Category: News UK

Old Comrades Unveil Tribute To Old Friends

On Wednesday 13th May members of the ‘601 Squadron Old Comrades Association’ will unveil a memorial plaque at the RAF Museum (formerly RAF Hendon), to recognise the long standing association between the two units.Prior to the Museum opening in 1972, the site was an active RAF station and home to amongst others, 601 (County of London) Squadron for a total of fifteen years. The sculpture celebrates the historic association of RAF Hendon and 601 Squadron as well as the bravery of its personnel and their importance to London.

601 Squadron was RAF Hendon’s longest serving squadron it also had the honour of being recognized as ‘the County of London’ Squadron. It fought in many theatres across WWII notably in North Africa and Italy. The squadron was also active in the Battle of Britain and the defence of London.

Aircraft flown by the squadron include Hawker Harts, Hurricanes and Spitfires. Nicknamed ‘the Millionaire Squadron’, its ranks include renowned pilots such as Roger Bushell (the driving force behind the Stalag Luft III ‘Great Escape’), Max Aitken, Stanislaw Skalski (Polish veteran of the Battles of France and Britain) and the legendary American, Billy Fiske whose Bentley will also be on display during the day.

The sculpture was designed by Sam Bofey and is being installed in the grounds of the Museum. 1.5 metres in height, it is represents the squadron’s crest with a bronze cast sword and wings resplendent on a plinth of stainless steel.

The unveiling ceremony will be attended by members of the squadron’s ‘Old Comrades Association’ with Air Marshal Ian Macfadyen (Head of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force) as lead speaker. The Deputy Mayor will also be speaking and representing the squadron’s long standing relationship with the city of London. Other notable attendees include Squadron Leader Iveson DFC of the Bomber Command Association and Jack Riddle, a squadron pilot during the Battle of Britain.

http://www.rafmuseum.org/

Aviator Club is Front Row to Airbourne Aerobatics

Fans of the World’s biggest FREE seafront airshow can upgrade their experience in 2009 with tickets to the Aviator Club, an exclusive hospitality package available at Airbourne.Visitors can now book for arena-side hospitality at Eastbourne’s airshow where guests will be treated to uninterrupted views of the flying line with a champagne welcome and three-course summer lunch. Airbourne enthusiasts can enjoy the best seats on the seafront as they sit back, relax and watch the dynamic flying formations overhead as well as get a front row seat to all of the arena action.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Cllr Susan Morris said “The Aviator Club promises to make what’s already a great event, even better, with guests looked after all day as they enjoy the biggest international seafront airshow. With top displays already booked for 2009 including the Red Arrows, the Aviator Club makes a special day out for family and friends, or a top setting for wining and dining corporate clients, all from the beautiful location of Eastbourne seafront.”

The Red Arrows are set to zoom over Eastbourne skies on all four days this year when the airshow returns from 13-16 August meaning that any Aviator guest will be able to witness the fast jet spectacle.

With the Reds also set to make a stop off at the ground on the Saturday of Airbourne, guests booking for this day will also get the chance to meet the pilots as they greet visitors around the arena.

Guests booking for Friday 14 August will also receive an extended VIP experience until dusk, with an extended flying programme and entertainment into the evening.

The Aviator Club opens at 12 noon on each day of Airbourne, welcoming visitors with champagne and canapés before they tuck into their three-course lunches served with plenty of fine wine, Pimms and champagne.

Tickets for The Aviator Club start at just £50 and promise an action-packed day out with the added luxury of chilling out in the hospitality marquee, close to all of the flying teams.

To book tickets or receive a booking form contact Jayne Howard in the Events team on 01323 415442 or e-mail jayne.howard@eastbourne.gov.uk 

For more information about Airbourne 2009 telephone 0871 663 0031 or visit www.eastbourneairshow.co.uk

Regional Development and Tourism Organisations Join Forces to Celebrate Centenary of Britains First Airshow

Following a Yorkshire Air Museum initiative, Doncaster Racecourse, Yorkshire Forward, and Welcome To Yorkshire have joined forces with the Museum to mark the Centenary of Britain’s first ever air show. An Education & Skills Day, exhibition and Edwardian Race Day event will celebrate this unique aspect of Yorkshire’s pioneering aviation heritage. This will take place on 2nd & 3rd July at the superbly redeveloped Doncaster Racecourse.Together with regional Business & Education Partnerships, we will be putting on a series of workshops that will reflect and celebrate Yorkshire & Humberside’s aviation and aerospace achievements and stimulate creativity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

Support from Yorkshire Forward has turned this concept into a reality and Yorkshire Air Museum will provide educational resource publications, Living History interpreters, archive film screenings, interactive displays, vehicles and artefacts, along with the provision of an exhibition detailing the colourful history of the intrepid airmen and their weird machines at this unique event at Doncaster. The Museum will also display its historic Wright Flyer, similar to those flown 100 years ago.

