Does anyone know if any other aircraft remain in Lake Constance?

the only attention it’s getting is so that it can be sent to pima, arizona

Excellent news – one less johnny foreigner aeroplane to worry about 😮

My original message, which went through Babel Fish was:

Nice to see they’ve got their priorities right. That Mystere IV Fighter was really becoming rather tatty – unlike the Victor and Shackleton, both of which have absolutely nothing to do with this country’s aviation heritage.

I like to stir things up – too many “yes men” on this forum.

I trust you are not implying that Lofty and I would ever explore an airfield without permission 😉

Mind you, the fading sounds of “GETTORRRRFMYLAND!” as you pedal furiously away from the red-faced denizen of the countryside is one of the joys of airfield exploration.

Moggy

Its even better when the RAF Police arrest you. Each time you were frog-marched to the guardroom and given a stern lecture about trespassing on government property. During this lecture, the powers that be, usually some corporal would try his best to put the fear of god into you – anything to relieve the boredom on his part.

The problem was not the Royal Air Force and what they could or rather couldn’t do to you. The problem was what the Royal Air Force could do to your father, especially if he himself was later frog-marched into the very same guardroom – this after getting off the nightly crew bus returning from RAF Staxton Wold. Yes, the threat of being charged could do wonders to the father-son relationship. When I was caught it was the wrath of dad that put the fear-in me and not the RAF. Despite these awkward moments it was not long before the camp beckoned and I found myself exploring another part of the camp.

I was only eight or nine at the time…

I did have this vision of the site being returned to its BoB condition, i.e. grass airfield and becoming a haven for warbirds, but then I woke up. 😮

Actually, your idea might not only be viable, but possibly even profitable as well. I had (still have) the same idea for RAF Driffield. Basically, farm land goes for around £10k per hectre. Now at Driffield there remains around 500,000 sq ft of concrete (despite the runways being removed in the 1970s) on the 212 hectre site. Now if you can find someone whose willing to buy the concrete at Coltishall, then this might be more valuable that the actual land. I’ve been quoted between £5 and £60 per ton.

By removing the concrete, you would also reduce the size of Coltishall’s landing field, so additional income would be generated through selling off this surplus land for farming. You don’t been much to run a grass landing field. Hard work, yes, but it is viable. All you need is the money to buy the site. You could work with a concrete reclaimer and local farmers. You would need some capital yourself (you need something to bring to the table – if only £100k, which you can secure from remortgaging your house), but I’m sure you could secure contracts for the concrete at a set price, which you could use to secure a bank loan. Planning permission is a problem, but a few phone calls should clear this matter up. You could get outlining planning permission to remove the concrete before hand. Just be prepared for others to pinch your idea and push you out of the loop.

At Driffield the airfield is described as a minor facility by its owners, the Army Training Estate – part of Defence Estates. If I could secure £50 per ton for the remaining concrete, then there maybe the possibilty of securing the site and reverting it back to a smaller, grass landing field. My proposal is to operate the site under the 28 Day Rule – used for gliding and frequent fly-ins. One can but dream, but it is viable. All I have to do is wait for the MoD to dispose of the site and hope no one else will want the site, which they probably will.

The main problem is in restoring the grass landing field. You’d need to remove a load of crap, remove trees and the foundations to concrete runways, etc. This would be a major civil engineering project, but still viable. You would cover these costs by selling off surplus land.

Just an idea…

If I won £125m…

Driffield camp (disused) I’d offer £8m
Driffield Hangars (recently sold) I’d offer £8m
Driffield Airfield (in used by Army Training Estate) I’d offer £4m
Rebuilding Driffield’s services (water, drainage, gas, electricity, sewerage, roads, paths landscaping) £6m
Restoration of Married Quarters £4m
Restoration and Conversion of Accommodation Blocks into Retirement Apartments £6m
RAF Driffield Museum (Officer’s Mess) £12m
Restoration of Hangars (Plus three Type J Hangars build on airfield) £12m
Restoration of Airfield into Grass Landing Field £6m
Technical Site £8m

Income

Sale of Restored Married Quarters £6.8m
Sale of Retirement Apartments £7.2m
Leasing of Hangars and other buildings £1.2m per annum
Sale of Building Plots £2m

Even more Pictures from my visit to the Yorkshire Air Museum

Even more Pictures from my visit to the Yorkshire Air Museum

Jackanory Jackanory Jackanory

I’m glad I wrote to her last year to say how much I liked her book. I wasn’t brilliant at reading as a child, so my only childhood recollection of Thunder and Lightnings was through BBC Jackanory. It was only in 2003/4 that I finally picked up the book and rediscovered my own childhood. Growing up in the 1970s with Airfix and aeroplanes and Airfix and exploring was just magical and this book mirrored the lives of many – most of whom are now in their 40s. No one else managed to capture the glory of being a child, growing up in a world of his own.

According to Jan, there were plans to turn her book into either a TV drama or series. I was going to write to her to see if a script was ever produced. I had thought of writing to her the other day and the day before that. I had thought about writing to her months ago. And now…?

I would have loved to turn Thunder and Lightnings into a film or TV Drama. Maybe it’s not impossible – probably just improbable. Pity the BBC didn’t pick up on her death.