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DORNIER BOMBER TO BE DISPLAYED IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE

The RAF Museum is using cutting edge digital technology to share its newly acquired exhibit – the Dornier Do17 bomber – with the world.

Using a specially developed Augmented Reality App called Apparition: Dornier17, a full scale, 3D vision of the aircraft will be visible in situ at various locations around the world.

In June the Museum successfully lifted the only known German Dornier Do17 bomber, from the waters of the Goodwin Sands, three miles off the coast of England. The event was a media phenomenon with viewers across the globe tuned in to watch it happen live.

A grant of £75,000 for exhibition development from Wargaming has allowed the Museum to work with redLoop design and innovation centre to develop a brand new method of exhibiting Museum artefacts. The creation of the‘Wargaming.net Interpretation Zone’ has been funded by Wargaming, an award winning global game publisher and developer.

From 16th Oct 2013, visitors to the Museum sites at London and Cosford will be able to see a fully restored, 3D, full scale, augmented reality Dornier. Visitors will be able to view this through their smart phones via the ‘Apparition: Dornier17? app.
Apparition: Dornier17 will be able for free download from the Apple App store from 16th Oct and soon after will be available on Android.

Furthermore the Museum has also tied in with organisations across the globe including; Museo del Aire Madrid Spain, Warsaw Museum of Polish Military Technics Poland, War Museum Overloon The Netherlands. Great Horwood C of E Confined School England, Canada Aviation and Space Museum, The Air Force Museum of New Zealand Museum plus the Pima Air & Space Museum/Arizona Aerospace Foundation to celebrate the launch of the exhibition. Visitors to those Museums will also be able to see the augmented reality Dorniers through their smart phones, hovering in situ.

Wargaming is delighted to be working with the RAF museum and its partners to develop an augmented reality application to bring history alive, and allow users to view the Dornier 17 bomber from locations around the world. Said, Tracy Spaight, Director of Special Projects, Wargaming. One of the challenges museums face is how to reach a younger generation, a demographic that author Mark Prensky called ‘digital natives’. Young people are used to interacting with content in ways that museums are only just beginning to explore. Wargaming.net is pushing the envelope to create interactive experiences that will help enrich our historical understanding and bring a new generation to museums.”

Royal Air Force Museum Director General, Peter Dye: This heralds a new era of exhibition display and what Museums can achieve. For the first time ever the same 3D exhibit is visible in defined physical sites around the world.”

redLoop Director, Dr Andy Bardill: “We are now living in the science fiction future, described by William Gibson, where we can create virtual 3D objects that people can look at, walk around and explore in physical spaces or in their own home using commonly available smartphones and tablets. We have used this technology to bring the Dornier17 back to life and it clearly has immense potential for augmenting museum collections.”

www.rafmuseum.org

Victor Cockpit Moves to Newark Air Museum

On Saturday 5th October 2013, the Newark Air Museum took delivery of its latest exhibit, in the shape of a Handley Page Victor cockpit.

This particular Victor cockpit is believed to have been built as an airframe; however before being allocated a serial number it was converted by Redifon into a Victor simulator / procedures trainer.

It was once used to train Victor crews at RAF Marham in Norfolk and it has been placed on long term loan at the museum. After making the short delivery journey to the museum from its previous location near Lincoln, the Victor cockpit will soon be repainted in representative markings of the type.

The cockpit is internally complete and it will form a significant part of the display at the next Tribute to the V-Force event, which the museum is hosting on Saturday 17th May, 2014 at its site on the former RAF Winthorpe airfield in eastern Nottinghamshire.

The Victor cockpit will also be an integral part of the 2014 Cockpit-Fest event, which is being held on Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th June, 2014.

http://www.newarkairmuseum.org

Special Limited Edition Double Remarque Prints

Terry Jones Art Red Arrows Remarque Prints

Artist and competition sponsor Terry Jones released two fundraising prints following the tragic deaths of two Red Arrows pilots John Egging and Sean Cunningham. The proceeds from the sale of these prints reaised money for the John Egging Trust and The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund – both very worthy causes.

Both prints are available now as limited edition double remarque prints…

Tastefully painted tributes to eachof these skilled aviators and the Red Arrows Aerobatic Team whose dedication to duty is an inspiration for us all. This offer comes complete with the option of eight different borders containing hand drawn images by the artist. You can be assured that regardless of which borders are chosen, these double remarque prints will only have a run of 150 in total for each pilot, making this limited edition even more of a rarity.

