Archive for November, 2015

RNAS Yeovilton Air Day 2016 Date and Theme Confirmed

Monday, November 30th, 2015

RNAS Yeovilton Lynx

The annual Royal Naval Air Station YeoviltonInternational Air Day in Somersetwill take place on Saturday 2 July. Planning is well under way for this popular airshow which will take ‘Naval Aviation – Past, Present & Future’ as its over-arching theme.

There will be a number of Fleet Air Arm milestones during the year and Air Day’s acknowledgement of these will include:

Bismarck 75 – The Swordfish, regarded as an obsolescent aircraft during WW2, participated in the pursuit and sinking of the German battleship Bismarck 75 years ago.

Lynx Farewell – The venerable Lynx maritime helicopters which will be out of service in March 2017 will be making their last appearance, and a fitting one, in front of their home crowd at Air Day.

Tomorrow’s Fleet Air Arm – Air Day will provide an insight into what the future holds for the Fleet Air Arm. The next five years are indeed exciting times as the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth prepares to enter service. This will mark the return of the Royal Navy’s carrier strike capabilities as well as providing another helicopter assault ship platform.

Over five hours of flying displays and an extensive static display will featurehistoric naval aircraft and their modern day counterparts in spectacular role demonstrations to acknowledge the Fleet Air Arm’s contribution to Protecting Our Nation’s Interests. Invitations have also been sent out to other UK and foreign military formation and solo display teams to participate at the airshow.

The flying display might be Air Day’s centrepiece but there will also be a huge array of ground attractions. From engineering fairs to the latest defence technology exhibitions and Service displays to trade stalls and arena displays. For the thrill seekers – simulators, fairground rides and helicopter pleasure flights cannot fail to excite.

Air Day tickets are now available to order at a discounted ‘Earlybird’ rate with no booking fees from http://www.store.yeoviltonairday.co.uk for a limited period. These are priced lower than the usual advance tickets which will go on general sale in the New Year.

RAF Cosford Air Show 2016 – Official Launch

Wednesday, November 18th, 2015

Cosford Airshow 2016

Tickets for the RAF Cosford Air Show 2016 to be held on Sunday 19th June, have officially gone on sale today. With the 2015 event selling out weeks before the show took place and now having been voted the region’s ‘Best Event of the Year’ by the public, the organisers are encouraging people to purchase their tickets as soon as possible.

As an incentive to purchase tickets early, the organisers are for the first time offering ‘Early bird’ ticket pricing. Up until Wednesday 23rd March tickets to the RAF Cosford Air Show 2016 will be priced at £22.00 per adult with accompanied under 16s entering free of charge. After this date adult tickets will be priced at £25.00 each.

Carrying on from the success of the 2015 show the RAF Cosford Air Show 2016 will once again be Advance Ticket Only with no tickets being available to purchase on the gate. This step has greatly improved entry on to the showground giving people a swifter and more enjoyable start to their day.

With record breaking ticket sales came an impressive amount raised for charity with over £220,000 being donated to the four service charities and local projects. The RAF Association, RAF Benevolent Fund, RAF Charitable Trust and the RAF Museum all benefit from the Air Show. Clive Elliott, Air Show Director stated ‘The profit donated to charity this year has been exceptional and the benefits of it will be felt across the whole of the RAF Family.’

Early Bird tickets for the RAF Cosford Air Show 2016 are on sale now, priced at £22 and with free entry for accompanied under-16s. Tickets are available online from www.cosfordairshow.co.uk

VC10 rebuild is now complete

Thursday, November 5th, 2015

VC10 at RAF Museum Cosford

After an eight month dismantling process, a 70 mile journey along the M6/M54 motorway and a four month rebuild, the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford is pleased to announce that its latest acquisition, VC10 serial number XR808 is now complete and on public display.

The media, aviation fans and visitors alike have followed the aircrafts journey to Cosford every step of the way and the Museum is thrilled to see the aircraft fully reassembled and in its new display position next to the Lockheed Hercules C130K Mk3.

The VC10 arrived at Cosford in June and was partially reassembled on the airfield at RAF Cosford before being moved onto the Museum’s site for completion. Since then the rear fuselage along with the outer wings, fin, tail plane and engines have all been carefully refitted onto the aircraft in the rebuild area directly outside the Museum’s Hangar 1.

