Classic Air Force Charity Selling 36 Aircraft, Five In One Lot

The founder of the Classic Air Force charity in the U.K. has placed his entire collection of airplane up for auction, five of which will be sold as a package at the Bohnams Goodwood auction September 12.

The five airplanes being sold together include a 1950 Avro Anson twin-engine trainer; a 1950 de Havilland Chipmunk aerobatic trainer; a 1946 de Havilland Rapide short-haul airliner; a 1948 Percival Proctor 5 monoplane; and a 1958 de Havilland Vampire T55 twin-boom jet, said to be the first of its type to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The five airplanes in that lot have an estimated value of about a £500,000, or about $778,875, according to the auction site.

The charity's founder and trustee Mike Collett said that after 40 years in aviation, he plans to retire and sell off his collection. His stipulation is that the buyer keep the aircraft in airworthy condition. He told the U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail that the airplanes are "living pieces of history" that can preserve piloting and engineering skills that might otherwise be forgotten.

Collett plans to sell the other 31 airplanes in his collection to individual bidders. Classic Air Force spokesperson Jem Shaw said that the full collection of 63 airplanes has an estimated value of £3 million, or $4.73 million U.S.

(Classic Air Force aerobatic Chipmunk photo from Facebook)

FMI: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22725/lot/385/