The two facets of the event will be the Education & Skills Day, on Thursday 2nd July, followed on Friday 3rd July by the public ‘Edwardian’ Race Day, with the exhibition providing an additional visitor attraction to the day’s horse racing.

Ian Reed, Museum Director, said: “Britain is the world’s second largest aerospace manufacturer. Aerospace is vital to our national economy and the idea behind this event is to create an annual skills opportunity showcase and celebration of Yorkshire’s incredible aviation heritage. Doncaster Racecourse provides a fantastic background to bring together various aviation industry organisations and education providers and create a new and exciting event that we hope will become an established part of the Yorkshire tourism calendar.”

New Welcome to Yorkshire Chief Executive, Gary Verity, offers his support:

“One hundred years ago Yorkshire made aeronautical history on the world stage. Today we are aiming for global recognition of Yorkshire as a major visitor destination. Attractions such as Yorkshire Air Museum and Doncaster Racecourse play a crucial role in enhancing the region’s tourism offer. Let me offer our best wishes for a successful summer that brings explorers, aviators and visitors alike from across the world to enjoy a raft of warm Yorkshire welcomes.”

www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk

Its a Ball for Airbourne Lift-Off

Fans of the World’s biggest FREE seafront airshow are being invited to celebrate the launch of Airbourne 2009 in a brand new dinner evening organised by the Lion Hotels.Tickets to a lift-off dinner on Saturday 30 May are now on sale and guests can look forward to an airshow themed menu, with proceeds from the evening being used to support Eastbourne Airshow. Taking place at the Chatsworth Hotel, dinner guests can expect a packed evening including entertainment from Rat Pack singer Tom Fitzpatrick, very entertaining guest speaker Group Captain Gordon Bruce, and the chance to bid for RAF memorabilia in an exclusive auction.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Cllr Susan Morris said “The Airbourne launch dinner is shaping up to be a very impressive evening with plenty to entice airshow enthusiasts along to celebrate Eastbourne’s biggest event. It’s brilliant that the Lion Hotels have come forward and organised an event to show their commitment to Airbourne and provide an opportunity for us to raise funds towards sustaining the airshow for the future.”

Sheikh Abid Gulzar, owner of the Lion Hotels group in Eastbourne, is the town’s first businessman to actively step forward and pledge his support for Airbourne, which takes place from 13-16 August 2009.

Sheikh Gulzar said: “We are fully supportive of the Airbourne event as this is extremely important to raising awareness of the resort. Many of our guests return year after year for the airshow and we sincerely wish it continues for many years to come.”

Attracting thousands of visitors every summer, Airbourne has become a highlight of Eastbourne’s summer and Eastbourne hotels are always full.

However, now in its 17th year, costs of staging the four day event are rising. Eastbourne Borough Council are keen to work with the local business community during 2009 to turn the airshow into a self-funding event to preserve its long term future.

Tickets for the Airbourne launch dinner cost £40 per person and in return guests can look forward to a scrumptious 5-course dinner, including themed courses such as ‘A fine display team’ with a choice of smoked salmon and prawns, salad leaves and walnut dressing, or tomato and basil soup for starters and ‘the final fly past’ for the finishing course of English and Continental Cheeses.

Proceeds from the evening will be donated to Airbourne 2009 and contribute to the fighting fund to save the event.

Tickets are on sale now from the Tourist Information Centre, E-shop at www.visiteastbourne.com and the Lion Hotels. To book from the hotel contact Sharron Winter on 01323 748710 or e-mail sharron@lionhotelsltd.co.uk .

For more information on Airbourne visit www.eastbourneairshow.co.uk or telephone 0871 663 0031.