This opportunity is a must for any Red Arrows fan or anyone who wishes to add these unique pieces of artwork to their private collection. Each print is individually numbered, signed by the artist, and is issued with a Certificate of Authenticity. As stated previously, proceeds made from all prints sold will go to the Jon Egging Trust and The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. Please note that whilst all proceeds from the sale of these prints will go to the respective charities, remarque’s are an addition to the prints and do not form part of the charitable donation.

http://www.terryjones-art.co.uk/red%20arrows%20special%20remarque.htm

General Aircraft Monospar project update

Newark Air Museum Monospar project

Work on the on-going re-build of General Aircraft Monospar VH-UTH at Newark Air Museum continues to extend the knowledge of the volunteers undertaking the work on this rare airframe. Still working without any detailed plans for the ST-12 Monospar much of the most recent work has involved detailed structural items in and around the cockpit / fuselage.

Wherever possible the restoration team has been incorporating original items back into the airframe. In the cockpit the instrument panel has been reinstalled, along with most of the original instruments. Whilst the project was at Innsworth, some of the instruments were ‘quarantined’ and a decision is currently pending to decide whether or not these are refitted. If suitable replacements can be found these may be replaced, if not the originals will be incorporated and access to the cockpit area monitored.

Just aft of the cockpit the fuselage luggage hatch is being carefully rebuilt and this work is incorporating all of the original framework and hinges, which are contoured to the fuselage profile. However it seems likely that a new door will need to be fabricated as the original was damaged beyond repair.

A setback to the project has recently occurred with the enforced retirement of one of the team members, due to family health issues. His dedication and engineering skills will be missed, but his enforced departure will no doubt spur on the team members to continue with this project during the coming months.

http://www.newarkairmuseum.org

Dornier 17 Interpretation Zone

Creation of £75,000 Wargaming.net Interpretation Zone for Dornier 17 at RAF Museum’s West Midlands site.

In June the world witnessed the successful project to raise the only known German Dornier Do-17 bomber, from the waters of the Goodwin Sands, three miles off the coast of England.

From October 16th the general public will be able to experience a dynamic new exhibition at its Cosford site which will explore the background of this legendary aircraft and its recovery. The creation of the ‘Wargaming.net Interpretation Zone’ has been funded by Wargaming, an award winning global game publisher and developer.

The grant of £75,000 has allowed the Museum to work with redLoop: the Middlesex University Design and Innovation Centre, to develop new approaches to the display and interpretation of the Dornier as it is conserved. A number of interventions will tell the story of the Dornier, its recovery and conservation – in both the Museum’s physical and digital spaces.

At both sites the public will also be able to see an augmented reality Dornier flying above the Museum, showing the aircraft as it would have been seen in 1940. Visitors will be able to view this through their smart phones via a newly developed app. Additionally exhibits at both sites will display multi-media content – from footage of the Dornier in action in 1940, to film of the recovery operation and the chance to witness the Dornier in action in the Wargaming release World of Warplanes.

The Museum has also tied in with organisations across the globe including the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, The Air Force Museum of New Zealand Museum plus the Pima Air & Space Museum/Arizona Aerospace Foundation to celebrate the launch of the exhibition. Visitors to those Museums will also be able to see the augmented reality Dorniers through their smart phones, hovering in situ.

The exhibition will allow the Museum to develop new education offers focussing on the STEM subjects as well as creating a space where community groups and adult education partners can take part in the Dornier experience. A new dedicated website will also be launched which will the story of the Dornier and its recovery and conservation. The website will showcase the social history behind the Dornier, the forensic science behind its discovery and recovery, archive footage from the Museum as well as user generated content. The website will develop with the Dornier project and function as an innovative hyper textual documentary for the project.

Victor Kislyi Wargaming CEO: “Wargaming is passionate about military history,” said Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming. “When we heard about the effort to recover the Dornier 17, we jumped in to help conserve and exhibit the plane. The new ‘Wargaming.net Dornier 17 Interpretation Zone’ at the RAF Museum opens up new vistas for the display and understanding of military history. Visitors of all ages will be able to interact with history in a way that has not been done before. Through augmented reality and multi-media experiences, the exhibition brings the past alive to tell the story of the Dornier 17, the pilots of 264 Squadron who shot it down, and epic struggle of the Battle of Britain. We are honored to be a part of this ground-breaking exhibition.”

Royal Air Force Museum Director General, Peter Dye: “I am delighted that Wargaming are supporting Museum’s Dornier project by funding the Interpretation Zone. This is innovative project and the support of Wargaming will allow us to tell the story of the aircrafts’ recovery and conservation in an innovative way. Augmented reality, mobile applications and the use user generate content are new developments for the Museum and we are very excited about exploring their possibilities.”

redLoop Director, Dr. Andy Bardill: “Working in partnership with the RAF Museum we have developed a ‘bleeding edge’ approach to interpretation in museum spaces, blending physical and digital experiences throughout the exhibition scheme. This innovative approach will provide new visitor and educational experiences and enable the museum to engage with their audiences both on their museum sites and across the world.”

