UK Aviation Museum News – Page 44

French Mirage IV Strategic Nuclear Bomber Gifted by France to Britain

Dassault Mirage

On Monday 27th March, the Director of the Allied Air Forces Memorial & Yorkshire Air Museum, Ian Reed ONM FRAeS, was at Châteaudun Airbase on the outskirts of Paris, to sign the contact and see off the departure of the convoy of 4 transporters on an epic 850km journey bringing the iconic Mirage IV BR (No. 45) strategic nuclear bomber gifted by the French Government to its new home at Elvington in Yorkshire.

This unique Anglo/French Project occurs just as British Prime Minister Theresa May begins the formal BREXIT process, an irony not lost on our colleagues both sides of the Channel (La Manche).

Sally Greenaway, Head of Visit York, said: “This unique gift recognises the historic links and friendship between France and Britain and we’re thrilled the Mirage IV will be making its home at the Yorkshire Air Museum. As the only example in the world of this aircraft type on display outside of France, this adds yet another unique offer for our 6.9 million visitors to York and is sure to create lots of interest not just in the UK but also overseas”.

Tens of thousands followed the journey on social media, whilst others lined the route through England as the transporter carried it’s load up the M25, M3, M25, M1, A1(M), A64 and finally the B1228 to Elvington.

This is the culmination of 12 years of negotiation and is already being followed by tens of thousands of supporters across the world by social media, TV and Press. There is a dedicated website for up to date media information with pictures, background history and supporters: http://mirage.yorkshireairmuseum.org

Chocks away for the RAF Centenary!

artists impression

April 1 2017 marked 99 years since the Royal Air Force was founded. With the services 100th anniversary approaching next year, the RAF Museum is hard at work preparing for the historic occasion by delivering a £26m RAF Centenary Programme, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Forged in the crucible of the First World War, the story of the Royal Air Force has shaped the modern world. By inspiring technological development, pioneering cultural change and pushing the boundaries of human achievement, the RAF has touched the lives of millions around the globe.

The RAF Museum is a national award-winning museum telling the story of the RAF past, present and future, through its people and collections at sites in both London and Cosford. 2018 is a once in a life-time opportunity to mark the 100th anniversary of the RAF as well as recognising the on-going impact and contribution the service plays on the world today.

Through a national collection of aircraft and artefacts, the Museum will honour this important milestone through a £26m major transformation of its visitor experience at its London site. Work is already underway to deliver the exciting plans that will celebrate and commemorate this anniversary as well as looking to the future, by creating a Royal Air Force legacy that endures and enriches future generations.

At London, new landscaping will welcome visitors to discover a new green heart of the community, reflecting the historic RAF Hendon airfield. New, innovative galleries will explore the first 100 years of the RAF, its roles today and entice visitors to imagine its future contribution and technology. Plus, a new digital sharing project will promote conversation with a global audience and help connect people to the RAF story, sharing information onsite and online.

The development plans will also include new exhibitions at Cosford, exploring the first 100 years of the RAF and new aircraft displays which are already underway, to enable the RAF’s story to be more comprehensively represented to Museum audiences in the Midlands. The Cosford site will also be the focus of ‘My RAF Story’, which promises to be the largest collection of publicly sourced RAF stories.

The new exhibition halls at London will be opening in Summer 2018 as part of the wider calendar of national RAF events. Until then it’s business as usual at both RAF Museum sites, open daily from 10 am….along with aircraft moves, exhibition construction, re-landscaping, design work and public events…..and not forgetting that admission is FREE!

Aviation fans can keep up to date with the centenary aircraft moves and on-going developments by signing up to the Museum’s free e-Newsletter http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/contact-us/newsletters.aspx

Easter Trail, Half-Price 4D Experiences and Family Fun Galore at Brooklands Museum

Concorde Experience

1st – 23rd April

There is some speggtacular Easter Family Fun at Brooklands this April with an Easter Trail that will keep visitors entertained every day from 1st – 23rd April. During this period visitors will be able to collect their free Trails on arrival, head off around the Museum to solve the hidden clues, and then back to the Shop to claim their FREE Easter-egg prize.

And there are loads of other Easter attractions at the Museum to keep visitors absorbed for the rest of their visit once they’ve solved the Trail clues. In fact, the offering is so varied that the Museum has created a special mini-calendar (see below) to remind visitors of the attractions available on each day.