Battle of the Airshows: Eastbourne Challenge Bournemouth

Eastbourne are challenging Bournemouth to a head to head airshow challenge with Eastbourne adamant that Airbourne will remain the World’s biggest FREE seafront airshow as the Red Arrows return for all FOUR days.Eastbourne Airshow has taken place every August for the past 17 years and become established as a major international airshow, attracting thousands of visitors to the resort every summer. With Bournemouth announcing their line-up last week, Eastbourne are already beating them hands down as the sunniest resort in the UK has secured crowd favourite, the Red Arrows, for all FOUR days.

An Eastbourne Borough Council spokesperson said “Airbourne has a long running history in Eastbourne building up a reputation as a spectacular international airshow and a major show to be reckoned with. Bournemouth are only just entering their second year, while we have an unrivalled background regularly attracting top flying displays year in year out. It’s going to take a lot for Bournemouth to steal our crown.”

The organisers of Eastbourne Airshow, Eastbourne Borough Council, are preparing for a busy year in 2009 with preparations for Airbourne well underway.

The Red Arrows have already confirmed they will zoom over the town on all four days with their red, white and blue smoke trails forming stunning formations in the sky. Plus the Reds will also make a special ground appearance on Saturday, greeting visitors around the arena.

With the Council appealing to people around the World to help spread the Airbourne word by downloading the airshow logo from the official website and attaching it to any online communication, organisers are using the power of e-marketing to raise awareness of this year’s event.

Airbourne returns to the Sussex coast from 13-16 August and while the Bournemouth event takes place just a week later, visitors that opt for the Eastbourne airshow can enjoy two free events in the town in just one week.

Airshow enthusiasts, residents, and Eastbourne visitors can enjoy the spectacular flying displays from 13-16 August and the following weekend cheer on the gravity racers in the World Downhill Skateboarding Championships at Beachy Head.

For more information on Airbourne visit www.eastbourneairshow.co.uk or telephone 0871 663 0031.

Eastbourne Launches Airbourne Photograph Competition

To celebrate the return of the World’s biggest FREE seafront airshow, Eastbourne is inviting Airbourne fans to submit photographs taken during previous years for the chance of seeing their snapshot in this year’s programme.Airbourne has welcomed some of the World’s fastest and most dynamic jets and aircraft over the past 17 years that have always got spectators snap happy over the four day event in August.

Now, event organisers, Eastbourne Borough Council, are keen to celebrate the thousands of photographs taken by avid visitors in a brand new competition sponsored by East Print who provide printing services in the town.

Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Cllr Susan Morris said “I am extremely pleased to launch the Photograph Competition and offer all of Airbourne’s enthusiastic spectators the chance to show off the photographs they have taken during previous years. Being the biggest international seafront airshow, Airbourne has seen top flying and arena displays, and I’m sure there are some spectacular photographs out there. I can’t wait to start seeing the entries come in!”

Set on Eastbourne seafront providing magnificent views of planes flying in from behind Beachy Head as well as zooming over the town and out to sea, Airbourne has provided a world class setting for plenty of iconic images.

Event organisers are looking for a photograph that truly captures Airbourne’s iconic and unique setting that can be sold to visitors to send as a souvenir postcard around the World when the airshow returns from 13-16 August.

Eastbourne Borough Council have teamed up with East Print to offer the winning photographer the chance to see their snapshot turned into a postcard and sold from the Tourist Information Centre, as well as printed in the 2009 souvenir programme. East Print will also present the winner with a canvas print of their winning photograph during the event.

A selection of the shortlisted entries will also be displayed in a lightbox gallery on eastbourne.gov.uk.

Digital photographs must be a minimum 2MB in size and submitted via e-mail or post and printed entries must be minimum 6×4″. Entrants can submit prints of their photographs or CD’s can be posted.

The competition closes on 1 May 2009 and entries up to 3MB in size can be e-mailed to promotions@eastbourne.gov.uk or otherwise posted to Airbourne Photograph Competition, Tourism Promotions, 68 Grove Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4UH.

For more information and a full set of competition rules visit www.visiteastbourne.com or telephone 01323 415556.

RAF REPRINTS TREASURES

The Royal Air Force Museum and the RAF’s Air Historical Branch are opening their treasured archives to a commercial reproduction service in order to make them more accessible to the public. The service will be formally launched at the Museum on Wednesday 11th March 2009.The RAF Museum and the Air Historical Branch, part of the RAF’s Centre for Air Power Studies, have teamed up with specialist printer Military Library Research Service, to provide an on-demand printing service of rarely-seen archive material held in the Museum and RAF collections.