About Wargaming

Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. Founded as a privately held company in 1998, Wargaming has shipped more than 15 titles. Currently, Wargaming is focused on its team-based MMO war series dedicated to the mid-20th century warfare that will include the armored World of Tanks, the flight combat World of Warplanes, and the naval World of Warships. The three intertwined titles will form a common gaming universe integrated within the portal www.wargaming.net

Official website: www.wargaming.com

About redLoop

redLoop is a research-led, innovation and design collaboration centre based within the School of Science and Technology at Middlesex University London.

redLoop brings together research expertise, social and ethical philosophies and commercial experience from across the University and its collaborative networks. This enables us to develop innovative interdisciplinary work areas across a broad range of applied research and commercial scenarios in the product, service, interaction, user-experience and technology sectors.

We have recently completed, and are actively working, on a number of projects that bring together physical objects and spaces, digital systems and applications, and media content to deliver new user experiences and value exchanges between institutions, corporate clients, artists and end-users [visitors, customers, audiences, etc]

Official website: www.redloopdesign.co.uk

www.rafmuseum.org

“Queen of the Skies” lands with a roar at Dunsfold Park

VC10 Arrives at Dunsfold Park

Dunsfold Park Ltd and Brooklands Museum were delighted to welcome the last Vickers VC10 to its new permanent home today (Tuesday 24 September 2013) at the famous Surrey airfield. The VC10, which carries the RAF serial number ZA150, was the very last VC10 of 54 built at Brooklands in the 1960s and was one of the last two flying with the RAF from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and retired this week after completing a total of 43,400 flying hours.

The aircraft landed on the airfield at 13:43, flown by Sqn Ldr Tim Kemp with his aircrew, co-pilot Fl Lt Shane Stiger, engineer Fl Flt Kevin Booth and Navigator Flt Lt Bruce Thompson. Over 160 visiting public joined members of the aviation teams from Dunsfold Park and Brooklands Museum to witness the final flight. Also in attendance were Lord Trefgarne, Chairman of Brooklands Museum Trust, Trustee Penelope Keith and Angela Newton, daughter of Sir George Edwards, the Managing Director of BAC while the VC10 was developed and built.

Much to the delight of the watching crowds, the VC10 did an impressive full throttle flypast down the runway ensuring everyone felt the power and enjoyed the noise of its engines one last time. Banking around the aerodrome she faultlessly landed before being towed to her final resting place.

Jim McAllister, Chief Executive of Dunsfold Park Ltd, comments, “We are absolutely delighted to have worked with Brooklands Museum to provide a new home for the Vickers ‘Queen of the Skies’ VC10. The Aerodrome has an illustrious aviation history which we are keen to remember and celebrate so this is a welcome addition to the Hunter, Sea Hawk and 747 which currently reside here.”

ZA150 was originally built as 5H-MOG for East African Airways as a “Combi”, based on the Super VC10 but with a large forward freight door – which, incidentally, greatly eased the conversion of this variant into a tanker aircraft, allowing five huge fuel tanks to be installed on the main deck. After its airline service was completed, this aircraft was stored at Filton for several years before making its first flight as a tanker in 1984.

Allan Winn, Director of Brooklands Museum, says, “It is hugely important for us to have saved this aircraft as the last heavy airliner ever to be completely built at Brooklands – and indeed in the UK. But it is also significant as its retirement marks the end of an unbroken century of front-line service by Brooklands-built aircraft with the British armed forces. That is a unique record, unchallenged by any other factory-customer relationship anywhere in the world. We are delighted that Dunsfold Park has made it possible for us to house this symbolic aircraft back in Surrey.”

Longer-term arrangements for public access to the VC10 at Dunsfold Park and Wings & Wheels will be confirmed in due course.

The RAF bought 14 new VC10s in the 1960s for strategic transport and later went on to purchase aircraft retired from the commercial market, converting a further 14 into air-to-air refuelling tankers during the 1980s and ‘90s. In total, the RAF has operated 28 VC10s of differing variants, and the aircraft conducted a range of tasks from troop and VIP transport, aero-medical missions and air sampling after nuclear tests. In recent years the VC10s have been used solely for air-to-air refuelling, with their last missions in this role having been completed on Friday 20th September. The VC10 becomes the second longest serving type in the RAF’s inventory with 47 years of service just narrowly eclipsed by the English Electric Canberra which was withdrawn in 2006.

http://www.dunsfoldpark.com

“Queen of the Skies” retires to Dunsfold Park

Dunsfold Park and Brooklands Museum are pleased to announce that the last Vickers VC10 will arrive tomorrow (Tuesday 24th September) at its new permanent home, the famous Surrey airfield. The VC10, which carries the RAF serial number ZA150, was the very last VC10 of 54 built at Brooklands in the 1960s and is one of the last two flying with the RAF from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and being retired this week.

