Archive for March, 2011

Large Model Air Show Set To Fly High With Discounted Advanced Tickets

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

16-17 July 2011
Advanced tickets on sale from 1st April
On site camping
Gates open 8.30am

Advance tickets for the annual Large Model Aircraft Rally taking place at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th July 2011 will be on sale from Friday 1st April 2011.

This famous air show in miniature is an absolute must see for any aviation enthusiast. Last year it attracted in excess of 12,000 visitors over the weekend, with hundreds of scale models of iconic aircraft taking to the skies during the two-day event. Large Model Association organisers are hoping this year’s event will prove just as popular and are now offering the chance to beat the rush and buy tickets early on at a discounted rate.

The main theme of this year’s show will be marking the 75th Anniversary of the first Spitfire flight, with scale models of this iconic aircraft flying both days. The event also includes a family fun fair, trade and food stalls, access to the RAF Museum and full size aircraft displays. Gates open at 8.30am.

Advance tickets for the Large Model Aircraft Rally at the RAF Museum Cosford are priced at just £9 for adults, £5 for children and £7 for senior citizens with a family ticket of 2 adults and up to 2 children retailing at £20, saving £5 on the gate price.

On site camping including entrance to the show is only £40.00 for the weekend when booked in advance. Contact Dave Bailey for more details on camping at dave.bailey08@tiscali.co.uk or call 07827 675665.

For further information on how to purchase advance tickets and for on the gate prices, please call the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford on 01902 376200 or visit the Museum website at www.rafmuseum.org

 
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Get Ready 4D Feeling of Flight

Friday, March 25th, 2011

If you have ever wondered what it actually feels to soar amongst the clouds or to participate an intense aerial battle wonder no more. Visitors to the Royal Air Force Museum will be able to experience the all thrills and exhilaration of powered flight by entering the Museum’s newest exhibit – its 4 Dimensional Theatre.

The 4D Theatre is a fun interactive experience that takes you right into the heart of the action! It combines cutting-edge 3D computer animation with the added dimension of dynamic seating and special environmental effects like water spray, smoke machine and shaking seats. Visitors are transported directly into each story as they become a young crew member of a B17 Bomber; or a jet pilot with lighting quick reactions careering along a desert canyon in a frantic race against your bitterest rival; or passenger in a airship surveying the history of flight a various aircraft swoop around you.

Get ready for turbulence as you dodge enemy fire; feel an aerial battle explode around you; and experience the chill on your skin as you parachute through the clouds. Each stunning film is delivered to you through exciting stereoscopic 3D with 4D special effects.

Vinit Mehta, Merchandising Manager, for the museum states:

“The most common question that our Tour Guides, particularly those who have served in the RAF, are asked by the public is ‘How does it feel?’ to be in a particular aircraft or part of a crew in a high octane situation. With our 4D Theatre we can now offer our visitors a unique opportunity to understand the actual experience that RAF Pilots undergo in combat or as part of their training. By entertaining them, the experience becomes more real and so does their appreciation of our unparalleled collection of aircraft and the men and women who flew them.”

Tickets for each ride retail at £4 per person. Whilst a Family Ticket at £12 entitles two adults and two children for a ride. A single ticket entitles the bearer not only to a rise but also to a free tea or coffee from the Museum’s Wing’s Restaurant or Wessex Café ; a family ticket, two complimentary teas or coffees. Terms and conditions apply. Tickets for each ride may be purchased from the Museum’s Main Entrance, Shop, the Museum’s simulators and the 4D Theatre itself. Each ride lasts between 5 and 10 minutes, depending upon the film being shown.

Entry to the Royal Air Force Museum is free of charge to visitors. The museum is open daily from 10am to 6pm with last admission at 5.30 pm. For further details about the Museum’s 4D Theatre and its individual films please visit www.rafmuseum.org/london or dial 020 8205 2266


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Bikers Ride Out For The RAF

Saturday, March 19th, 2011

Sunday 8th May 2011

£5.00 per person

A charity motorcycle run will take place again this year in aid of the RAF Association and RAF Museum. Motorheads from all over the UK are invited to join the third annual RAF ride out from Shrewsbury Meole Brace park & ride to the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford in Shropshire on Sunday 8th May 2011.

Thousands of bikers from across the country are expected to join together for a massive ‘Ride Out’ in support of the RAF. Registration costs just £5 per person, with all proceeds being shared equally between the RAF Association’s Wings Appeal and the RAF Museum.

Following its major success over the last two years, organisers are hoping this year’s event will see a record number of bikers taking part, smashing the previous year’s totals. The events held over the last two years have attracted thousands of bikers and proved to be an incredible visual spectacle. Hundreds of members of the public lined the bridges of the M54 to watch almost 3,000 bikers make their way to the RAF Museum.

