Ash McFadden is a well known face around the peninsula (and beyond!) His work and enthusiasm at the Inishowen Maritime Museum and Planetarium in Greencastle is outstanding. The museum has gone through three major upgrades since it opened, thirteen years ago. There is a new Car Safety Programme being run in the museum where visiting schoolchildren get to see first hand just how violent a collision in a car is, even at 7km per hour! A company called Autoliv brought over the special equipment from Sweden. To book for the programme, call 9381363
What car do you drive?
A 1995 Opel Astra 1.7 Turbo Diesel Estate.
How long have you had the car?
I bought it in 2001.
Any plans to change?
I might make it a bit longer and thinner!
Is it reliable?
Semi- reliable. If I were to change the car I would go for the same model though, as the inside is very practical.
Best thing about the car?
Durability, it has been through a lot.
How often do you wash it?
Now and again. There isn’t much point really because I live in a bog. I have named the car “The Bogmobile!”
Are the images on the wing real things you have hit?
Yes they are! They are actually called “Nose art” Aircraft have images on the nose to show how they fare in combat. (Ash has a pilot’s licence for commercial fixed wing aircraft and gliders so it is a fitting tribute to the casualties!) The images are self-explanatory. The rooster was dancing in the middle of the road at 2 am and jumped straight into my windshield. The telegraph pole and the second fox were done at the same time. The fox jumped out of the hedgerow and swerving I ran into the pole.
What would you change on the roads?
I would get rid of the (illegal) purchase tax on new vehicles.
Top Tip for drivers?
Drive with the lights on. The ESP (in America) did a survey, which showed there was a 40% reduction in accidents when lights were used.
What would you really like to be driving around in?
If I didn’t have to carry equipment I would go for a Mazda MX5
How long have you had the car?
I bought it in 2001.
Any plans to change?
I might make it a bit longer and thinner!
Is it reliable?
Semi- reliable. If I were to change the car I would go for the same model though, as the inside is very practical.
Best thing about the car?
Durability, it has been through a lot.
How often do you wash it?
Now and again. There isn’t much point really because I live in a bog. I have named the car “The Bogmobile!”
Are the images on the wing real things you have hit?
Yes they are! They are actually called “Nose art” Aircraft have images on the nose to show how they fare in combat. (Ash has a pilot’s licence for commercial fixed wing aircraft and gliders so it is a fitting tribute to the casualties!) The images are self-explanatory. The rooster was dancing in the middle of the road at 2 am and jumped straight into my windshield. The telegraph pole and the second fox were done at the same time. The fox jumped out of the hedgerow and swerving I ran into the pole.
What would you change on the roads?
I would get rid of the (illegal) purchase tax on new vehicles.
Top Tip for drivers?
Drive with the lights on. The ESP (in America) did a survey, which showed there was a 40% reduction in accidents when lights were used.
What would you really like to be driving around in?
If I didn’t have to carry equipment I would go for a Mazda MX5
Motoring.