The aircraft will be landing on the airfield at 12:30* with its six-strong aircrew and will be greeted by members of the aviation teams from Dunsfold Park and Brooklands Museum.

Jim McAllister, Chief Executive of Dunsfold Park Ltd, comments, “We are absolutely delighted to be working with Brooklands Museum to provide a new home for the Vickers ‘Queen of the Skies’ VC10. The Aerodrome has an illustrious aviation history which we are keen to remember and celebrate so this is a welcome addition to the Hunter, Sea Hawk and 747 which currently reside here.”

Dunsfold Park will be open for visitors wishing to witness this important arrival, with access via the North Gate off Stovolds Hill. If you would like to witness the VC10’s final flight please email nancy.edwards@rutland.co.uk with your contact details. Longer-term arrangements for public access to the VC10 at Dunsfold Park will be confirmed in due course.

* The arrival of the VC10 at Dunsfold is subject to weather and operational constraints: please monitor www.brooklandsmuseum.com or www.dunsfoldpark.com.

Experience the virtual skies at Cosford

Saturday 19th October

10.00am to 5.00pm

£10 per person

Experience the virtual skies at the flight simulation event taking place at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, Shropshire on Saturday 19th October 2013.

Just Flight and Flight 1, two leading flight simulation software publishers, will be hosting this major gathering in association with PC Pilot magazine to show visitors the very best in desktop flying.

Visitors to the show will be able to fly the latest aircraft, check out the latest flight simulation hardware and chat with leading developers, publishers and other enthusiasts in addition to the many exhibitors at the show.

Home to an impressive collection of aircraft and exhibitions, come along to Flight Sim 2013 at the RAF Museum Cosford this autumn and you’ll be able to experience the best of both the virtual world and the real world of aviation!

Just Flight and Flight 1 guarantee a very warm welcome to all aviation enthusiasts, whether they are veteran desktop pilots, flight simulation novices, or anyone thinking of getting airborne in the virtual skies for the first time.

Entrance to Flight Sim 2013 costs just £10 per person on the day, with free admittance for under 16s accompanied by an adult. For further information on the event visit the show’s website www.flightsimulatorshow.com.

Note from Airscene: For a limited time you can pre-order your tickets for just £6.50 each 😉

Auster Project Progressing

Auster Newark Air Museum

Work on the Auster AOP.9 in Display Hangar 1 at Newark Air Museum is progressing. The nose cowlings and panels have been de-corroded and primed and fitted to the main fuselage frames; as has the cockpit glazing. At the rear of the fuselage similar work has been completed on the fin.

The internal restoration has also progressed, with the main instrument panels now refitted and installed. Work on the project is due to continue into the late autumn / winter months.

The Auster AOP.9 was originally moved out of deep storage at the museum and into Display Hangar 1 on 31st January 2012. A survey of the fuselage framework was then undertaken with a view to allowing the long-term restoration of the airframe. A set of wings for the project remain in storage at the museum.

The precise identity of the airframe has not been fully resolved. Examination of the manufactures plate on the aircraft gave a slightly confused picture about the military serials that it may have worn.

The main plate carries the following inscriptions:

B5-10-1185 issue 72 10-9-62

Elsewhere, a modification plate on the fuselage carries the following inscription:

AUS/R -10/74 or possibly AUS/R -10/174

The various suggested identities for the airframe still have not been fully resolved. XK381 or XS238 are believed to remain possibilities, while TA200 and XR238 have also been in the frame.

Any assistance in helping to resolve this particular AOP.9’s ‘identity crisis’ would be greatly appreciated; details can be sent in via the museum website at www.newarkairmuseum.org

Calendar competition receives stamp of approval

Airscene bumped into the proprietor of Covent Garden’s based Icon Stamp Art whilst doing the rounds at Dunsfold Wings & Wheels. After going to extradordinary lengths (buying a couple of framed pictures) Simon Coleman has kindly agreed to offer one of the Concorde 3D stamp pictures (as seen above) towards this years competition.

All of Simon’s work is genuine, hand-made and 100% original – and uses real stamps. Following on in similar style (front, profile, plan), Simon has created a variety of artwork which includes the Spitfire and a beautiful bi-plane in profile only. Due to the hand-made nature of the pieces, the items available in the shop will tend to vary at times, however do contact Simon to let him know what you may be interested in, and if he doesnt have it, he wil let you know if it can be done.

The Concorde piece retails for £30 (framed) and will be added to the first prize pot in this years competition.

For further information about Icon Stamp Art, and to see the available collection please visit http://www.iconstampart.co.uk or leave a personal message at https://www.facebook.com/iconstampart.