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South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum is a Wednesday 9th July 2008 |
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AeroVenture, Dakota Way tel 01302 761616 |
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25/07/06 AeroVenture Saves Sea King HAS.6 XV677 from Scrapping Nigel Porembski reports on saving Sea King HAS.6 XV677 from the Scrapman
There were two main reasons behind trying to save her, firstly, no museum within the UK has a Sea King as an exhibit, irrespective of it's condition and secondly, XV677 is a Falklands veteran, serving with 825 NAS during the conflict and AeroVenture has a dedicated Falklands exhibition so she would fit in quite nicely. March 2006 and after several months of ups and downs the news we had been waiting for came, the papers were signed, the cheque sent, 677 was now ours. Before I go any further I would like to pass on my sincere thanks to both Pete and Mick at HMS Sultan for without their help I would not need to write this piece in the first place and for that both Phil and I will always be grateful.
Now that the easy part is done the hard ones begin, firstly, getting 677 to her new home at AeroVenture. At 35ft x 12 ft x 7ft and weighing around 3 tonnes she's a little too big to stick in the boot of your car, then the arduous task of locating and acquiring all the parts needed to make 677 look complete, hopefully, both inside and out. I'm hoping that by the time you read this the relocation to AeroVenture will have been completed however, were under no illusions as to how long it could take for the restoration to be completed. 09/07/06 AeroVenture Receives Douglas A4 Skyhawk 1/4 Scale Radar Model
In July AeroVenture received a 1/4 scale Douglas A4 Skyhawk model. The model was generously donated by Newark Air Museum and it fits perfectly with our Falklands War collection.
A4 Skyhawk radar model in its original transport trolley
Video of Brazilian Navy A4 Skyhawks operating. These are similar to those operated by Argentina in the Falklands War
22/06/06 How one of the museum's gliders helped launch a pilot's 18,000+ hour flying career
In June 2006 I was contacted by email by Roly Deighton, an Australian pilot who had flew XN238 as a cadet. I was happy to supply current photographs of the glider. Roly carries on his story:- Greetings from Downunder!
Photo by Craig Murray
18/06/06 Open Cockpit Day / Classic Motorcycle Rally a winner! On the 18th June AeroVenture was host to the annual Classic Motorcycle Rally. We were also holding an open cockpit day so our visitors got a double treat. A big thank you to everyone that attended and we look forward to seeing you again next year. Thank you as well to all of the AeroVenture staff who manned the site on the day.
As a finale to the day the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) gave us a splendid spitfire flypast. The aircraft was Spitfire Mk Vb registration AB910, piloted by Squadron Leader Al Pinner MBE, who is Officer Commanding BBMF. The flypast was nearly cancelled due to rain showers however everything went as planned in the end. The following photos cannot do justice to the wonderful display given. Our visitors both young and old were thrilled.
15/06/06 YHPG Receives Dragonfly HR3 WN499
YHPG this week collected Westland Dragonfly HR3 WN499 from the fire training area of Caernarfon Airport. Previous to this the Dragonfly was also at the airport being used as part of a children's play park. Although in bad condition YHPG are planning to restore the Dragonfly to represent an RAF machine which served with 194 Squadron in the Malaya Campaign in the 1950's as none of these were preserved.
In order to secure the Dragonfly, YHPG swapped it for a Whirlwind which they had specially rebuilt to be more suitable as a fire rescue training aid. The basic structure was Whirlwind XD165 which had been used for a number of years by the Army Air Corps at Wattisham in the Battle Damage School.
12/05/06 RAF Kirton in Lindsey and Hibaldstow Association visit AeroVenture On the 12th May, 36 members of the RAF Kirton in Lindsey and Hibaldstow Association visited AeroVenture as part of their annual reunion. The museum supplied a buffet lunch in our refurbished meeting room in building 21. Pat Horton who organised the trip tells us more about the group:- 'The association was formed in 1996 after the 1st reunion of 53 OTU and we realised we had post war interest so we included service personel up to closure, we meet annually and send out a newsletter four times a year, the group enjoyed their visit'. This years reunion also included a BBMF flypast over the old Control Tower at Hibaldstow and a lunch at the Hibaldstow War Memorial club. Pat and the association can be contacted via email nospam_pat.horton @ btinternet.com. Please remove the 'nospam_'.
01/05/06 Our Vickers Valleta now identified The museum's Vickers Valleta nose has been under restoration for some time but we were unable to confirm its serial number. The Valleta has now been identified as VW197. VW197 is now being being painted and we hope the cockpit will be on display shortly. Our thanks to Steve Williams for giving permission to use the following photograph of VW197 at Abingdon in 1968. As at 13/01/08 we have to list the Valleta serial number as missing again as partly through this photograph, our curator has noticed it cannot be the same aircraft due to a difference in the air vents, should anyone have any more information about the identity of this aircraft please contact me. Prior to coming to Aeroventure it was in store at the RAF Museum and prior to that it was at an ATC unit in the London area.
02/04/06 Heritage Aviation Model Show
On 2nd April Aeroventure opened its doors for the second Heritage Aviation Model Show, more details from Kevan Lewis:- "A successful day, lots of super made models on display from various clubs, am not going to list as may miss one. We would like to thank all those who attended with their models and to the trade stands. We also had Graham fly in with his Allouette 2 HA-LFZ, and Peter and Robin brought 3 engines from Cumbria to run. The Merlin, Alvis Leonides and Griffon, along with the gas turbine of the helicopter, for those who love engines, it was magic. Peter has left with the shop, DVD's called "Rolls Royce Merlin and Friends" for your copy please contact our shop on telephone 01302 761616. If you like models please come along to our next show, the trade stands have a vast range of models and tools, if you can not wait come along to our shop and see the good selection of models (free parking and advice)" Photos from Kevan Lewis, Ann Fairless and Naylan Moore
Our 1st April Open Cockpit Day was again well attended. Although we have some cockpits open to the public on most days, our Open Cockpit Days allow visitors to try many cockpits in the same visit. Don't miss our next Open Cockpit Day on the 18th June.
21/01/06 Aeroventure Day Out at Cosford Museum
On the 21st January we had one of our regular group trips out from the museum, this time descending in force on Cosford Museum. The trip out was a welcome break from our own building and project work. Cosford is a very impressive museum and well worth a visit. The trip was the first arranged by Callum Blagden (far right in the picture) one of our junior members, so a big well done Callum. Callum is now planning a group visit to Duxford for later this year so please let him know if you are interested in visiting with us.
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| Unless other credit given photographs on this site are copyright Jim Keable 2002-2008 |