The Museum’s collections consist of documents and reports, many of a strategic and intelligence nature, such as estimates of German strength in 1940; analyses of key operations and technical manuals.

Each document is painstakingly scanned, checked and, only where necessary, retouched for legibility by MLRS experts. They are printed using the latest in publishing technology.

These unique documents were formerly available only to research visitors on site at the Museum in Hendon, North London. They are used by students, archivists, enthusiasts and researchers from backgrounds as diverse as military academies and family historians. Not only is it a burden on the researcher with opening hours limited to the office day, but many of the popular documents are becoming increasingly fragile through frequent request.

The documents are chosen between MLRS Books and the Museum curator to identify the most popular and interesting titles. A proportion of the revenue from the publishing of Museum holdings is returned to the Museum to help fund vital conservation and cataloguing work

For over sixty years, the RAF’s Air Historical Branch has been producing detailed analytical studies of RAF operations and policy. Many of these studies were originally classified and those relating to the Second World War have been widely used by both official and academic historians to underpin their own work. Under the aegis of the RAF Centre for Air Power Studies [RAF CAPS] and in partnership with MLRS, these studies will now be made available to scholars and the wider public for the very first time. Eventually they will cover nearly every campaign that the RAF undertook in the course of the Second World War. Specialist monographs on weaponry, radar and specialist areas such as maintenance and logistics will also be covered. The campaign ‘narratives’ as they are known will also have new introductions written by the Head of the Air Historical Branch and Co-Director of RAF CAPS, Sebastian Cox, who said,

“By making these high quality studies available we believe we are fulfilling the Centre for Air Power Studies remit to foster a deeper understanding of air power.”

Managing Director of MLRS Books, David Westwood, is delighted to have forged the links with the Royal Air Force archives. He said,

“Many important documents will be available to the general public for the first time in a coherent collection. Anyone can now order a book to read at their leisure and to use as a basis for further research.”

The collection currently consists of an inaugural 60 documents but more are being selected and scanned at a rate of up to 30 per quarter.

Selected editions will be available from the Museum shops and website www.rafmuseumshop.com.

The full collection can be viewed and ordered from www.mlrsbooks.co.uk

Nightshoot – Saturday 21st March

In a completely new and exciting occasion, the Yorkshire Air Museum is pleased to announce a public Night photo shoot on Saturday the 21st of March 2009. The event will involve the Handley Page Victor K2 “Lusty Lindy” and the Museum’s Blackburn Buccaneer S2. These Cold War veterans are both kept in immaculate, ground operational condition and during the event both aircraft will be electrically powered up and the external lighting switched on to enable you to experience the unique view of seeing both of these aircraft at night in a “live” condition. This provides a rare and interesting photographic opportunity for the general public and in particular aviation and photographic enthusiasts.

The Victor, which started service as part of the V-Bomber force, but, converted to the refuelling role saw action in both the Falklands and Gulf War theatres, will be trailing its main Hose Drum Unit (HDU) refuelling hose to enable you to view the signalling lights on the rear of the carriage that usually only a pilot would be able to see. The hose will be moved in and out to enable you to view the signalling lights change as the HDU goes from “Stand Off” right through to the “Fuel Flowing” signal. In addition to this the Victor will have its cockpit open to inspection whilst powered up on the afternoon of the event. This level of access is not usually permitted to the Victor and will provide a unique insight into the aircraft, which is fully operational with all systems working as they did when it retired from RAF service over 15 years ago.

The event will be priced at £25 and tickets are available through the museum’s Shop under tickets and donations – see www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk or ring on 01904 608595. This includes admission to the museum, a visit to the Victors cockpit and to experience the view of these two classic British Cold War aircraft at night. All monies raised will be used for buying fuel for these two aircraft to enable them to continue to be run as a living reminder of British design ingenuity and the Cold War for many more years to come. Both these aircraft will be thrilling the public with live engine runs the following month at our Thunder Day event on April 5th.

