the helicopter museum: newsletter vol. 7

7/27/2019 The Helicopter Museum: Newsletter Vol. 7

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-helicopter-museum-newsletter-vol-7 1/10

Top right: The annual Hangar Dance conga!

Centre right: Flights from the Museum have

been very popular this summer. Bottom

right: Chris Barrie accompanied by a pink

Dalek at this year’s Stars of Time event.

Bottom left: New goodies for the Ultra-Lightrestoration. Centre Left: An example of just

one of the many costumes showed at the

Museum during Stars of Time. Top Left: A

Royal Navy Merlin lands at the museum; an

amazing added bonus for our visitors!



Elfan Ap Rees

A Message from the Chairman of the Trustees

This is being written at a very frustrating time in the

Museum’s history, with our £4.5 million Heritage Lottery

fund bid sadly rejected as too ambitious, and the lease of

the adjoining land and buildings still not finalised.

Let’s look at the latter first. I remain fairlyconfident that it will happen, but am still not quite sure

when and if we can agree all the details. It is fair to say

that the developer land-owners are carrying out works in

readiness: the low-level-street lighting is in place and

they have cleared most of the area, including cutting

back hedges and brambles and have demolished the

derelict garage building. Hopefully we will be able to

agree on the boundary fence next to make the land

secure, but I’m not holding my breath!

On the HLF bid, we had been warned not to

expect success this first time around, if only because thebacklog of applications is greater than the money

available. It therefore seems par for the course that big

applications are denied to start with. Having said that,

the team that put the bid together did a very thorough

job. The business case was sound, our record speaks for

itself and the plans and documents submitted were of

the highest quality. In our case the HLF is suggesting we

should instead consider a phased approach. This is

something we will have to work on. We will also clearly

need to raise more match funding.

To help this effort we have produced a documentwith the salient information on it, including illustrations

and a breakdown of project section costs to encourage

sponsorship. If you have a company, group or other

funding sources that you can approach, ask Lee or John

for a copy that you can use in a laptop or PC

presentation.

Many Thanks,

Elfan Ap Rees

Chairman of the Trustees

A Message from the Editor

The last four months have been extremely busy for both

staff members and volunteers. A plethora of events have

taken place over the busy summer period, all of which

could not have happened without the help of a dedicated

volunteer team. From washing up dishes, parking cars,

showing people to their helicopter rides, taking money in

the shop and all manner of other jobs, you folks have

been amazing. A big thank you must therefore be

extended to all our volunteers from the staff members

that you have helped. Given the high number of events

over the past four months I have decided to make this

issue an events roundup special. In the centre fold you

will find a number of pictures from the Stars of Time Sci-

Fi extravaganza, the World War 2 hangar dance and

much much more. I hope you enjoy them.

The last paragraph brings me to another point

that I should mention. It has indeed been four months

since the last newsletter and not the usual two. I must

apologise for this, it is entirely my own fault! A heavy

dose of dissertation panic did however prevent me from

putting digit to keyboard. Thankfully though, despite all

the late nights evidenced by my titanic consumption of

coffee at the Museum, I have now completed my MA.

Thank you to the staff at the Museum for both your kind

words of encouragement and your flexibility with my

working hours. Similarly I would like to thank allvolunteers who took an interest in my work and/or

helped out with the odd bit of proof reading.

The newsletter will now return to the usual

schedule, with articles being put to print every two

months. I therefore encourage you to contact me with

article ideas, which many of you have already. I really do

need your input to make this a useful and interesting

feature.

I hope that you enjoy this issue,

John Clews

Collection Officer

Scouts

As mentioned in a previous newsletter, the Museum now

offers Cub and Scout groups the opportunity to complete

an Air Activities Badge as part of their visit to the

Museum. This has been a most successful avenue for us

and the various groups that have visited. Do you know a

scout or anyone associated with a scouting group or

similar organisation? Why not give us a mention! Contact

Shaly at the Museum for more details.

Have you got Facebook?

You may be a social media guru or a techno sceptic, but I

encourage you all to join the Museum’s facebook page.

Assistant Manager Shaly Dee has recently taken the reins

of the page and is doing a great job of renovating and

adding new content to this very useful medium. Liking

our page will keep you up to date with recent museum

events, allowing you to view selected pictures which

Museum staff members have posted online.

