UK Aviation Museum News – Page 29

Museum launches Summer of Spitfire at Armed Forces Weekend

RAF Museum Armed Forces Weekend

Date: 29-30 June 2019 / Time: 10.00am-5.00pm / Cost: FREE

The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford will launch its ‘Summer of Spitfire’ season of family activities centred around the most iconic aircraft ever built, at the Armed Forces Weekend celebrations taking place on 29 and 30 June.

This family weekend packed full of nostalgic activities will offer visitors the first opportunity to step inside the NEW Virtual Reality Zone and experience the thrill of flying in a Spitfire. This brand-new experience places you in the cockpit and 10,000 feet in the air for a panoramic view of a real Spitfire flight. With the use of VR goggles, fun focussed visitors can enjoy a 6-minute flight and see first-hand what it’s like to taxi and take-off in a Spitfire, and of course….no flight would be complete without a circuit of the airfield, including low passes and a loop de loop, before landing and taxiing into the hangar.

The footage developed exclusively for the RAF Museum is the first of several new VR experiences on board real aircraft to become available, with more flights arriving soon. The experience costs just £5 per person and is suitable for visitors ages 13+. Doors to the six new VR stations will open on 29 June and is just one of the many exciting activities taking place across the site over Armed Forces Weekend.

Re-enactors, period settings, engine demonstrations and military and civilian vintage vehicle displays will bring the Museum to life with authentic experiences nestled amongst the historical aircraft on display. Exclusively for the Summer months, the Museum will display its rare photo reconnaissance Spitfire PR. XIX alongside the World’s oldest Spitfire Mk 1.

WHAT’S ON over the Armed Forces Weekend:

• Learn how the plotting table played a vital role in the pilot’s flying missions
• Join a Vulcan pilot and his team preparing to scramble under the wings of the real aircraft
• View the airships display and find out more about their use during the First World War
• ‘Greyhounds’ play, a second World War Theatre performance by Time & Again Theatre Company on Saturday 29 June (£5 per person).
• Find out how sea mines were recovered and detonated, or in some cases not, during special talks
• Take a closer look inside the cockpit of the world’s oldest Spitfire and enjoy a rare view of the photo reconnaissance Spitfire PR. XIX
• Walk amongst the Second World War tents, meet members from Women’s Voluntary Service and take part in rifle and bayonet drills
• See a range of military and civilian vehicles on display
• Climb inside the Hunter and Phantom cockpit and experience what it was like to fly these aircraft
• Meet the pilot and find out more about the Japanese Kawasaki Ki-1001b
• Watch as RAF Bomber Command ground crew prepare themselves for a mission, including the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
• Watch Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk500 and Bristol Hercules Mk216 demonstrations
• Dress up in RAF attire and grab some props from the Museum’s handling collection and take photos as a memento of your day
• Families can enjoy decorating their own Armed Forces flag to take home
• Share your stories and personal connections to the RAF with the Museum’s RAF Stories team who will be on site capturing contemporary stories relating to the RAF for the digital online collection
• The Museum’s restaurant will be serving a selection of Armed Forces treats all weekend

(Vehicles and re-enactment groups subject to change.)

The ‘Armed Forces Weekend’ will run from 10.00am to 5.00pm on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 June 2019. The Museum’s Summer of spitfire programme will conclude on 1 September at the sell-out Spitfire 10K. For more information visit www.rafmuseum.org/cosford.

New Museum & Memorial Director at Yorkshire Air Museum

Barbare George

• The First Female Director of the Museum

• A new mission and initiative of the Yorkshire Air Museum and Allied Air Forces Memorial

• To Honour, Educate and Inspire

At the beginning of June 2019, The Yorkshire Air Museum welcomed a new Director. Barbara George began her role as the Director of The Yorkshire Air Museum and Allied Air Forces Memorial, as countries across Europe gathered to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D Day landings.

It was perhaps a poignant moment in time to be assuming the role, as the Museum moves forwards into a new era of development and exciting new initiatives, both locally, regionally and internationally.

Who Is Barbara George?

The First Female Director of the Yorkshire Air Museum and Allied Air Forces Memorial.Barbara has worked for the Museum since 2014, assuming the role of Deputy Director in 2017.

