UK Aviation Museum News – Page 70

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

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

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

Canberra PR7 to receive some TLC

Newark Air Museum Canberra PR7

Earlier in the summer Newark Air Museum was approached by Canberra cockpit owner Darren Green about the possibility of forming a restoration team to work on Canberra PR.7 WH791.

This particular airframe is on loan to the museum, so the museum trustees put Darren in contact with Terry O’Halloran a member of the 31 Squadron Association. Several years ago Terry worked on behalf of the aircraft owner to co-ordinate work on the airframe, which was undertaken by members of 31 Squadron Association and cadets from 1237 (North Hykeham) Squadron, Air Training Corps (ATC).

It has now been agreed that Darren Green and Terry O’Halloran will combine their resources and they are leading a group of Canberra enthusiasts who now plan to refurbish and repaint the airframe.

The museum trustees have recently agreed to fund the cost of paint and materials for the project. As part of this agreement it is understood that the Canberra PR7 will retain its distinctive 31 Squadron markings, but it will revert to displaying its correct serial number of WH791.

The recent spell of good weather has allowed some de-corrosion work and paint removal on the nose section of the fuselage to commence in preparation for the application of primer and paint. A detailed structural survey will be undertaken on the airframe in consultation with the museum’s Restoration Manager.

Canberra PR.7 WH79, which arrived at Newark fifteen (15) years ago in autumn 1998, is one of six Canberra airframes and cockpit sections displayed at Newark Air Museum’s site on the former RAF Winthorpe airfield in eastern Nottinghamshire.

http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/

Museum Makes Appeal to Black RAF Personnel

RAF Museum appeal

In two World Wars black people from the Caribbean, Africa and from Britain volunteered to serve in the Royal Air Force. These volunteers fought, and died, for the ‘mother country’ and for freedom, and thereby helped to preserve the values and the heritage they shared with their white comrades. The tradition of service to the Crown continues today, and the RAF is proud to welcome new generations of black volunteers into its ranks.

In the exhibition ‘Pilots of the Caribbean: Volunteers of African Heritage in the Royal Air Force’, the Royal Air Force Museum will tell the inspirational story of these volunteers, commemorating and celebrating their vital contribution to the defence of Britain, her Empire and the Commonwealth.

The exhibition will also highlight the Royal Air Force’s success in embracing diversity and also demonstrate how the rich, cosmopolitan nature of modern Britain owes much to the black men and women who wore air force blue.

Peter Dye, Director General of the Royal Air Force Museum states:

‘From First World War pilot William Robinson Clarke, to the young volunteers of today, Afro-Caribbean men and women have played an integral part in the development of the Royal Air Force and the defence of our freedoms and liberties. In this exhibition, the Royal Air Force Museum aims to celebrate their contribution to the development of modern Britain, while providing all young people with a series of role models to inspire and guide them in realising their own ambitions and dreams.

Although, we have a wealth of archive materials to draw from we would welcome stories and photographs from former, and serving, black Royal Air Force personnel and their families. If you are able to assist in the Museum with this appeal, and would like your story to be told, please email the Museum’s Research Department at research@rafmuseum.org, in the first instance, or call us on 020 8358 4873.

‘Pilots of the Caribbean : Volunteers of African Heritage in the Royal Air Force’ will open at the Royal Air Force Museum London on 1st of November 2013 before transferring to the Museum’s sister site at Cosford during Summer 2014. Both sites are open daily from 10am. Admission to both sites are free of charge.

http://www.rafmuseum.org

Come with us Back to the Forties at IWM Duxford

Duxford Back to the Forties

Enjoy two-for-one admission if you come dressed to impress in your Forties finery

Join us for our brand new event, Back to the Forties, on Sunday 29 September, as we time-travel back to Britain on the Second World War Home Front.

Come dressed in your 1940s finery, clutching your Back to the Forties voucher, which you can download from the IWM website at http://www.iwm.org.uk/events/iwm-duxford/back-to-the-forties and enjoy two-for-one entry to Back to the Forties and the whole of IWM Duxford (Sunday 29 September only).

