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The Airport Terminal, then and now.

SAVING G-BEJD

If you are reading this, chances are you're interested in donating towards the cost of saving HS.748 G-BEJD from the scrap man. Before you part with your hard-earned cash though, please do read through the following so that you have a clear understanding of where your money is going and what your money will help us achieve. Thank You.

WHO WE ARE
The Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group (SAHG) originally started life as 'The Jetstream Club' which was formed to manage the Jetstream 41 (G-JMAC) kindly donated by BAe Systems at Woodford. With the Jetstream cockpit converted to a flight simulator and the Club properly registered as a charity (#1106923) the last eight years have seen countless people from all walks of life enjoy exploring the aircraft and flying the simulator. School groups, Air Cadets, Boy Scouts and many other groups have all benefited.

For the last 5 years the Club has held an annual 'Aviation Fair' to raise awareness, inspire youngsters and generate the funding necessary to cover it's running costs. Each year, in recognition of the tremendous local support given to SAHG, typically half of the monies raised from the event have been given away to other deserving causes such as Marie Curie, the RSPCA, Fire Support Network and more.

In January of 2010 at the Club's AGM it was agreed that a name change was in order to better reflect our activities. In addition to the Jetstream we also have Grumman AA1 G-SEXY and our beloved Percival Prince G-AMLZ. We are also blessed to be situated on the Apron of the outstanding old Speke Aerodrome which is not only beautifully restored but has a true heritage all of it's own. I believe flying at Speke can be dated back to 1913 and Speke played a seldom reported yet significant role during WWII.

The Four-Star Crowne Plaza Hotel which now occupies the old Terminal Building is incredibly supportive of SAHG and we will forever be in their debt for allowing us to occupy the old apron. The one small way in which we are able to repay the Hotel's generosity is by helping to maintain the replica Dragon Rapide biplane on display at the front of the building.

SAHG is a small and friendly group with limited funds and limited equipment. The one thing we are not short of is enthusiasm and despite the often difficult conditions - we get the job done. SAHG is also a very stable group. The old apron where we are based is under a conservation order which states that it may only be used for the purposes for which it was constructed - this suits us just fine and means that SAHG should be able to continue for many years to come.

THE PLANS FOR G-BEJD

SAVED
BEJD was well overdue for scrapping until the Lakes Lightnings team stepped in and persuaded the Authorities at Blackpool to allow them some time to find her a new home. A plea on the Key Publishing Forum proved incredibly effective and enough donations have already been received to cover the costs of moving BEJD to her new home at the old Speke Aerodrome in Liverpool.

This, of course, is only the beginning of a long an arduous journey to rebuild and restore 'JD which will take many man-hours and a serious financial investment. Your help is still needed to ensure 'JD's future.

DISMANTLING
The immediate objective is to keep 'JD away from the scrap metal merchants and there isn't a great deal of time to do this. To dismantle JD 'properly' would require much time, money, equipment and manpower. With the best will in the world - this is not going to happen. We all hate the idea of cutting her but when the only alternative is to see her scrapped, it suddenly doesn't seem as bad.

Our very own Mike Davey (aka 'Anon') has already offered his time and skills to manage the sectioning of JD and her transport to Speke. From personal experience I can think of no one better qualified or more experienced to perform this task properly and within the time scale available. A carefully selected support team has already been chosen.

REASSEMBLY
Putting JD back together so that she would be structurally sound is going to be extremely difficult after being cut, and until the deed is done - it isn't going to be possible to properly assess the options available.

A plan to reassemble her at ground level (ie: wheels up) has been put forward as a viable solution meaning that she would be both wheelchair friendly and safer for the many younger visitors we get. This would make JD accessible to a lot more people and that means a more assured future for her.

It may be that she is partly assembled at ground level while remedial work is undertaken to enable her to be put 'back on her feet' at a later date - it's too soon to know. The important thing is that we have that choice and that JD is not being recycled into bean cans.

LIVERY
This is always a contentious issue! The majority of people that have mentioned this to me have favoured the old Dan-Air scheme but I am sure there will be other opinions too. No decision has been made, nor has a decision been made on how to reach such a decision (!). The choice of livery is a luxury to be considered once she is safe. Someone has suggested that those who pledged moneies to save JD should have a poll to decide - not a bad idea.

OWNERSHIP
Legal Ownership of BEJD will be with the Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group. I understand this is a condition of the aircraft being released at all - and since split ownerships are often fraught with problems sooner or later - SAHG would not enter into such an agreement if that were the case. At the end of the day, we really only see ourselves as custodians of the aircraft we have - we desperately hope that the next generation will continue what we've started.

FINANCES
Nothing divides people quicker than money. Many people have generously pledged their hard earned pennies to see JD saved and need to be sure that everything is 'above board' and that their investment is safe.

Before work can begin to safeguard JD, the pledges made need to be turned into real money and so we have elected to use PayPal since this is a well known and reputable international system which also offers you safeguards, privacy and security. Should the project suddenly go pear-shaped, Paypal also allows us to quickly and easily return all monies pledged. You do not need to be a registered PayPal user - provided you have a valid credit or debit card, the PayPal system will work for you.

SAHG has always been open and honest, it really IS the best policy! Our accounts have always been promptly and properly lodged with the Charities Commission (see their website) and we are very lucky to have the best Treasurer North of Ushuaia who ensures that we operate properly, sensibly and efficiently.

If you wish to remain anonymous, PLEASE SAY SO WHEN USING THE PAYPAL FORM !!

DONATE TO THE G-BEJD FUND