Update 4 - A Big Announcement
We are absolutely thrilled to be able to announce a new partnership with British Airways. The nation’s flag carrier has adopted the Blackbushe Heritage Trust as an official charity for the next few years opening up huge potential for fundraising.
To begin the new association, British Airways will be donating £20,000 to the BHT. This very generous amount means we are very close to our aim of securing £30,000 to recover the aircraft from Austria and bring her ‘home’ to Blackbushe. This is incredibly exciting news, something which seemed a few years away just weeks ago is now very much on the horizon for 2023.
British Airways frequent flyers build up Avios points which they can then redeem for flights, hotels, experiences or they can donate them to one of the airlines official charities. The interesting and varied heritage of British Airways is something many customers have a deep association with and we look forward to receiving support in this way. Our Viking G-AGRW flew for predecessor British European Airways in the late 1940s resplendent in full BEA livery and named ‘Vagabond’.
A new scheme for British Airways staff has just been launched today. Each employee has been given a £20 charity donation to be allocated to one of BA’s official charities. We are in competition with a number of worthy causes but very much hope we will benefit from this. Like with their frequent flyers, we believe many staff feel a strong bond with the airlines rich heritage.
This incredible progress is as a result of the dedication of Trustee Dave Payne. He has worked tirelessly over the last few weeks securing this amazing arrangement with British Airways. It has taken him many hours of hard work and commitment on behalf of the BHT, all of this while working long hours in his full time ‘day’ role as a manager of flight crew. I’m sure you will all agree that every minute has paid off and we are all incredibly grateful for the hard work he has put in.
We are confident that as soon as G-AGRW is back home she will become a significant community asset appreciated by all. We intend to begin giving talks and open her for viewing as soon as practical. Local schools and colleges will become involved as we use her to promote the important STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths). We expect support for the trust to grow strongly, attracting many volunteers to take part in the full restoration over the next few years. Studies have shown how beneficial volunteering is for good health and well-being, something more important than ever in the busy hectic world we live in. We very much look forward to being a central diverse and inclusive part of the local community.
Trustee Phil Johns kicked off our winters talks programme at the Pathfinder on 22nd November. We were treated to a fascinating hour spent hearing about his 50 year career in aviation which took him to many parts of the world. The event was a huge success raising just under £400. We hope to advertise the next talk shortly.
We are very grateful that British Airways Chief Pilot, Simon Cheadle, was able to select our lucky raffle ticket winners on Saturday 3rd December at an event at the Pathfinder. Six prizes were handed out, including a session in a full motion airliner simulator, light aircraft flights at Blackbushe, BHT merchandise and Pathfinder Cafe vouchers. A huge thank you to British Airways, Mike Biddulph and Blackbushe Airport for their generous donations.
Thank you to everyone who sold raffle tickets for us. You all know who you are but particular mention must be made of Andy Huggett, James Burton, Gary Browne, Kevin Bond, Pete Vickery, Flo McEwan, Richard Dyett and of course all the staff at the Pathfinder Cafe. Apologies for not being able to mention you all.
Many people have kindly donated books, models and other aviation items for sale. A special mention must be made of Kevin Brewster who has done just that along with donating money he raised at a local church fete. We are so humbled by all your individual efforts. We’ve said it before and will do so again - our overheads are very small therefore pretty much every penny we make goes into the fund to restore GAGRW to her former glory.
In other news, a small group of us were looking into visiting Bad Voslau airfield (to the south of Vienna) to survey G-AGRW. Due to the inclement winter weather at this time of year we have put this on hold for the time being. We will have an update on the current status of the airframe in due course.
A massive thank you to each and every one of you for all the hard work you are putting into our exciting project. Stay tuned, the next few months are going to be great.
Best Regards,
BHT Trustees