Also from the 1st – 23rd April visitors can experience one of the three exhilarating rides in the 4D Theatre for HALF the normal price between 10am and 1pm – that’s just £2 for Adults and £1 for Children. Once seated and strapped in, the motion simulator provides a thrilling experience to make visitors feel as if they are taking part in the real-life action. ‘Race’ around the Brooklands track in the awesome Napier-Railton Special, ‘fly’ with the Red Arrows or ‘drive’ with legend Mike Hawthorn in his Jaguar at Le Mans in 1956. The rides run all day and last around 8 minutes each. For rides taken after 1pm, normal prices will apply (£4 and £2).

The Concorde Experience is a half-hour virtual supersonic ‘flight’ on the Brooklands Concorde and runs every day, but on each weekday from 3rd – 21st April, special Kids Tours will be running twice a day. And don’t forget to look out for the Museum’s larger than life mascot, Bertie Bear, who will be roaming the site looking for fans to have his photograph taken with weekdays 3rd – 13th April.

The Museum’s long-established and hugely popular rides in vintage-style cars and on London Bus Museum’s iconic double-decker buses will also be operating during weekdays from 3rd – 13th April. Car rides take in the challenging summit of Test Hill and the Members’ Banking, the steepest part of the original Race Track, as long as it’s not too wet or slippery. Or, for a more relaxed journey, hop on board a real double-decker bus for a bus trip through the surrounding streets. Car and bus rides will run in the mornings and afternoons with a short break for lunch and are subject to crew and vehicle availability.

The Brooklands Learning Team will be running two FREE drop-in workshops for youngsters: from 3rd – 7th April they can find out about how forces and friction work by making Bertie Bear bounce up and down on his elastic string while from 10th – 14th April and again on 17th (Easter Monday), they can look for various objects around the museum in Brooklands Bingo with the first one to fill in their sheet and shout ‘Bingo’ being the winner. All materials will be provided for these workshops and no pre-booking is necessary.

Add to this a visit to the Museum Shop to pick up a souvenir and a “refuel” in the Sunbeam Café and Brooklands Museum offers the recipe for a perfect Easter day out. Normal admission prices apply: Adults £11, Seniors £10, Children (5-16 yrs) £6, Family ticket (2 adults and up to 3 children) £30. The Concorde Experience is £5 for adults, £3 for children. A minimum donation of £1 per passenger is requested for car and bus rides. The main visitor entrance for the Museum is via Mercedes-Benz World, on Brooklands Drive off Wellington Way between Weybridge and Byfleet.

For full details of events, directions and general Museum information, please telephone 01932 857381 or visit www.brooklandsmuseum.com. The Museum is open daily from 10am.

German front line duo are highlights of Open Cockpits Evening

Focke Wulf 190

Date: 19-20 May 2017

Time: 6.00pm to 9.00pm

Cost: £12.50 per person

Two Second World War German front line fighter aircraft, the Messerschmitt BF109G-2/Trop and the Focke Wulf Fw190A-8/U-1 have been announced as highlights at the forthcoming ‘Open Cockpits Evening’ taking place at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford on 19-20 May 2017.

With just 300 tickets available per evening, organisers are anticipating the event will be hugely popular with aviation fans eager to get a look inside two former Luftwaffe aircraft. In addition, a wide range of transport aircraft, jet fighters and unique research airframes from each of the Museum’s display hangars and within the Museum grounds will be open on the night for close viewing.

The Messerschmitt BF109G-2, designed by Willi Messerschmitt, is a legend alongside the British Spitfire, American P51 Mustang and the Japanese Zero. First flown in 1935, the Bf109 was obsolescent by the second half of World War Two yet it remained the backbone of the German Air Force’s day fighter force and was flown by many of her allies. In production right up to the end of hostilities, more than 33,000 were built second only to the Russian ‘Sturmovik’ as the most prolific military design, and post-war versions served with the Czech, Israeli and Spanish Air Forces, the latter until the mid-1960s – with Rolls Royce Merlin engines. Compact, rugged, fast and heavily armed the Bf109 has the distinction of being flown by the highest-scoring fighter aces in history. The museum’s rare example is a recent edition to the aircraft display at Cosford following its arrival in November 2016 and this is the first time the aircraft will be opened up to the public to have a closer view inside (no internal access).

