Silas - Interesting points . However Deception is indeed historic but far more for Norwegian whaling and the British use of the Island for surveillance on enemy shipping during WW.2.
The FIDS and later BAS base at Deception was only open for eight years and was used for maintainance and wintering.
Some would argue that the Otter is another part of the detritus
that we enflict on the enviroment.
The Otter as a type is indeed plentiful but I would suggest
plentiful at $500,000 . If however you want one for a museum
well your pretty much left out in the cold. The work carried out
by FIDS/BAS in aerial exploration is little understood in the U.K.
The aircraft itself was paid for by the tax payer - I would suggest
that a better use for her would be to be restored and appreciated in the U.K.
Whilst the idea of a aircraft museum on Deception is romantic - the stark reality of public liability insurance on a
semi active volcanno might well make it untennable.
The idea of leaving an aircraft out to rot is okay except for a couple of factors - the nature of people to remove souvenirs
and the fact that the corrosion that grounded her in 1967
hasn't stopped since. If saved and brought home now she could
form a fitting tribute to Antartic exploration and the people
who died carrying it out. If left there she will remain a curiosity
to a few weathy travellers who will continue to post pictures
on websites of 'abandoned RAF plane on Deception' which hardly
tells the story of why she is there.
Last edited by RileyDove; 9th Feb 2004 at 07:16.