13:00hrs Victor Cockpit open for inspection/photographs: 17:00hrs Victor Cockpit closes: 17:30hrs Safety Brief in Chapel: 17:45hrs Night Photoshoot begins: 20:00hrs Night Photoshoot ends.

www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk

Anniversary of Formation of RAF Regiment

The new TV documentary War Zone, being screened weekly on Channel 5, has sparked public interest in the Royal Air Force Regiment at Yorkshire Air Museum. The exhibition at Elvington is the only RAF Regiment display open to the public in Britain and shows details of the famous regiment, which was formed at Butlin’s Holiday Camp, Filey in 1942. During the war years, the camp operated partly as a holiday camp and also as RAF Hunmanby, with the Air Ministry overseeing the construction of the camp.The exhibition is open every day and amongst many unique exhibits is the Japanese flag from Singapore which was presented to the RAF Regiment who took the Japanese surrender in 1945.

The TV documentary follows the daily lives of RAF Regiment Squadrons in operations in Afghanistan, based at Kandahar airbase, and certainly seems to have captured public interest.

Ian Reed, Museum Director, said: “It is interesting to note that, under Royal Warrant, the RAF Regiment came into being at Filey, North Yorkshire, on 1st February 1942. The HQ later moved to Lincolnshire until 1946 and then back to Catterick, North Yorkshire. Sunday February 1st marks the 67th Anniversary of the formation of the RAF Regiment and it is appropriate that the Yorkshire Air Museum houses this fascinating display, containing some unique memorabilia, on the history and development of the force, not far from its spiritual home.”

Since its formation, the Regiment has served the Royal Air Force with distinction, throughout WWII, seeing active service in North Africa, Middle and Far East, the Mediterranean, Italy and central Europe. This has continued to the present day and the regiment has seen service all over the world, wherever there are airfields, installations or other elements of the RAF to defend. This has included Palestine, Suez, Malaya, Borneo, Aden, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, notably the Falklands, the Gulf and now Iraq and Afghanistan, as seen on our TV screens.

We would like to take this opportunity to appeal for any items of memorabilia that members of the public may wish to donate to us, to enable us to update and refresh the exhibition. In particular, we would welcome pictures from the days of the formation of the RAF Regiment at Filey, as we have not as yet been able to trace an image of this and the site has been demolished (2006).

To highlight the forthcoming anniversary and the existence of this unique RAF Regiment display, Frank Wright, Yorkshire Air Museum volunteer and former RAF Regiment soldier (1952 – 56) and some current serving personnel from 609 (West Riding) Royal Auxiliary Air Force Squadron, RAF Leeming, who have just completed a tour of duty in Afghanistan, gathered at the Yorkshire Air Museum. 609 Squadron is an Air Defence Support Squadron, comprising of two specialist trades – RAF Regiment Gunnery and Force Protection. (Frank lives in Roberttown, Liversedge, West Yorkshire).

www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk

Worlds Biggest FREE Seafront Airshow Zooms Back

The dates of the World’s biggest FREE seafront airshow have been confirmed as Airbourne is set to return to Eastbourne seafront for four days from 13-16 August 2009.

Taking place for its 17th year in 2009, the seafront airshow regularly attracts a fast and furious mix of fast jets, aerobatics, helicopters, freefall parachutists, and old warbirds plus crowd-pleasing arena attractions.

From visitors meeting and speaking to pilots from across the world to watching adrenaline-fuelled arena displays ranging from the Royal Marines Unarmed Combat to a Jet Pack Man fuelled only by his engine-powered rucksack, Airbourne is renowned for putting on the biggest action-packed show on the south coast.

The Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council, Councillor David Tutt said “I am extremely pleased to announce the dates for this year’s Airbourne. It’s a highlight of Eastbourne’s summer and a favourite with visitors from across the world. Kids love watching the dynamic aerobatics in the skies while visitors return year on year to admire a glorious display from the beautiful setting of Eastbourne seafront.”

Every year, Eastbourne Borough Council work alongside the RAF to put on a dazzling show, which features top flying displays, flight simulators, full size replica aircraft and ground exhibits from the RAF careers team.

The seafront airshow based on the open landscape of the Western Lawns also features a wide range of trade stands to suit all pockets from children’s attractions to a diverse catering village with Eastbourne beaches providing a magnificent setting to watch all the action.

With evening entertainment also scheduled to take place, Airbourne makes the perfect day out for those long summer days; from Bandstand concerts to a breathtaking firework finale on the Sunday night.

The Council are currently working with the local Business Community on Airbourne so that it becomes a self-funding event.

For more information and the latest news airshow enthusiasts can sign up online to become a Friend of Airbourne and receive regular updates to their inbox. Visit www.eastbourneairshow.co.uk or telephone 0871 663 0031.