Also new to the ‘Open Cockpits Evening’ line-up is fellow German fighter the Focke Wulf Fw190 – a single-seat single-engine multi-role fighter-bomber, capable of carrying a larger bomb load than its counterpart the Messerschmitt Bf109. Entering Luftwaffe service in August 1941, the Fw 190 proved superior in many respects to the Royal Air Force’s main frontline fighter, the Spitfire V. It took the introduction of the much improved Spitfire IX in July 1942 for the RAF to gain an aircraft of equal capability. One of its more unusual roles was as part of the twin-aircraft drone combination, code-named mistletoe or Mistel where a single engine fighter was mounted on top of a twin engine bomber, and on lining up with the target the fighter detached itself, leaving the bomber, packed with explosives, to impact the target. Cosford’s Fw 190 is a unique survivor of a Mistel combination and was part of a combination with a Junkers Ju 88. Although not its original partner aircraft, the Museum’s Ju88 example is now on display alongside the Fw190. Visitors to ‘Open Cockpits Evening’ will be able to sit inside the cockpit of the Fw190 on the night.

RAF Museum Cosford Curator, Al McLean said:
“The event in May is a rare chance to see inside the two most iconic German fighter aircraft of the Second World War, positioned directly opposite their British counterparts.”

Other highlights for visitors on the night will include the British Aircraft Corporation TSR 2, BAe Harrier GR9A, General Dynamics F-111F-CF and the Lockheed Hercules C130K Mk3 to name but a few.

Ticket holders will also have exclusive after-hours access to the Museum from 6pm to 9pm to experience what it feels like to sit inside a military aircraft that’s seen action around the world and marvel at the advanced technologies on unique airframes. To make sure visitors get the most out of the event, there will be a team of Volunteers manning each aircraft on the night to answer any questions from visitors.

Tickets are now available to purchase through the museum’s website www.rafmuseum.org/cosford and cost £12.50 per person which includes parking. Minimum height restrictions of 1.07 metres will apply. The Museum will close at 5.00pm both days; however the Visitor Centre and Refuel Restaurant will remain open for ticket holders and will be serving a special ‘Open Cockpits Evening’ menu.

A second Open Cockpits Evening will take place on 15-16 September and will feature a different line-up of aircraft.

Trustees march 130 miles for Museum

Trustee's run 5 Marathons

Date: 8-12 May 2017
Time: 9am, depart RAF Museum Cosford

Two Trustees from the Royal Air Force Museum are set to walk a marathon a day for five days in order to raise funds for the Museum’s £26m RAF Centenary Programme.

Alan Coppin and Robin Southwell, both Trustees of the RAF Museum will walk between the Museum’s two public sites; from Cosford in the West Midlands to Colindale in North West London and aim to raise £100K along the way.

The 130 mile walk will take-off from the RAF Museum Cosford at 9am on Monday 8 May after a sleepover in the Officer’s Mess at RAF Cosford. Following a grueling 30 miles on day one, Alan and Robin aim to reach their first stopover point in Solihull by 9pm. There will be no rest for the wicked, as it will be another early start on day two for a 26 mile leg of the journey towards Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. Stopovers will also include RAF Halton and RAF High Wycombe on nights three and four respectively, before they eventually reach the RAF Museum London on the Friday evening, completing their marathon mission.

The money raised will go towards the award-winning RAF Museum’s million-pound transformation of the visitor experience at its London site in 2018, coinciding with the centenary of the Royal Air Force. This £26m major transformation will celebrate and commemorate this anniversary with a national lasting legacy for the Royal Air Force, sharing the story of the RAF through its people and collections.

The new landscaping will welcome visitors to discover a new green heart of the community in Colindale, reflecting the historic RAF Hendon airfield. New, innovative galleries will explore the first 100 years of the RAF, its roles today and invite visitors to imagine its future contribution and technology. Plus, a new digital sharing project will promote a conversation with a global audience and help connect people to the RAF story, ensuring it endures and enriches future generations.

RAF Museum Trustee, Robin Southwell said:
“It’s an important time for the Museum and we are all excited at the opportunities that lie ahead. Our aim is to raise awareness and funds for the Museum’s RAF Centenary Programme and we are grateful for the support from the Royal Air Force.”

To sponsor the Trustees five marathons in five days and support the RAF Museum visit their donate page: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/5marathonsin5days/423881 or for more information about the fundraising walk and the RAF Museum’s Centenary plans, visit www.rafmuseum.org . The RAF Museum is a registered charity, number 244708.

Fleet Air Arm Museum offers special access to witness historic Lynx last flight

Lynx 815 squadron Fleet Air Arm Museum

Visitors to Yeovilton’s Fleet Air Arm Museum will get a ringside view of the historic decommissioning and final flight of the Lynx helicopter’s service from the Royal Navy on 23rd March.