She is a French national and also has Australian citizenship. Barbara has an MA in Applied Languages and Commerce and has lived and worked in the UK, France and Australia with extensive experience in the fields of management, marketing and communications, and a life-long interest in museums and history, volunteering until recently within the prestigious Collections Department of the York Minster.

Along with the Board of Trustees, Barbara is going to be launching a new Museum strategy this month.

This new Museum ethos is ‘To Honour, Educate and Inspire’.

Barbara comments, “Traditionally the role of museums used to be to collect and preserve objects and showcase them to the public. However, current visitors are now demanding a less static and more engaging and fulfilling experience. Our new strategy and ethos will place the visitor journey and learning at the heart of everything we do.”

“We want to empower people to take their own journeys of discovery at the Yorkshire Air Museum. We also want to make our collections and stories relevant to the diverse audiences who visit us.”

“One of the purposes of our strategy has been to rethink our mission as an organisation. We are satisfied that our new mission encompasses the values that our museum and memorial want to stand for. “

About The New Yorkshire Air Museum and Allied Air Forces Director.

Barbara completed a MA in Applied Languages and Commerce at Lille University, France. She is an accredited translator in English and French certified by the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs.

She worked in London in public relations and financial marketing prior to moving to Australia to join her husband, a FA-18 pilot in the RAAF. In Australia, she was Marketing Communications Manager for the largest recruitment services provider in the country prior to studying immigration law in 2003.

She created a consultancy firm advising people on Australian immigration policy matters and translation services. She joined the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship in 2010 where she was Assistant Director and worked on various policy portfolios as well as a Parliamentary Inquiry into Australian immigration detention centres.

Barbara moved back to the UK with her family following an RAAF posting for her husband within BAe Systems. She started work at the Yorkshire Air Museum at the end of 2014 as Museum Manager (Development). She was promoted to Deputy Museum Director in 2017. She’s also been an archiving volunteer within the Collections Department of the York Minster for the past 4 years.

Barbara has been instrumental at Yorkshire Air Museum in creating strategies to bring more families to the museum and develop its educational programme for schools, increasing the school visits to the museum by 300%. Barbara is French with an Australian citizenship and is a member of the Museums Association and the Association of Independent Museums.

“I am very excited about our upcoming summer events, particularly our celebration of 50 years since the moon landing on 21st July which will be so much fun, followed by our family day on 28th July and our new revamped Thunder Day on 18th August. In between, there will be an action-packed summer of activities at the museum and much work to be done on planning new exhibitions”

http://yorkshireairmuseum.org/latest-news/introducing-the-museum-and-memorial-director/

Celebrate a Summer of Spitfire at the RAF Museum

Summer of Spitfire at RAF Museum

This summer will see the Royal Air Force Museum paying homage to one of the most iconic aircraft ever built with a programme of events and activities dedicated to the Spitfire.

The Museum is home to a large collection of Spitfires, including the world’s oldest. This summer it will explore the history of the Spitfire and the story of those RAF servicemen and women who worked with this wondrous aircraft.

Weekend festivals, thought provoking storytelling, close views of real Spitfires, and a series of nostalgic events including a Battle of Britain Day will transport visitors back to a time when the Spitfire protected Europe’s skies.

Visitors will also be able to take the pilot’s seat and enjoy a 6-minute Spitfire flight through the Museum’s new virtual reality experience (Cosford only), take a selfie in a Mk XVI Spitfire (London only) or enrol in the Museum’s Spitfire Academy Adventure, its latest immersive experience that combines all the demands of an escape room challenge with the fun of a treasure hunt (London only).

Summer of Spitfire Events

For more information about the Museum’s Summer of Spitfire programme of events and activities at both the RAF Museum London and Cosford visit www.rafmuseum.org. Events are subject to change, flypasts are weather dependant.

The Museum is open daily from 10.00am. Admission is free.

Restoration Updates – Newark Air Museum

Vulcan restoration at Newark

Despite some horrendous weather this week work has just been completed on the erection of the scaffolding structure around the tail fin of Avro Vulcan B.2 XM594 at Newark Air Museum. This will allow restoration work to be undertaken in a safe manner by a dedicated team of museum volunteers. This work is anticipated will take the rest of the summer to complete.