The VC10 was moved into its display position during mid-October and the final task of attaching the starboard outer wing was completed the following week.

The VC10 was originally designed and built by Vickers-Armstrong and then later by the British Aircraft Corporation and entered service with Royal Air Force in 1966. This dual-role aircraft enabled the rapid deployment of troops and their weaponry and fast jet aircraft to many theatres of operations around the world and proved one of the RAF’s most significant assets for nearly 50 years. The RAF VC10’s allowed true global mobility offering a combination of speed and range never previously attained by an RAF Transport Command aircraft type. Having served for such a long period of time in a wide variety of roles, it would not be possible to accurately portray the history of the RAF without an example of the type – therefore it is essential that such a pivotal aircraft is preserved by the RAF Museum

Ian Thirsk, Head of Collections at the RAF Museum said:

“The VC10 is an icon of the British aviation industry and one of the most significant aircraft types ever to serve with the Royal Air Force. We are delighted to have XR808 on public display at Cosford and indebted to GJD Services for all their dedication and professionalism in making this a reality. BAE Systems Heritage and the RAF Charitable Trust have also played a crucial part in making this project possible and we thank them for their continued support.”

The dismantling, transporting and rebuild process was carried out by GJD Services, a specialist maintenance and aircraft salvage company based at Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire.

Gary Spoors, Accountable/Engineering Manager at GJD Services said:

“Taking an idea that something can be done and turning that theory into a reality is always driven more by the belief that it can be achieved than all the drawing, planning and measuring involved. The challenge of dissembling, moving and reassembling a Vickers VC10 has certainly been a team achievement and without the dedication and good will of all involved this would not have been being as successful as it was; from the GJD guys who gave 110% to the task, the teams from the haulage, transport and crane companies, to the RAFM staff I take my hat off to all involved and wish to thank everyone who supported us along the way. As a company, we are not often given the opportunity to show off, but now we can point to BOB and be very proud of what we have achieved.”

The transportation of the VC10 was made possible thanks to the support of BAE Systems Heritage.

Howard Mason, BAE Systems Heritage Manager, said:
“We are delighted to be able to once again support RAF Heritage and the RAF Museum in ensuring that this iconic example of British engineering is preserved as part of the national collection of examples of aircraft that have served our country over the last century.”

For more information about BAE Systems Heritage visit: http://www.baesystems.com/en/our-company/heritage/

RAF Charitable Trust Chairman Air Marshal Sir Kevin Leeson said “One of the aims of The RAF Charitable Trust is to inspire and encourage young people to think about aviation and the technology that underpins it and to become involved themselves in this exciting career. Where better to do this than within the fuselage of this aircraft which will serve as a “living classroom”? The VC10 played such an important part in the technological history of the aerospace industry and was a key part of the Royal Air Force for nearly 50 years. In its history, the VC10 has transported UK VVIPs and the UK Armed Forces globally; it had a key weapons resupply role in the Cold War to the RAF in Germany; and as an air to air refuelling tanker it was a pivotal force multiplier for over 20 years. The Trust intends the teaching facility that it will provide to be motivational to as many young people as possible and we are pleased to be supporting such an inspirational project. My thanks go to the MoD Defence Equipment and Support organisation AT/AAR Project Team, GJD Aero Tech and the RAF Museum technical team for delivering this amazing engineering and logistic project.”

For more information about the RAF Charitable Trust visit: www.rafct.com

For further information please visit the Museum website www.rafmuseum.org/cosford or call 01902 376200. The Museum is open daily from 10am and entry to the Museum is FREE of charge.

Harvard news round-up from Newark

Wednesday, November 4th, 2015

Harvard at Newark Air Museum

The in-depth restoration of the North American Harvard II B in Newark Air Museum’s on site workshop continues and recently work has been undertaken on preparing to refit the front section of the engine to the fuselage.

A lack of significant engine part means that this part of the project will be a largely cosmetic exercise for display purposes, which will allow for the refitting of the restored engine cowlings.

The airframe being restored is 42-12417 (Dutch AF B-163 and RCAF FE930) and the restoration programme is now well underway; however the final choice of markings; either Dutch or Canadian still remains to be made.

www.newarkairmuseum.org