03.07.2011, 06:21
This is always going to be the risk when keeping vintage aircraft flying. There is a growing movement to ground valuable historic aeroplanes, many of which require skills that are becoming rarer today, and indeed after a belly landing by a Bf109G due to engine trouble, the RAF (who own the airframe) promptly had it put in a museum permanently.
However, there's no guarantee that disaster won't befall the aeroplanes once trapped inside their new homes. Buildings sometimes catch fire or collapse. Also, the preservation in static display removes some =thing vital for those who wish to experience the aeroplane in the flesh. There's no movement, no noise, no smell, nothing to suggest what these aeroplanes were actually like in real life. As I've said in the past, aeroplanes in museums are little more than stuffed birds in glass cases.
My own view is we should keep these aeroplanes flying as long as possible. The temptation to mount increasingly exciting displays should be suppressed though. For me, even a fly-by is enough. Listen to that big engine rumble and snarl. Watch a piece of history do what it was intended to do in the first place.
Flying is never 100% safe. Wafare is a dangerous time and many airmen lost their lives in similar machines. Since these machines are less than perfect flyers and for that matter designed to accentuate every last scrap of performance, they don't compromise and aren't always too forgiving. It's a mark of the dedication and skill of those lucky people who fly these things that fatal accidents are rare.
However, there's no guarantee that disaster won't befall the aeroplanes once trapped inside their new homes. Buildings sometimes catch fire or collapse. Also, the preservation in static display removes some =thing vital for those who wish to experience the aeroplane in the flesh. There's no movement, no noise, no smell, nothing to suggest what these aeroplanes were actually like in real life. As I've said in the past, aeroplanes in museums are little more than stuffed birds in glass cases.
My own view is we should keep these aeroplanes flying as long as possible. The temptation to mount increasingly exciting displays should be suppressed though. For me, even a fly-by is enough. Listen to that big engine rumble and snarl. Watch a piece of history do what it was intended to do in the first place.
Flying is never 100% safe. Wafare is a dangerous time and many airmen lost their lives in similar machines. Since these machines are less than perfect flyers and for that matter designed to accentuate every last scrap of performance, they don't compromise and aren't always too forgiving. It's a mark of the dedication and skill of those lucky people who fly these things that fatal accidents are rare.