The team working on the rebuild of BV Chinook HC.1 helicopter, ZA717 have also been trying to take advantage of breaks in the weather to secure more of the glazing panels along the helicopters fuselage.

Progress reports on all of these projects will continue throughout the summer.

www.newarkairmuseum.org

RAF Museum Trustees complete 101 mile fundraising walk

RAF Museum Trustees 101 mile walk

On Sunday 9 June RAF Museum Trustee Nick Sanders and Museum Ambassador Robin Southwell completed a gruelling 101 mile walk at the RAF Cosford Air Show.

Nick and Robin led the march of over 100 miles to raise money for a bespoke outdoor children’s playground at the Museum site in Cosford. The aviation themed playground will include miniature versions of iconic aircraft and is set to enhance the visitor experience for local families and school groups visiting the Museum.

Crowds gathered at the Cosford Air Show to watch Nick and Robin take their final steps, which led them through a Guard of Honour from local RAF Air Cadets Wales and West Region.

The walkers were finally greeted at the finish line by RAF Cosford Station Commander Group Captain Tone Baker, family, friends and Museum staff, who wished them well. Not ones to keep still, they then joined the RAF Chief of Air Staff for lunch at the Air Show.

The Cosford Museum has seen a 20% increase in visitor numbers on the back of the RAF Centenary year. Now in the 101st year, Museum Trustees undertook the walk to build on that success with their sights firmly set on raising funds for a playground that will engage the Museum’s youngest visitors with the RAF story.

Their journey was incredibly tough with the weather being against them for a large proportion of the walk, but they arrived at Cosford in good spirits with the sun shining, having literally gone the extra mile to kickstart the fundraising for a play area where children can learn and also have fun.

There is still time to support their efforts donate now at:
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/RAFMuseum101Walk

The RAF Museum is a registered charity, number 244708.

Nick Sanders of Sutton Coldfield headed up the walk with assistance from other Trustees and VIPs associated with the RAF Museum on the walk between RAF Cranwell near Lincolnshire and the RAF Museum at Cosford in the West Midlands.

The walk of just over 100 miles took-off from RAF Cranwell on Wednesday 5 June and followed a route passing through the east of Nottingham, crossing over the River Soar at Kegworth, through Lockington, Walton on Trent and Coven before a safe landing at the Cosford Air Show on Sunday 9 June.

Nick Sanders, is an aerospace engineer by training and has spent many years turning around struggling industrial businesses.

For more information about the fundraising walk and the RAF Museum, visit www.rafmuseum.org.

Skies the limit for Large Model Air Show

Model Aircraft Rally at Cosford

Date: 6-7 July 2019
Time: Gates open 8.30am
Cost: £8.00 in advance (until 3 July) / £10.00 on the gate

Take-off to the Large Model Air Show at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford on the 6-7 July for a weekend packed with spectacular flying displays. Not only will the skies be filled with miniature models of iconic aircraft, there with be plenty of action on the ground to keep families, aviation and modelling enthusiasts alike entertained.

The popular event takes place on the airfield at RAF Cosford and even offers visitors the unique opportunity to camp on the airfield, exclusively for the weekend of the show.

Model aircraft heading to the show have been designed and built by members of the Large Model Association, after years of dedication creating perfect replicas of the real thing. With everything from biplanes to modern jets, these not so mini replicas can take anything from two weeks up to seven years to assemble, reaching speeds of up to 200mph, powered by engines similar to petrol lawn mowers or even miniature jet engines.

