RAF Museum at Hendon..

[Al R]

.. to be renovated, and £25 million set aside for the most elderly of veterans.


All well and good and it's good to see the Budget setting aside money for units involved in fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And George is now about to even commemorate Agincourt by setting aside a million quid.


But hey, let's still sack some servicemen and women just weeks from an immediate pension. Great.

[Martin the Martian]

Perhaps they'll put some decent lighting in there, and make sure that all of it is open at the same time.

[WE992]

I think the money would be better spent at Cosford getting the C-130 under cover and the VC when it gets there. GJD are making steady progress on dismantling "Bob" at Bruntingthorpe according to the photos on their Facebook page.

[ancientaviator62]

WE992,
agreed ref getting the Hercules and the 10 under cover. My fear is they will do to the 'K' what Hendon did to the Beverley.

[Davef68]

The difference is Hendon never 'owned' the Beverly, it just happened to be there. It's a sorry tale, but the decsion to scrap it was an MOD one and not a Hendon one.

[Guernsey Girl II]

Yes just like Cosford Trident, the VC10 and the Conway 707 but at least the Brit was saved and given a Transport Command paint job
But sometimes you wonder about the RAF 'museum'

[WE992]

Ultimately I guess I should just be pleased that the RAFM is getting the money. I hope they spend it wisely.

[Onceapilot]

They should sell the enemy aircraft (enemy should be covered by IWM) and concentrate on the RAF! Restoring the Halifax would be a good start!

OAP

[Tiger_mate]

They should move the entire contents of Cosford and Hendon to RAF Scampton. Historic airfield with a long runway and plenty of hangarage and room for expansion sympathetic to retaining the atmosphere of the place. Hendon real-estate is valuable and gagging to meet the demands of housing requirements. Scampton needs a role to ensure longevity, and a centralised focal point to 100 years of Royal Air Force is about as good as it gets.

[gzornenplatz]

Cosford would be improved enormously by replacing the existing "guides" with people who know something about the aircraft in the museum. At the moment, a brummie accent appears to be the only essential.

[Tiger_mate]

^ You pay peanuts ~ You get Chimps.

[tmmorris]

At least with the collection spread across two sites one or other is in reach of most in the south or Midlands (I accept those in the north are a bit left out).

[Tankertrashnav]

Not to mention the South West :*

Helston - Cosford - 286 miles
Carlisle - Cosford - 190 miles


Still we have got Classic Air Force at Newquay with its VC10 tanker, so it's not all gloom.

[Davef68]

Glasgow- Cosford 286 miles

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

Glasgow- Cosford 286 miles


Glasgow to Scampton is about 270 miles so what's your point?!

[airpolice]

Tiger Mate, are you suggesting Scampton because the Dog is buried there?

[P6 Driver]

RAF Museum at Hendon..


.. to be renovated, and £25 million set aside for the most elderly of veterans.


All well and good and it's good to see the Budget setting aside money for units involved in fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And George is now about to even commemorate Agincourt by setting aside a million quid.


But hey, let's still sack some servicemen and women just weeks from an immediate pension. Great.

So I'm guessing you don't like the idea then...

[Bigbux]

If they got the Sunderland flying again that would be the MPA gap solved.

[RigPig]

Does Helston not have the Aeropark at Flambards anymore? That'll save a few hours on the M5.

[23c]

I thnk you will find the Trident, VC10 and B707 were still owned and maintained at BA expence. Willie Walsh decided the BA shareholders deserved a bigger dividend so decided to scrap the lot!:mad:

[Tiger_mate]

Tiger Mate, are you suggesting Scampton because the Dog is buried there?

Not so much the dog but clearly that is a factor re RAF history. More to the fact that I have seen (eyes on) the ambitions that the RAFM has for Cosford which were written in the expectation of DSAE moving south and vacating the airfield in toto. That has not happened, and I am not sure it will. For sure the real estate at Hendon is priceless, though in fairness I do not know if any buildings are Listed, nor am I aware of any covenents on the site. I do know that there is a lot of infighting within the RAFM dispersed sites and given Lincolns proximity to the central line of England, a single, substantial site that is compatable with the RAFM aspirations to colocate the collection with a GA compatable airfield that itself will permit the likes of C17 deliveries to take place would be a positive step forward. Scotland has East Fortune which ideally would enjoy a better relationship with the RAF Disposals folk than anybody presently does.

The RAFM are effectively contracted by the RAF to display each type of aircraft in RAF Service, yet the disposals authority make it very difficult for this mutual aspiration to suceed. There is presently no room for expansion on the Cosford site or realistically Hendon. Nimrod, C130, and VC10 are likely to remain outside with the Dominie and Neptune. They cannot stay outside forever if preservation is to succeed.

In three years we have RAF Centenary. Everybody in service takes their environment for granted and most wish that a few more photographs had been taken along the way when issued with the Std Rose tinted specs. The RAF deserve a focal point for education and historic archives and IMHO, this is better served at one central location with room to grow than anything presently in place. Scampton, if cared for, could also host a Midlands Air Show that would be self-sustaining and benefit the RAFM as well as Service Charities.

[Tankertrashnav]

Does Helston not have the Aeropark at Flambards anymore? That'll save a few hours on the M5.

Its been years since it was referred to as the aeropark and I doubt if one visitor in a hundred realises the significance of the name. (Flambards was a TV programme of the 1970s about the very early days of aviation). As to the aircraft - all gone, apart from the Shack cockpit and forward section which is still indoors. Where the aircraft were is now devoted to rides, roller coasters and the like, which are no doubt more profitable.

Glasgow- Cosford 286 miles

Dave - fair point, but I was banging my usual drum about the perception that England consists of "the South" (ie London and the bit inside the M25, and "the North" (ie Yorkshire and Lancashire, and occasionally Tyneside).

All that bit full of funny people with strange accents down in the SouthWest is generally ignored when national assets are being allocated.

[Tankertrashnav]

And one week after I posted the above, Classic Air Force have announced that they have closed with immediate effect. Not surprising since Cornwall Council have been charging them £250k p.a. rent for the Nimrod hangar - this for an asset they received free from MOD as part of the St Mawgan wind down. Terrible news, and another nail in the coffin for Cornish tourism.

[Martin the Martian]

The council may have received the hangar for free from the MoD, but they still have to maintain it, along with the rest of the site. Furthermore CAF moved in on the basis that they would have a very reduced rent for the first year due to the Aerohub scheme, but that it would rise afterwards. They knew that, and I rather think that they moved out of Coventry because of the uncertainty affecting the airfield at the time. Now that the situation has settled it's 'as you were'.

I know several of the volunteers at CAF, and the general opinion is that the organisation doesn't know its backside from its elbow, with a revolving door policy for those in positions of responsibility, and in effect has abused much of the goodwill and enthusiasm its presence has generated in its time at Newquay.

I'm sad to see them go for all that, worried for the future of the larger airframes at Newquay and sorry for those who will lose their jobs, but I do think that Cornish tourism will manage without. Attractions come, attractions go.