Warbird Information Exchange

Another Lancaster seat offered on eBay
Mark McNeil
Hamilton Spectator Jul 22, 2014
If you're still smarting about losing out in May's bidding war for the $79,100 Lancaster flight of a lifetime to Great Britain next month, here's your chance to land a seat on the return trip.

A spokesperson from the Canadian Warplane Heritage museum, which owns the famous warbird, said on Monday that another ticket or two will be auctioned off on eBay for the England-to-Hamilton leg of the journey, planned for the week of Sept. 22.

Last month, the original August-to-September tour was extended by three weeks due to the demand for additional appearances.

But first, the Lancaster is set to rumble down the runway at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport on Aug. 4, making stopovers in Newfoundland, Greenland and Iceland before landing at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire three or four days later.

On board will be Matthew Munson, a 34-year-old businessman from Henley-on-Thames in England, who paid the nearly $80,000 through eBay to be part of the Lancaster's flight crew.

Once in the U.K., the Lanc will take part in more than 20 air shows, many of them with the world's only other airworthy Lancaster, owned by the Royal Air Force.

It's anyone's guess what the return ticket or tickets on the Hamilton Lanc will sell for.

But since the last eBay auction in early May, there has been tremendous hype and media coverage of the air show appearances across Great Britain which could drive up the price.

There are only eight seats on the historic plane, and two will be taken up by a documentary film crew.

Warplane Heritage spokesperson Al Mickeloff says the museum has raised more than the $750,000 needed to cover the cost of the trip. This was done through appearance fees, and the deal with the documentary film company, endorsement contracts and the eBay seat auction.

With the new seat or seats to be auctioned in August, and possibly additional revenue sources, officials will generate funds to cover other activities at the nonprofit museum.

On Monday, Mickeloff also revealed details about the genesis of the U.K. journey.

He says the idea was hatched last October at a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight dinner in England.

A Warplane Heritage representative was there and ended up sitting at a table with Richard Lake, co-owner of Eastern Airways, a regional airline in Britain.

Lake is an extremely wealthy historic airplane buff whose personal collection includes two Spitfires, a Messerschmitt — and a prosthetic leg from famed Spitfire flying ace Douglas Bader, who died 1982.

Lake says he uses the leg to impress upon people the strength of the human spirit in overcoming obstacles.

Bader, who was missing both legs, still managed to fly Spitfires and was seen as a British hero because of his flying exploits.

"There was a guy who overcame enormous physical handicaps to take a very important role in the Battle of Britain," Lake said in a telephone interview from England.

After subsequent talks with Warplane Heritage officials, Lake agreed to cover any financial shortfall arising from bringing the Hamilton Lancaster to Britain.

With that assurance, museum officials figured they couldn't go wrong.

In appreciation for sticking his neck out — even though in the end, his support wasn't required — he's been given a seat on the Iceland-to-England section of the journey.

Lake says he's thrilled.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," he says. "The Lancaster is an airplane that has touched virtually every British family at some point."