We’re also holding a Best Dressed competition; our sartorial experts will be scrutinising entrants to find that perfectly authentic Forties look.

You’ll meet a range of wartime characters, including Land Army girls, a char lady, a wartime bobbie, a member of the Home Guard, an ARP Warden and civilians going about their daily life. Watch out for the wartime spivs who will try to charm you into buying their black market wares!

There’ll be the opportunity to sing along with your favourite 1940s songs as we hear from vocal entertainers Marina Mae, Nina Rae and Pete Wayre. Learn some nifty dance moves from our lindy hop dancers and find out how to look your best despite the clothing coupons with Harry and Edna’s Fashion on the Ration display and our Make-do-and-Mend activities.

Learn how to cook up a storm despite the ration book, discover how to put out an incendiary bomb with the National Fire Service, have a go at wartime games and visit the Women’s Voluntary Service with their indispensable tea wagon.

Listen to the authentic snap and crackle of the wartime 78s played by our gramophone DJ and be inspired to do your bit for the war effort with rousing speeches by the great wartime leader, Winston Churchill.

Living history groups bring to life the British and American forces on the Home Front. See a recreated RAF Operations Room as it would have been in the midst of the Battle of Britain in 1940, with live demonstrations showing who was in charge and how the operations room functioned as aircraft were called to ‘scramble!’

There will also be a display of RAF navigational equipment; an RAF airfield observation post, with period equipment and an RAF vehicle with Bomber Command markings; and an RAF aircrew poised to be called into action at any moment.

See a British Red Cross tent with medical equipment and tools, Home Front items and Fred, the resident casualty, who has certainly been in the wars!

There’s a display of a 1940s jeep and equipment used by British airborne troops and also of American airborne troops during D-Day.

GI 41-45 represent the 41st American Armoured Infantry on check point duty, complete with jeeps, tents and sandbags. USAAF B-17 Crews present a static dispersal point as they await their next bombing mission.

See members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force manning a Chain Home Radar Receiver Station and enjoy the gallic delights of a period 1940s French café.

We’ll also have a glorious array of period vehicles, both military and civilian. Proving that it wasn’t all war work and no play, we’ve also got a 1940s picnic scene complete with period vehicle.

Wing Co Joe’s Café will be getting into the wartime mood with some vintage decorations and a specially created Dig for Victory menu, including leek and potato soup, corn beef hash and stout gravy, chicken broth and dumplings and Dig for Victory vegetable crumble.

Ladies can indulge in some fabulously forties hair and make-up demonstrations and make some vintage purchases at our pop-up shops.

Join us for a trip back in time to the Second World War Home Front and remember, it’s unpatriotic not to look your 1940s best!

www.iwm.org.uk

Handley Page Hastings repaint at Newark Air Museum

Handley Page Hastings Newark Air Museum

The recent spell of reasonably settled weather has enabled the Newark Air Museum Restoration Manager and a small team of museum volunteers to make good progress with the restoration work on Handley Page Hastings TG517.

Most of the difficult to reach sections of the fuselage have now been cleaned, de-corroded and repainted. Work has also been completed on the undersides of the wings and is now underway on the engine nacelles, propeller sand upper wing surfaces.

The Handley Page Hastings TG517 was flown in to join the collection, landing on the runway at the former RAF Winthorpe airfield on 22nd June 1977 and is greatly valued part of the themed display of training aircraft at Newark Air Museum.

TG517 saw service during both the Berlin Airlift (Operation Plainfare) and the Icelandic Cod War (Operation Heliotrope). The aircraft is regularly opened to the public, where they can see the T5 equipment fit that it operated with at the RAF Bombing School at RAF Lindholme and then at RAF Scampton, where it trained Vulcan crew members to operate radar bomb-sight equipment mounted in the distinctive ventral radome.