This year’s event will kick start the Museum’s ‘Summer of Spitfire’ programme of events and activities and visitors can expect to see a spectacular mass formation Spitfire flypast, followed by the chance to get a closer look at the models in the static display line-up later in the show. Listen out for the unmistakable sound of a real Spitfire as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight treat visitors to a Spitfire and Hurricane flypast on Saturday 6 July. There will be more flying action on the Sunday and those attending the show can look forward to a flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster, an exciting highlight not to be missed! (Flypasts are weather permitting)

Exclusively for the Cosford show will be a flying display from all three V Bombers, the Vulcan, Victor and Valiant flown together by the show organiser and three generations of the same family. The real V Bombers can of course be seen on display in the Museum’s National Cold War Exhibition. (All model aircraft displays are serviceability permitting)

NEW to the show this year will be a ‘Future Pilots Zone’ where youngsters and flying novices can get behind the controls and have a go at flying a scale model aircraft. Children’s fun rides will be on offer all weekend, alongside an assortment of military vehicles and a Rolls Royce car display (Saturday) for visitors to peruse.

The Large Model Air Show promises to be a great day out for modellers and families alike with plenty of exhibitors signed up to showcase some of the latest model kits and aviation accessories. Also NEW to the shows line-up this year will be a large craft tent offering a variety of unique and hand-crafted products.
Keeping visitors fuelled for the day will be a fantastic range of food, a beer tent and plenty of ice cream.

Visitors will have access to the RAF Museum where they can view many of the aircraft flown during the show in full size. A free shuttle bus service will run continuously throughout the day between the airfield and Museum grounds, making getting around the site even easier.

Advanced tickets to the Large Model Air Show cost £8.00 per adult and are now on sale at the Museum or online at www.largemodelassociation.com. Tickets purchased on the gate cost £10 per adult, children under the age of 16 are FREE.

Make the most of the weekend’s flying activities by camping on site, the only opportunity throughout the year where members of the public can enjoy a night under the stars on an active RAF airfield. Camper tickets include entrance to the show both days and your weekend pitch for either a tent or caravan. Prices start from only £40.00 in advance (until 3 July) and any visitors interested in camping should email public-camping@largemodelassociation.com or call 07827 675665 to reserve their pitch.

For further information about the event visit www.rafmuseum.org/cosford.

Descendants of World War One Aces meet at Aerospace Bristol

Bristol F2B Fighter

Descendants of World War One aces, Canadian Andrew McKeever and Bristolian Leslie Powell, have met for the first time. The two met at Aerospace Bristol, in front of the museum’s replica of the biplane that McKeever and Powell flew with distinction.

McKeever’s great nephew, Ross Thompson, travelled from his home in Canada for the meeting, while Powell’s grand-daughter, Mrs Jan Absolom, has travelled from Berkshire.

The museum’s Bristol F2b Fighter is in the colours of the No. 11 Squadron aircraft in which McKeever and Powell recorded 31 and 19 “kills” respectively in the skies over France, earning national fame and the nicknames of The Hawk and The Gnat.

The Airbus and Rolls-Royce engineers who built the replica Fighter were also there to meet Ross and Jan, and were delighted to have the opportunity to explain how they recreated the WWI aircraft.

Find out more about Aerospace Bristol at www.aerospacebristol.org.

Less than a month until Cockpit-Fest at Newark Air Museum

MiG-23 at Newark Air Museum

Preparations for the 2019 Cockpit-Fest are well underway at Newark Air Museum’s site in eastern Nottinghamshire; close to the border with Lincolnshire. Newark Air Museum is a registered charity located on part of the former site of RAF Winthorpe; its two day Cockpit-Fest event attracts exhibitors from across the UK and Europe to sample what one former-aviation magazine editor calls “grass roots aircraft preservation”.

This will be the twentieth (20th) time that like-minded enthusiasts have displayed their aircraft cockpit sections at the museum. Cockpit-Fest has become a fixture on the aviation calendar and each year attracts many visiting cockpits and associated displays. Cockpit-Fest allows the owners the chance to display their prized exhibits to their fellow enthusiasts and the general public.

At this year’s event a diverse range of aviation will be represented; this includes a range of military jet cockpits including amongst others: Lightning, Harrier, Hunter, Buccaneer and Jet Provost.

For this year’s the museum’s own volunteers are also gearing up to provide the visitors with the opportunity to look inside some of its aircraft. This includes a rare opportunity to view normally inaccessible aircraft like the ex-Russian MiG fighters and the American T-33 trainer. Recent training sessions have been held on these aircraft, thereby allowing a new cohort of volunteers to be able to open these rare aircraft.

