Air Atlantique
Old aircraft are demanding creatures. Anyone who's taken on the task of keeping a historic flying machine even presentable, let alone airworthy, knows this. So spare a thought for us. We're looking after more than twenty-five irreplaceable gems. And not only do we endeavour to keep them all flying, we try to make as many of them as possible available for you to fly in.
The Augean Stables would be a doddle by comparison.
As a result, our headquarters at Coventry has become pretty well known. Keep your eyes open if you're nearby, you could spot the Vampire or Venom painting their vapour trails on the sky, or one of the Dakotas grumbling back to base. The Rapides are a frequent sight, and those four elegantly tapered wings are unmistakeable.
There are a few rarities too. Our Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer is the world's only remaining flyable example. Its slow-flying capabilites are hard to believe unless you've seen it in action. It lifts the tailwheel before it even moves off, and then rises like a suspicious bubble in a bathtub.
It's our job to keep it, and its stablemates, airborne for future generations to enjoy.
So don't think of us as a museum. Air Atlantique has always believed that aircraft were built to fly, not to be mounted and stared at like stuffed animals, beautiful, but irrevocably dead. It's more like a safari park for classic aeroplanes. If you come along to one of our open days you'll be seeing them in their natural habitat.
We haven't chosen the world's most expensive undertaking. Repainting the M6 with gold leaf, for example, would drain even more money. Probably. But keeping these old girls in the manner to which they're accustomed is the endeavour we've pursued for too many years to give up now.
So please do your bit. Come and fly with us, present someone you love with a flying voucher, buy something from the shop. You'll never make us rich, but you'll be helping us to keep history airborne for generations to come.
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