Hi Tony
Every decent museum has a "Friends of..." organisation of some description, usually of people who have had some connection to the Museum's exhibits, but that's not strictly necessary. It is not necessary to have been an aircraft engineer to help keep the Anson's tyres inflated, the dust swept off it's exterior and the Perspex polished.It helps to have a certain amount of technical knowledge so that one doesn't wipe the fabric with toilet cleanser, but apart from that, all it takes is time, enthusiasm and a few drops of sweat. All museums need people who are prepared to do the dull-but-necessary jobs when the punters turn up or have gone home.Ticket sellers, shop assistants, sweepers, toilet cleaners, polishers,wipers, whatever you can offer.I'll give you an example: the guy selling the tickets and tidying the bookshelves at the aviation museum in Bournemouth is a former RAF Vampire QFI.No airs and graces there and a fund of knowledge to share.Another idea is for a group to "adopt" an aircraft and look after it as "their" project.
Apart from that, it would be easy to set up an ID card system so that dedicated museum volunteers could come and go without hassle, even on a weekend.
As an aside,I would recommend to the Museum that they carry out a survey of all the aircraft to determine their exact condition, with a view to establishing which aircraft needs the greatest attention.I wish Mick Whelan the very best, but I think he's facing an uphill battle, unless somebody upstairs is backing him.
regards
GttC