A six-minute long flying display by 815 Naval Air Squadron of RNAS Yeovilton can be seen from the special viewing area at the rear of the museum. The display will be free to view for all museum ticket holders on the day.

The Lynx has been a world leader in maritime operations for the last 41 years. It may also still have an analogue cockpit and be oily and battle-scarred; but for those who have flown, maintained and enjoyed its presence in the skies overhead will no doubt mourn the passing of this hugely-successful all British maritime helicopter. Four decades in operational theatres as diverse as Antarctica, the Far East, the Arabian Gulf and Caribbean are being brought to a fitting end with the decommissioning.

The Farewell Lynx event, running concurrently with the formal military decommissioning ceremony, provides the perfect opportunity for the ex-Lynx community to meet up with old flight members and shipmates, or for members of the public to simply browse the Lynx exhibitions, watch her final airborne display, and become part of this aircraft’s great history.

Museum staff will be on-hand to discuss the history in greater depth, and a Book of Commemoration will be donated by 815 Naval Air Squadron for comments, memories and stories. There will also be an opportunity to purchase a limited stock of Lynx memorabilia including pictures and prints to support the Squadron’s charity funds.
The airborne display will commence at 11.45am and last for approximately six minutes. Entry to the external viewing area is free with a valid museum ticket.

Tickets available from www.fleetairarm.com

VC10 ZA150 Open Day at Dunsfold Aerodrome

VC10 at Dunsfold Aerodrome

Date: Sat March 11th 2017
Time: 10:30am – 3:30pm
Price: £5 per person
Location: Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey

On Saturday 11th March we will be holding an Open Day at Dunsfold Aerodrome for our VC10 ZA150, which lives there. This was the very last VC10 of 54 built at Brooklands in the 1960s and was one of the last two to fly with the RAF from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. On its retirement in September 2013 it was acquired by Brooklands Museum and flew in to Dunsfold, where a team of dedicated volunteers maintain it in running order.

Entry is by pre-purchased ticket only and the timetable is as follows:

10.30-12.30 Visits on board the aircraft – morning session ticket holders
12.30-13:30 Aircraft closed to prepare for engine run at approx. 13:00
13.30-15.30 Visits on board the aircraft – afternoon session ticket holders

Tickets must be booked for either the morning or afternoon session. Afternoon session ticket holders may arrive from 12:30pm.

https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/whats-on/vc10-za150-open-day-at-dunsfold-aerodrome

Museum launches new Cold War Lunchtime Lecture series

Gloster Javelin

Date: 17 March 2017
Time: 12.30pm
Cost: FREE
Location: National Cold War Exhibition lecture theatre at RAF Museum Cosford

On 17 March, the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford will be hosting the first Cold War Lunchtime Lecture of 2017 with a lecture entitled ‘Coping with Technological Uncertainty: Military Aircraft Procurement, 1945-1957’. In this lecture, Professor Keith Hayward, a consultant and writer on aerospace and aviation issues, will examine Britain’s military aircraft procurement process during the early period of the Cold War.
Each lecture in the series discusses a different topic related to Cold War air power and to kick start the 2017 series, Professor Keith Hayward will be discussing aircraft procurement from the period at the end of the Second World War through to the Sandys White Paper of 1957. This paper set forth the perceived future of the British military and had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry during a major period in the development of British aviation technology.

The lecture will begin by covering the immediate post-war hiatus in new developments driven by a mixture of austerity, technological uncertainty and prudence and will then consider the impact of the Korean Emergency and the hurried re-armament programme of the 1950s. It was during this period that the Hawker Hunter, Supermarine Swift and Gloster Javelin programmes came into focus, as well as the challenge and problems of acquiring a new generation of jet aircraft that culminated in the 1955 crisis and subsequent White Paper. Professor Hayward will consider the reforms in procurement that were introduced in the English Electric P1 programme and more controversially for OR339. The lecture will then conclude with a discussion around Sandys White paper with final thoughts about its intent and outcomes.

Professor Keith Hayward was formally Professor of International Relations at Staffordshire University, Head of Economic and Political Affairs at the UK aerospace trade association and until January 2015, Head of Research at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London. He has consulted for several companies and government departments, including the UK Ministry of Defence and the Department of Business, Innovation and Science. He has acted as an advisor to the UK House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee and the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. He has taken part in two recent collaborative studies of the space industry on behalf of the Commission of the European Union and the European Space Agency and is also the author of several books and over 100 articles and chapters on aerospace and aviation issues.

