £75 and upwards per seat !

Whoever came up with that figure needs to take a reality check.

Put this in the context of, for instance, the DH Charity Flying event, where you can FLY in a Tiger, Dragon, Chipmunk or whatever for 20 mins or so.

I hope their event goes well for them, and no doubt they ( like everyone else ) is in need of funds but…………………….:(

Maybe so, but a Tiger, Dragon, Chipmunk etc isn’t a Dakota – you could say the same about the Lancaster ride, why pay £200 for a ride in that when you could go in a Dakota for £75!

Personally i’d pay the prices they’re offering for both aircraft, there isn’t a chance to do so anywhere else in the UK

The Pup certainly isn’t a replica, it shot down two German aircraft during the First World War.

From what i’ve heard, it’s the property developer’s who have been building on the ex-airfield site that have been delaying it – last I heard before this was that it was to be turned into a pub where it currently is

If you are recreating a press call day at the airfield, your aircraft needs about 20 bods stuffing ammunition into places it doesn’t go, banging spanners against the exhaust stubs and pointing vaguely at ‘interesting bits’ to each other

Sounds like my acting role in ‘Fighting the Red Baron’ 😀

Regarding the FAAM Short 184, it’s not really in ‘original’ condition, and conserved as to how it looked in service as if it’s a wreck found in the back of a hangar etc – it only looks the way it does instead of being a complete airframe because it was bombed whilst in the IWM in 1940, so in my eyes it’s a shame they don’t rebuild the rest of it, for example using as many original parts as possible from it/other 184’s because it’s such an important aircraft, both in terms of Naval history terms, WW1 aviation and aviation as a whole – the FAAM Short 184 was the only aircraft to take part in the Battle of Jutland (at least, according to wikipedia)

Could always do Aviation Management at London Met Uni – you can do it via pilots pathway as well. Being as you’re in Essex, providing you can get to a train station the locations for the teaching of Aviation are very convenient for Liverpool Street as well as other mainline stations as it has great Tube links

http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/lmbs/subjects/aviation/