Skysport’s Nieuport. Went to the States.

Incredibly noisy.

A huge collection of aeroplanes, some capable of running, even flying. Some you can even fly in, a Spitfire if you wish !

Hang on, we already have it, just 45 miles up the road, at Duxford, probably the global epicentre of warbird activity !

It would be too much to expect/hope for two such facilities.

This forum has long had a love/hate relationship with Hendon, but taking the long view, it is a stunning collection of aeroplanes and continues to evolve in a way that few other national collections seems to .

Maybe the building design is a peculiar copy of a middle east hotel, but that cannot be blamed on the present administration !

Wooden props are less damaging to the engine, according to received wisdom.

Interesting and understandable perspective on G Numan’s withdrawal from display flying. Hoof was lost in ’96.

“…a couple of weeks ago, two display pilots were killed in seperate [sic] accidents. One of the pilots, ‘Hoof’ Proudfoot, was a good friend of mine and my brothers [sic] and had played a key part in our progress through the demanding and sometimes dangerous world of display flying.

“‘Hoof’ was the man responsible for all of my early training in low level display aerobatics and was an incredibly gifted pilot as well as the most entertaining, decent and charming man. It was a horrific accident, in a World War 2 fighter aeroplane, and it has sent shock waves rumbling throughout the world display scene.

“Another friend of mine was killed in a crash at a display earlier this year. To add even more horror to all this yet another display pilot, plus his navigator, were killed only last weekend when their historic aeroplane crashed at a display near Manchester. This makes eight people, four of whom were good friends, killed in plane crashes in the last 12 months either at a display or practising for one.

“The total is well over 30 since I first became involved. What used to be fun and exciting is now becoming something else, something sad and depressing. I no longer have a single group photograph of my flying friends where all the people pictured are still alive. This is the reason why I’ve been a bit quiet on the news front for a while, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking…”

And the result of that thinking was the end of Gary Numan’s flying career. Quite rationally he decided that becoming a statistic was not for him – but the aviation world’s loss was soon the musical world’s gain, however, as the influence of his earlier work became apparent. Before long the restoration of Gary Numan the musician was well underway while Mr. Webb himself got married and entered into family life.

https://scarfandgoggles.wordpress.com/tag/gary-numan/

Glad to see the optimism of youth has not been snuffed out after the reception your last thread received :rolleyes:

But what are you asking ? A consensus that MDD aircraft were indeed ‘great’ ? Well, OK.

To restart production of various geriatric designs for which there is no commercial demand. Well , No .

Don’t forget those lovely Miles Aerovans, HP 42’s , and Blackburn Universal Freighters, for which production should Not be restarted either !

The nine Mustang tail chase was pretty good. That was early nineties I think.

Thankyou for the phots of G-afir. I understand that someone is working on her at present. I have an address ,but get no replies. I would so much like to meet her again. I helped Arthur O,d Hume to build her when I worked with him at HANDLEY PAGE maybe 1956. Angiolo Chiesa

My friend in Aylesbury sold it a few years ago. I will make enquiries.

You have the Lymington address I suppose.

https://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=detailnosummary&fullregmark=AFIR