Participants are asked to arrive at Shrewsbury’s Meole Brace Park and Ride from 10.00am, where they will be able to catch up with bikers from across the country, enjoy a warm breakfast and speak with the Shropshire Road Safety Team. Departing for the RAF Museum Cosford at 11.30am, bikers will travel ‘on mass’ by police escort along the M54 motorway. On arrival at the Museum there will be the opportunity to view the award winning National Cold War Exhibition, visit the trade stalls and auto jumble or take a ride on the family fun fair. Catering stalls will be selling hot and cold food, plus Costa Coffee is available in the Museum restaurant.

For more information or to register for this fun charity ride out, book your place online now at: www.rafmuseum.org/cosford or call 01902 376252.


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HRH The Duke of Gloucester opens new exhibition hall

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Date: Tuesday 15th March

The refurbished and relocated historic Grahame-White Watchtower building has been given a Royal public opening by HRH The Duke of Gloucester

The redundant Watchtower building built in 1915 was once the centre piece of aviation pioneer Claude Grahame-White’s aircraft factory in Hendon, home to the British aircraft industry and the birthplace of British aviation. Flying from Hendon ceased in the late 1960’s and use of the building ceased with the closure of RAF Hendon in 1987. Since that time the building had fallen into disrepair.

Now relocated and renovated, the building sits next to the Grahame-White Factory on the main Museum site. The Watchtower will exhibit displays on the life of Claude-Grahame White, the history of the Hendon Aerodrome and the pioneering years of flights. The upper floor will also feature a recreation of Claude Grahame-White’s original office as well as a learning centre.

Air Vice-Marshal Peter Dye, Director General, Royal Air Force Museum: “This building and new exhibition provides a fitting tribute to Claude Grahame-White, one of this country’s most important aviation pioneers. We intend to sustain his legacy through an exciting education programme that will provide a community resource as well as allowing visitors to understand the vital role of the local area in the history of British aviation.”

www.rafmuseum.org


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Wolverhampton Wanderers In The RAF

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford is embarking on an exciting new venture with Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. They are working together on a joint project to examine the lives of footballers who served in the forces during the Second World War era.

The Museum is particularly interested in those players who went on to join the RAF and the careers they had within that branch of the armed forces.

Information provided by Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club Historian and Archivist Graham Hughes, shows that during the Second World War, Wolves Manager Major Frank Buckley who served in the Army himself, issued a call to arms to his football team and backroom staff. His encouragement led to 91 men joining up for active service by the end of the war in 1945.

Philip Clayton, Education Officer at RAF Museum Cosford says:

“The research will look into the lives and memories of Wolves players that served in the RAF for both club and country. This is an exciting long term project which I hope will bring a greater understanding of football during this period.”

This mammoth task is believed to be one of the first of its kind and the more information that can be gathered, the better. If anyone has any memories, information, photos or medals of people who served in the forces and played for Wolves, we would like to hear from you. Please contact wwfcresearch@rafmuseum.org or visit the Museum website and complete the online form at www.rafmuseum.org/wwfcresearch. Alternatively, please write to the Museum at: Philip Clayton, Access and Learning, RAF Museum Cosford, Shifnal, Shropshire, TF11 8UP.

This exciting local project will be a combination of efforts from the RAF Museum Cosford, Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, RAF Cosford and Wolverhampton University being led by Post Graduate Samantha Leek.

The Museum is open daily from 10am and entry to the Museum is FREE. For further information please contact the Museum on 01902 376200 or visit www.rafmuseum.org 


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Key Publishing sponsor 2012 Calendar Competition

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

Airscene is pleased to announce the continuation of support for its annual calendar competition, by Europe’s leading aviation publisher Key Publshing Ltd.

As with previous years Key have committed to vouchers totally £300 to be spread across the first 3 prize positions as follows:

1st prize – £150 vouchers (to include p&p)

2nd prize – £100 vouchers (to include p&p)

3rd prize – £50 vouchers (to include p&p)

The Airscene 2012 Airshow Calendar competition can be found at www.Airscene.co.uk/competition/2012calendar.php

Key Publishing’s portfolio include both trade and consumer magazines, books and DVS’s covering many and varied aviation interests from historic biplanes to the latest military marvels, and flight sims to baggage truck technology. Please visit www.keypublishing.com and visit their online shop.

 
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Just how do you shrink-wrap a Harrier?

Friday, March 4th, 2011

The question had been running through my mind from the moment I read a forum post, on a well known aviation site. My mind started to “boggle”.

How exactly did you go about such a task – I have enough trouble covering a bowl with cling film before I microwave something – the cling film always tears when I pull it off the roll, and, just how do you find the ‘end’ again?

Full Review: http://www.airscene.co.uk/airshow-reviews/RAF-Cottesmore-Harrier-Farewell-2011.php


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