Everyone at the museum is hoping for continued spells of good weather so the repaint can be completed before the winter months.

http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/

IWM Duxford-based Catalina takes on a round-Britain trip

Commemorating a 100 year old flight in the aircraft’s own 70th birthday month.On Wednesday 21 August, Catalina G-PBYA, operated by Plane Sailing Air Displays Limited and based at IWM Duxford, undertakes a remarkable aviation challenge.

Honouring the daring flying expeditions of the pioneer aviators, the Catalina will undertake, in its centenary year, the 1913 Circuit of Britain flight, which was flown by pilot Harry Hawker and mechanic Harry Kauper, both Australians, in a Sopwith Waterplane.

The Catalina celebrates its 70th birthday this month, making it the oldest UK-based airworthy amphibian.

In 1913, the Circuit of Britain Race was the firstmajor British competition for seaplanes. It was supported by Lord Northcliffe, the proprietor of the Daily Mail, who was a great fan of aviation races. Shell Aviation provided the lubricants for the original race and will be doing the same 100 years on.

The route in 1913, as reported by Flight magazine, started and finished at Southampton Water, with eight control points en route. These were the Royal Temple Yacht Club in Ramsgate, the Naval Air Station in Yarmouth, the Grand Hotel in Scarborough, the Palace Hotel in Aberdeen, the Naval Air Station in Cromarty, the Great Western Hotel in Oban, the Royal St George Yacht Club in Kingstown, Dublin and the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club in Falmouth.

While the airspace in 2013 is somewhatmore restricted then 100 years ago, the crew of the Catalina intends to follow the 1913 route as closely as possible. The full route is outlined below. The crew will take off from IWM Duxford onWednesday 21 August to complete the 1600mile route over approximately five days. They will be flying over some key historic sites, including Kingston, where the Sopwith Factory was based; Hook in Chessington, where Harry Hawker is buried and Brooklands Aerodrome (now Brooklands Museum), where Harry Hawker learnt to fly and tested aircraft for use in the First World War. The Catalina will also orbit the Classic Boat Museumat Cowes, which has on display a 1/8 scale replica of the Bat Boat tested by Harry Hawker in 1913.

The Catalina crew aspires to succeed where Harry Hawker and Harry Kauper did not.

Harry Hawker was the Chief Test Pilot for the Sopwith Aviation Company, while Harry Kauper was an experienced mechanic and Foreman of Works at Sopwith.

Although four aeroplanes were originally entered for this aerial challenge in 1913, of their competitors, Samuel Cody was killed in a flying accident on 7 August, while F K McLean withdrew his Short S.68 aircraft due to engine trouble. The Radley-England Waterplane was withdrawn for the same reason. Only the two Harrys took off on the day of the race.

Their first attempt ended at Yarmouth with a cracked cylinder head and pilot exhaustion. They started again on 25 August andmanaged to fly to just north of Dublin, but crashed in the sea when Harry Hawker’s foot slipped off the rudder while landing. The aircraft was destroyed and Harry Kauper broke his arm. Harry Hawker got a soaking, but was otherwise unharmed. While the Daily Mail prize money of £5,000 could not be given, a consolation award of £1,000 was donated. Shell commissioned Mappin & Webb to make amodel of the Sopwith Waterplane, which was presented to Harry Hawker.

The 2013 Catalina commemoration is led by pilot Jeff Boyling, who, like Harry Hawker, was born in Australia and shares a passion for aeronautical adventure. Bymarking this occasion, Jeff hopes to inspire younger generations with the wonder of flying and to keep the golden era of aviation alive today. Jeff said: “Flying the Catalina G-PBYA is a huge privilege and honour. It is wonderful that this historic aircraft can pay tribute to a great aviator who was a real pioneer. May the memory of Hawker live on.”

Why not come down to IWM Duxford and see Jeff and the Catalina team depart in grand style as they take off for this challenging aerial expedition on Wednesday 21 August?

We’ll be tracking the Catalina’s progress on the Imperial War Museum Duxford facebook page and also via our twitter feed at https://twitter.com/I_W_M