Just to point out, in case you can edit it, that the subject of the thread title is not BAPC, but in fact “BAPS”.

Don’t suppose anyone managed to snap the Typhoon did they? I have several grey pixels with two orange pixels at the back.

If you need that explained to you, then i suggest read it again very slowly.

I W M Dux.

No need for that tone. It’s apparent that you need something explaining; there are several current and former employees of IWM on these boards, two of which might reasonably have thought you were responding directly to them when you talked of “offending”.

There is certainly an argument that the museum “arms race” of competing big capital projects is not a sustainable way to run things, and that it sidelines the exhibits in favour of increased visitor figures, and then leaves the museum with the maintenance bill (and probably debt) afterwards.

It seems that once you’ve put yourself out there as a “top” museum, you lock yourself into this cycle, and you have to fight as hard as possible for slices of the money “pie” that can go towards active conservation (restoration) and preventative conservation (inc. a proper museum building and storage), as well as a good amount for interpretation media (text, video, interactives etc). But the lion’s share will be drained away on other costs, whilst the money earmarked for the above is whittled away to keep the project on budget and on time.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the system that Cosford, Duxford et al find themselves working within, if their respective developments attract significantly increased visitor figures and improve the situation for both exhibits and for meaningful interpretation of them, then the projects will have been worth it. The time to exert influence on the planning of these is over, now all we can do is wait and see, and criticise when everything has been in place for 6 months, a year, and so on. Provide constructive and well-argued feedback at that stage, and you will have a small part to play in the next ten years afterwards.

Yes James, I accept that IWM Lambeth is probably the best museum on The Great War, it’s a shame therefore that they don’t take the Harry Tate there and display it in some sort of environment where it has context, instead of a meaningless space filler in Air/Space or whatever it’s called.
In fact if the Biff and the RE8 and the CMB could be re-located, it’d save me the need to ever visit Duxford again.

Andy

I would urge you to reserve judgement on whether it’s a “meaningless space filler” until the 2007 opening. There’s been a hell of a lot of work on the interpretation for the aircraft and the themed displays, and I don’t think one should let a personal dislike of suspension get in the way of a fair criticism. When the place actually opens, preferably.

I’m increasingly of the opinion that it should be renamed “AirSpace Or Whatever It’s Called”, since it seems to be the popular name for it around here. Or perhaps the whole place could be renamed “IWM Sarcastically Dismissive Epithet”?

Visited IWMN last Saturday found it interesting but it isnt what i would describe as a museum as such.Its more of an opportunity to listen and learn about REAL life experiences ,to see how war and conflict effected the ordinary Joe/Josephine Soap .

Yes there are some historically interesting artifacts and displays…

That is a description of a museum – a contemporary museum that places military history in a more social history context so that the average visitor can better understand the subject and its significance. This results in fewer real historical things on display, which for those of us who have already taken it upon ourselves to learn something of the history, is often a disappointment.

The approach has its merits, however I do personally I think that you can still use the “human” angle, but that it is far better served by objects than a reliance on multimedia. The trend is still currently “light” on real things, but it should swing back the other way in the next five years or so, I think. Failing that, more open storage, where those visitors that are educated in a particular subject can skip straight to the “things”. Temporary exhibitions are another way to add levels of complexity and interest to what can otherwise be quite superficial displays, in an academic or specialist sense at least.

I positively hate the pro America hang the rest attitude of Duxford

There’s no such attitude, as evidenced by the £26 million they’re dropping on a new flagship exhibition building dedicated to the story of British aviation. There will always be a focus upon the big projects during the planning, lead-in, establishment, and follow-up periods, but the focus has already switched from AAM to AirSpace.

Which is not to say that the story of the US(A)AF in Britain should be ignored.