Cockpit-Fest 2019 takes place on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June; and the event is being staged in a single large area on the museum’s Southfield Site, alongside an Aeroboot / Aerojumble aviation and avionics sale. Here enthusiasts and the public can search out those aviation artefacts, books and models.

The event is supported by a range of organisations and individuals; with the visitors being encouraged to have a say in deciding, which is the best cockpit by voting on their favourite display and from these results, prizes are awarded.

Cockpit-Fest also attracts other visiting displays like local history / military vehicle groups; re-enactors; and even more aviation related displays such as clothing and historical artefacts. As an added bonus this year’s event has a flypast on both days by aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Full details about the events can be found on the Museum Events page of the museum website at www.newarkairmuseum.org

Vulcan Refurbishment About To Start

Vulcan XM594

It has been announced by the Newark Air Museum that in early June they will be embarking on another ambitious restoration and repainting project; this time on Avro Vulcan XM594. This work will be carried out with major support of the aircraft’s owners, the Lincolnshire’s Lancaster Association.

As with similar repainting work on the Avro Shackleton, a scaffolding work platform will be used and this will be installed around the tail of the Vulcan. This will allow the de-corroding, rubbing down and repainting of the fin and rudder to be carried out in a safe and efficient manner. It is anticipated that some panel fabrication work may also take place in situ, with work being carried out by a team of museum volunteers.

Whilst the scaffolding is in place investigation work will also take place into the condition of the spine panels on the centre section of the upper fuselage. The aim of this investigation is to assess the scope of any future restoration work that is required on this part of the airframe.

The museum anticipates that the scaffolding structure will be in place throughout the summer and whilst being photogenic it will help with the log-term restoration of the aircraft.
Avro Vulcan XM594 was flown to the former RAF Winthorpe airfield from RAF Waddington on Monday 7th February 1983. At the time XM594 was the only Vulcan aircraft disposed of by the RAF that was flown into a non-licensed airfield.

www.newarkairmuseum.org

Trustees kick start playground fundraiser

RAF Museum Trustee Nick Sanders

Date: 5 – 9 June 2019

A Trustee from the Royal Air Force Museum is set to lead a march of over 100 miles to raise money for a bespoke outdoor children’s playground at the Museum site in Cosford. The aviation themed playground will include miniature versions of iconic aircraft and is set to enhance the visitor experience for local families and school groups visiting the Museum.

Cosford has seen a 20% increase in visitor numbers on the back of the RAF Centenary year. Now in the 101st year, Museum Trustees are taking the first steps to build on that success with their sights firmly set on raising funds for a playground that will engage the Museum’s youngest visitors with the RAF story.

Nick Sanders of Sutton Coldfield will be leading other Trustees and VIPs associated with the RAF Museum on the walk between RAF Cranwell near Lincolnshire and the RAF Museum at Cosford in the West Midlands. The 101 mile route is steeped with RAF history and will pass former RAF stations and memorial sites as the Trustees head towards Cosford.

Nick will be joined by his RAF Museum colleagues Alan Coppin of Bourne End and Robin Southwell of Cobham.

The walk of just over 100 miles will take-off from RAF Cranwell at 9am on Wednesday 5 June and will follow a route passing through the east of Nottingham, crossing over the River Soar at Kegworth, through Lockington, Walton on Trent and Coven before a safe landing at the Cosford Air Show at 11am on Sunday 9 June.

Nick Sanders, is an aerospace engineer by training and has spent many years turning around struggling industrial businesses.

Nick Sanders, Trustee of the Royal Air Force Museum said:
“Alan, Robin and I are looking forward to the RAF Museum 101 Walk. It is fair to say that none of us are in the first flush of youth but we have been training hard to make sure we are good shape for the hard miles ahead. We are raising money to build a children’s play area at the RAF Museum in Cosford so that there is something for all ages and interests to get involved with when they visit. The new playground at Cosford will provide a fantastic space for families to spend time with their children.”

To sponsor visit the donate page: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/RAFMuseum101Walk or for more information about the fundraising walk and the RAF Museum, visit www.rafmuseum.org. The RAF Museum is a registered charity, number 244708.