Jason and the Argue Nots

 Her inspirational exploits early last century earned her a place in aviation history.

But an event to celebrate the life of Amy Johnson is being marred by a row over her most famous biplane.

Miss Johnson became the first woman to fly solo across the world from England to Australia in 1930 and was hailed as a global superstar. She was even appointed the UK Daily Mail's aviation editor in 1934.

Her plane Jason, a De Havilland Gipsy Moth, G-AAAH, was later donated to the Science Museum in London and remains on display there today.

Organisers of the Amy Johnson Festival in her home city of Hull wanted to borrow the aircraft to form the centrepiece of the event, which they hope will attract 100,000 visitors to the city this summer.

Despite an offer to cover all costs involved in the loan, the Science Museum has rebuffed the request. 

Museum chiefs expressed concerns that the historic plane may not be looked after properly in Hull and complained about security and costs.

But festival director Rick Welton said: 'Given Amy Johnson flew the plane to Australia you would think we could get it 200 miles from London to Hull without all this fuss.

'I was so cross at their response. It felt like we were being treated as an ignorant bunch of Northerners.

HULL'S HIGH-FLYING HEROINE

• Amy Johnson, daughter of a wealthy Hull fish merchant, was 26 when she flew solo to Australia in 1930
• The 11,000-mile trip was completed in 19 days
• The second-hand plane cost £600, paid for by her father and oil tycoon Lord Wakefield
• Amy set a string of records, including a solo flight from London to Cape Town
• She joined the Air Transport Auxiliary in the Second World War but died on January 5, 1941
• A plane she was delivering to the RAF crashed off Herne Bay, Kent. Her body was never found. She was 37

'Clearly, no one is going to nick Amy Johnson's plane. It can't even fly. It is hanging on the third floor of the Science Museum. They got it in there so they must be able to get it out again.

'We have also offered to raise funds to pay for all costs. So it is silly to say it is too expensive and cannot be done.'

Science Museum curators rejected the festival's application, citing "resource constraints" and the "disruption" caused by removing the plane from display.

The museum, which received around £20million in grants last year, refused to put a figure on the cost of moving the plane.

But a spokesman said: 'Meeting this request would have been very expensive and is not something that we could support in such a tough funding climate. 

'The aircraft is an integral part of our permanent Flight Gallery on the third floor of the Science Museum.'

But Hull North Labour MP Diana Johnson said: 'Their objections to allowing the Gipsy Moth to come to Hull are utterly unconvincing.'

 

(Source. The Daily Mail")