Government’s First “Champion for General Aviation” at 2018 YES Conference

Brooklands Aircraft Factory

Brooklands Museum, 10th March 2018.

Byron Davies, recently appointed as the first ever “Champion for General Aviation” by the Government and the first chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for General Aviation, will be the keynote speaker at the Light Aircraft Association’s (LAA) Youth and Education Strut Aviation Education Conference at Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey on March 10.

Mr. Davies has been tasked by the Government to gather evidence of the GA sector’s value to the economy and the need for a protected network of airfields.
The Conference brings together the key players in Aviation Education to discuss current initiatives and enable a better understanding of what opportunities are available for young people in General Aviation as a career or recreational activity. Organisations represented at the event include the Trailblazer and the Heritage Apprenticeship Programmes, Aerobility, the LAA, Air Cadets, the Royal Institute of Navigation, the Scouts and The Shuttleworth Trust.

Brooklands is the birthplace of British aviation as it was the site of the first UK flight trials in 1908 so it is apt that the conference takes place there. Perhaps more fittingly however, is the thinking behind their recently completed Aircraft Factory and Flight Shed complex as part of an overall £8.2m Heritage Lottery Funded project to revitalise and re-interpret the site and its unique 80-year legacy of aviation testing, manufacture and flight. As well as the collections of aircraft, the Museum has embarked on a number of learning initiatives that range from STEM-led activities for students through to aviation heritage skills and preservation programmes both on the ‘factory floor’ and in the purpose-built workshops in the new facilities. This is a pivotal role in providing a gateway to some of the learning as an introduction to a career path within the aviation industry and for other aviation heritage organisations to use as a hub for learning. Allan Winn, Director of Brooklands Museum and Andrew Cornish, Aviation Heritage Skills Officer will be speaking on this subject.

Aviator and adventurer Tracey Curtis-Taylor will also be part of the line-up and will be addressing the delegates drawing on her experience and passion for flying that has inspired many people throughout the world.

Attendees will also get the chance to look around the Museum’s exhibition areas and explore the incredible collections of classic cars, motorcycles and aircraft, including the only Concorde open to the public in the south east, 4D Theatre with simulator and Museum Shop.

Pre-registration is required so to book your place at the Conference which runs from 10am – 4pm please contact Virginia Smith at: virginiasmith@brooklandsmuseum.com or by call 01932 857381 ext 248. Tickets are £12.50 each and include a lunch.

For directions to the Museum please visit http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com or telephone 01932 857381. Simulator rides in the 4D Theatre rides are approximately 8 minutes long each and are priced at £4 Adults, £2 Children. The half-hour Concorde Experience is £5 Adults, £3 Children.

 

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