BA Collection at RAF Cosford under threat (Merged)

[Jhieminga]

Different VC10 blue up. The ones at St. Athan are three ex-RAF airframes which are beyond saving already. We're talking about G-ARVM at RAF Cosford which has now lost its outer wings already and is being prepared for more indignities.

[Rigga]

Having just seen this thread;
I was given the pleasure of taking some engineering apprentices around Cosford in July, with a sort of access permission, to show the new boys examples of the development of aircraft, engines and their (mainly visible) systems. I can confirm that the Brit and the Comet did seem to be well separated from the building site that was the BA Collection.
Incidentally, (IMHO) the Brit was best used as the demonstrator of many types of well advanced corrosion and vegetation. It won’t be about for that long either!
Rigga

[Jhieminga]

The fuselage of VC10 G-ARVM has arrived at its new home at the Brooklands Museum. It has been divided into two sections by taking apart an old manufacturing joint (a first!) before transportation. More about this here: http://www.vc10.net/news.html

[BEagle]

Nothing to celebrate.

Dismembered fuselage and cockpit sections are to airframe collections what stuffed animal heads are to zoos.

The villain of the piece, predictably, is ba. They have no interest whatsoever in their heritage and refused to lift a finger to preserve the Cosford historic collection.

Compare ba with Lufthansa. LH not only keeps a pre-war Ju 52 in passenger carrying airworthiness state, but also has a small fleet of historic trainer aircraft lovingly preserved. Their Me 108 Taifun has just had a down-to-the-metal respray. They also painted an A321 (and a Cheyenne) in 'retro' paint schemes to celbrate their 50th post-war anniversary. Can you imagine the faceless suits at waterworld sanctioning anything similar at ba.....?

[treadigraph]

Presumably at least some of the folk at the top of Lufthansa actually once flew aeroplanes... Plus I think the Ju-52 goes a fair way towards earning its keep, bit like Mike Collett's lovely historic fleet. Don't sell Mike, Air Atlantique is one of the best things about UK aviation.

[Skylion]

Unfortunately from 1983 onwards any interest in or liking for aircraft has been almost a taboo in BA management and could be distinctly career limiting. Ayling is said to have professed to having absolutely no interest in them,- and indeed a dislike for aircraft or anyone who talked much about them other than in the purely business sense. As result the unique Argonaut and the last BA Comet 4 were in turn assigned to the LHR fire dump. Since the Headquarters moved out of the Hatton Cross site in 1999/2000 most of its incumbents, other than when travelling, have seen little of aircraft, crews or ground staff and there is amongst them little interest in aviation per se. Businesswise it will be argued that that is no bad thing ,but in this environment the Cosford disaster was predictable and has been presented by the company as a positive contribution to preservation. They probably believe it too.

[WHBM]

Originally Posted by Skylion

Ayling is said to have professed to having absolutely no interest in them,- and indeed a dislike for aircraft or anyone who talked much about them .......

....... and look where that got him

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

To be fair, BA are an airline, a PLC, operating in a competitive environment and answerable to their shareholders. There is no obligation on them to contribute company resources to the preservation of ex-fleet aeroplanes and the shareholders might legitimatly object if the airline did that.

A parallell can be seen in railway preservation. The most the preservationists can hope for is that the railway companies might donate time-expired locomotives and stock to them, but often this doesn't happen, and the preservationists have to outbid the scrap man for these. There is certainly no financial support for railway preservation from rail companies - the most they'll do is occasionally paint a locomtive in 'heritage' livery.

The railway preservation movement is self-supporting, with many voluteers and preserved railways run as businesses to remain viable. Though we, as aircraft enthusiats, may wish it were otherwise, why shouldn't the same apply to aircraft preservation?

[Albert Driver]

Originally Posted by WHBM

....... and look where that got him

.....and look where he got BA.

If an airline loses its understanding and respect for the medium in which it is operating, it can expect to receive a sharp reminder. Remember Railtrack.