The Cold War Lunchtime Lectures form part of the RAF Museum’s Research Programme for 2017. ‘Coping with Technological Uncertainty: Military Aircraft Procurement, 1945-1957’, is the first of four lectures taking place at Cosford this year. The programme also consists of the Trenchard Lectures in Air Power Studies and the First World War in the Air Lunchtime Lectures, which are held at the University of Wolverhampton, the Royal Aeronautical Society in London and the RAF Museum in London respectively.

Dr Ross Mahoney, RAF Museum Aviation Historian said:
“The early Cold War period was a time rapid technological change combined with austerity in Britain, which led to a number of challenges in the procurement of new aircraft. In this lecture, Professor Hayward, a recognised expert on Britain’s aviation industry, will explore this important period and the factors that affected aircraft procurement for the British military.”

This FREE lecture will be held in the museum’s National Cold War Exhibition lecture theatre at 12.30pm on Friday 17 March, lasting approximately 1 ½ hours. As spaces are limited, organisers advise visitors to book their tickets in advance via the Museum’s website to avoid disappointment.

For further information about the Museum’s research programme or to book your FREE ticket to the lecture, please visit the Museum website www.rafmuseum.org/cosford. The Museum is open daily from 10am and entry to the Museum is FREE of charge.

Model show returns to Cosford in April

Shropshire Model Show

Date: 2 April 2017
Time: 10.00am to 4.00pm
Cost: FREE entry

The popular Shropshire Scale Model Show will be returning to the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford on Sunday 2 April 2017.

This annual event attracts thousands of visitors each year and takes place nestled amongst the world-class collection of aircraft and military vehicles on display at the Museum. Thousands of intricately detailed models of aircraft, cars, bikes, trucks and science fiction items will be spread across the whole site, filling the Museum hangars with a world of model making. Over 100 modelling clubs and traders from across the country will be attending the one day show this year.

With modelling clubs displaying their creations, many of which have taken years to perfect, and traders selling everything any dedicated modeller could ever want or need, model making fans are guaranteed to enjoy the show. Items on offer will include a range of modelling materials and kits to suit modellers of all abilities, from young children who are just discovering their passion for modelling, right through to the avid modellers who have been building kits for many years. There will be everything from kits in various sizes along with glues, paints and other detailed sets available to purchase on the day.

Event organiser, Gary Stevens Secretary of the Shropshire Scale Modellers and The Telford Branch of The International Plastic Modellers Society says:
“We’ve made a few changes to the shows layout this year, working around the Museum’s new aircraft arrivals, which I’m sure will be popular with visitors. We have lots of the popular traders and exhibitors returning to the show again this year and we look forward to welcoming model fans to the event.”

To make reaching the Museum even easier, there will be a free park and ride for the day to cope with the additional visitors, running from Cosford train station. The show will be open to the public from 10am until 4pm and entry to the event is FREE of charge. For further information, please visit the museum website at www.rafmuseum.org/cosford.

Newark Indoor Aeroboot Sale Sat 4th March

Newark Aeroboot

Newark Air Museum Indoor Aeroboot Aviation & Avionics Sale

Saturday 4th March 2017

The next Newark Air Museum Indoor Aeroboot / Aerojumble Sale at the museum’s site in eastern Nottinghamshire takes place on Saturday 4th March 2017. This charity fund raising event has attracted interest from a wide range of sellers and once again is a sell-out event.

The funds that the museum raises from organising the event will be used to support the Project Panini (Mod) fund raising campaign to build a new Café & Toilet facilities at the museum, which is located in eastern Nottinghamshire close to the Lincolnshire border.

Around 50 tables, featuring a host of different sellers, who come from around the UK will be arranged amongst the aircraft in Display Hangar 2 at the museum.

Buyers / visitors who attend this fund raising event will have the opportunity to search through a varied selection of aviation and avionic items: including books, paintings, prints, DVDs, plastic kits, die-cast models, clothing, radio equipment and aircraft parts. Regular updates / sellers information are being posted on the news page of the museum website www.newarkairmuseum.org

Buyers / visitors at this event will be able to access the museum site on Saturday 4th March, 2017 at a special discounted admission price of just £4.50 per person.

The museum opening times will be 09.00 to 17.00 hours; with the sale taking place between 09.00 and 14.00 hours; to get the best bargains we suggest that you get there early.

Further details are available on the Events Page of the museum website www.newarkairmuseum.org or by telephoning 01636 707170.