A spectacular festival of motoring and aviation not only brought a fabulous array of vehicles and aircraft from across the country roaring into the Army Flying Museum at Middle Wallop, Hampshire last Saturday (11 July), but also saw a magnificent air display programme which wowed yet another capacity sell-out crowd.
The Army Flying Museum, and the adjacent Army Air Corps airfield, saw its highest number of aircraft, motorcycles, classic and super cars descend on an extremely hot day, for the sixth Wallop, Wheels and Wings event, attracting over 5000 visitors. The event, which was sponsored by GKN Aerospace and Boeing Defence UK, again surpassed visitor expectations and was undoubtedly the biggest and best it has hosted, with tickets selling out in advance of the event. The afternoon saw a number of air displays including the Royal Navy Raiders Parachute Team, Pitts Special and Yak3 displays, and a stunning display from the Gazelle Squadron. The day culminated in a breathtaking finale from the Army Air Corps Display Team.
Spectacular Spitfires were in abundance at the event to wow the crowds and to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the first Spitfire flight.
On the ground there were over 400 classic and super cars in attendance, spanning over one hundred years of motoring including an eye-catching display from the AA Heritage Fleet. Alongside the cars, was a wide range of superbikes and vintage motorcycles, with a very special display by sponsors Andover Norton International.
The event’s Silver Sponsors, Boeing Defence UK provided a static display of a Chinook Mk5 and the Boeing AH-64E Apache AH1. This was the first time a Chinook has appeared at the event and was a fantastic opportunity for visitors to see one of the RAF’s most iconic helicopters and chat to the flight test crew and engineers.
The event showcased a number of interactive STEM activities in its Discovery Den, with hands on activities from GKN Aerospace, Sparsholt College, Boeing and Leonardo with lots to keep young minds buzzing, including GKN’s very own robot and the Tech Tour Bus from Sparsholt College who sponsored the event for the first time.
A shopping village showcased many local traders and visitors were treated to lots of great delights from local businesses including Saxnot Meadery, Homemade Brownie Company and Bluestone Vineyards and many more.
Lucy Johnson, Army Flying Museum CEO, said: We are so thrilled to have welcomed over 5000 people to our biggest and best-ever Wallop Wheels & Wings – to sell out in advance was such a huge achievement and shows how popular the event has become. This is the key event in the Museum’s fundraising calendar, and it is so important in helping to raise the profile of the Museum and the work that we do. It was fantastic to see so many happy, smiling faces despite the heat, and to see a record-breaking number of cars, bikes and aircraft join us on the day. It was great to see the delight on our visitors faces as they watched the spectacular displays taking place.”
The event may now be over for another year, but the Museum doesn’t have time to rest as they begin their busy summer holiday activities in earnest with a programme of fun activities – ‘A Summer of Flight’ celebrating their wide and diverse collection. For more information visit www.armyflying.com
