[derekgas]

Took the car for a spin today, went to Lytham, it was gala day, along with many flying kites, people walking (many with pets), a fairground, and a closed windmill, there was an old American fighter helicopter, with all the gunsets, some of the bullet holes, and the owner/pilot, brilliant to see along with some jeeps etc, all had been used in the vietnamese war, were bought in a museum in USA and restored here, the chopper cost £140k and 3 times that to renovate, it is used for films, documentaries, air shows and the likes, the upkeep is still not covered by its work, it has to be serviced every 25 hours, and the engineer is brought from london to do this, kept in a hotel and taken back at the owners expense, this is because it is cheaper than taking the chopper to him for service, I heard that these things are expensive on fuel, but this particular one goes through an incredible 100 gallons of fuel every hour!! No wonder it doesnt pay for its keep, it apparently costs the owner another 20k per annum after all the payments received from the films etc.