Airbase, Baginton

Back to positive news.... You may all remember that a decision was taken a couple of years back to move the bulk of the Air Atlantique collection of vintage aircraft that were based at Coventry Airport to a new base at St Mawgan/Newquay in Cornwall, effectively closing down Airbase Coventry.The aircraft maintenance (for the flyers) and the aircraft restoration (for the non-flyers) did not leave, and has continued in hangars 6 and 7 for the duration. Last summer, [free] limited access was available to the site after agreement had been reached with the Shackleton Preservation Trust, the Trust that is clearly involved with the restoration of the Avro Shackleton that has been resident at Coventry for well over 20 years. Great strides have been made with the restoration of this aircraft, which hopefully will take to the air once again within a few years. I'm extremely pleased to advise that a lot of the aircraft will be returning to Coventry and taking up residence here once again in time for a re-opening to the public on Saturday 2nd May. To mark the occasion they will be holding a Vintage Air Display. This will not be a full blown airshow but should feature all of the flying airframes within the Coventry based collection. There may be additional aircraft based elsewhere visiting for the day but confirmation regarding those will only be known a few days beforehand. The Shackleton itself will also feature. At the minimum it should ground run all four of its fully restored Griffon engines. Hopefully it will provide taxy rides - if so, certainly a unique experience. Please remember that the Classic Air Force at Coventry is not a business in the strict sense of the word. It is run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. Most of the workforce are strictly volunteers. However the aircraft are maintained by fully licenced and approved engineers. If they were not, the aircraft simply would not be given the necessary approvals and certificates to fly. Running such a facility clearly costs money - a lot of it. You can support them yourselves by becoming a member of the Classic Air Force itself. You can become a volunteer - and a lot of them are required to support the planned openings of the Coventry 'Classic Air Force - Airbase' this summer. Or you can just support the project by visiting the site itself. Remember that not all flying aircraft will be on site at the time of every visit. With Coventry being central, it will be used as the main base for the flyers as they fly off to perform their various displays at airshows around the country throughout the summer season, earning money to help keep vintage aircraft doing what they do best - flying. Please try and spread the word to support this project as much as possible. Thanks

For you aviation fans, Just a few pictures from "Airbase gets Airborne" on 2nd May. Pity it was so cold! The museum is open Thursday to Sunday and you can even have a cup of coffee in the DC6 Diner! Classic Air Force Web site