Give us a Like and get following!



News

Accreditation

Whilst the news regarding our HLF plans may be

disappointing, September brought with it some excellent

information. I believe a previous issue of this newsletter

detailed the Museum’s process of accreditation renewal,

no mean feat which saw staff members tackling question

after daunting question. However, we are pleased to

announce that the Museum has received full re-

accreditation, the Arts Council England being very happy

with our answers.

To all who do not recall, accreditation is a

museum standard to which all professional museums

need to aspire to. It encompasses collections care,

accessibility and also considers business aspects of an

organisation. News that we have successfully achievedthis status again is excellent and shows that our

organisation is a leader in our respective sector.

This news also means that applications for grants

and funding can be made in the sure knowledge that the

money is being received by an organisation dedicated to

preservation and best practice laid out by senior

museum experts.

Of course the next time we are asked to renew

our accreditation status...we hope to be doing so for a

much larger museum...

Upcoming events

October:

Halloween Themed Fun Day & Open Cockpit Day

November:

Christmas Fun Day including Santa’s Arrival By

Helicopter

If any volunteers are available to volunteer their time for

these events, please inform either Lee or Shaly.

Hangar Dance

The wine and music flowed at the Museum in late

September as our annual hangar dance was extremelywell attended. A live band played the night away and may

I say that the buffet was exceptional!

As per usual, the uniforms and costumes worn by

volunteers and visitors alike really made the evening; as I

looked around the hangar I could see everything from

dapper looking squadron leaders, a very stern looking

German sergeant and a slightly worse for wear American

General!

All in all, the event was a great success with

everyone having a ball. Again, thank you to all staff and

volunteers who made the night such a success. For a host

of images taken of the event, please see the centre fold of

this issue and be sure to look on the Museum’s facebook

page!

Stars of Time

This event has become somewhat of a phenomenon

over recent years of late, going from strength to strength

and attracting more and more celebrity signings each

year. This year, for the first time in its history, the event

was held over an entire weekend and was very well

attended. The show had many highlights, with too many

stars to name in this piece; but for most people I thinkthe chance to meet Chris Barrie ranked very high on the

cool-meter! As with all the events this year, stars of time

was a resounding success. This was only possible due to

the dedication of all the volunteers and staff who

worked extremely hard over the entire two day period,

and the inevitable setting up and packing away periods.

Having said that, there is always room for more

volunteers to help at events like this, be it parking cars or

washing dishes, every little helps. I seriously encourage

all who did not help out this year to give it a go next

time. You will find that the team dynamic is at its very

best during events and it is a real ball and a buzz to be

part of something so big, so fun, and so important for

the Museum’s future.

Interesting Visitors:

We have had many Interesting groups visit us over the

past 4 months, including:

Weston Village Cubs

U3A Aviation

R.A.F Apprentices

Portishead Scouts

Air Training Corps Cadets

Vector Aerospace Apprentices

British Aviation Preservation Council – The Museum had

the pleasure of hosting the quarterly meeting of this

organisation.



New Aircraft

Wombat: (By Chris Hallewell)

On 9th July 2013 the unique Julian CD Wombat

gyrocopter, G-WBAT, c/n CJ-001, arrived in Weston-

super-Mare, to join the collection on display at The

Museum. It had been shipped from Brecqhou, in the

Channel Islands, via Guernsey and Southampton.

The Wombat was designed and built in Cornwall by

former speedway rider Chris Julian as a progression of

the light autogyro technology originated by Igor Bensen

in the United States. Julian used his engineering know-

how to carry out significant improvements, performing a

series of test flights between late 1991 and early 1997.

The Wombat is equipped with Dragon Wingsaluminium rotor blades on a 2' 6" hub bar giving a 22 ft

diameter rotor. The standard Bensen off-set gimbal

rotor is used. A 62hp Rotax 532 VL2V, 2-stroke, two

cylinder, liquid-cooled piston engine drives a 60 inch

diameter, ground adjustable, GSC three-blade wooden

pusher propeller with a light alloy hub. Fixed main

wheels and a sprung nose wheel with braking, are fitted.

The airframe is constructed from aluminium

alloy tube with bolted connections. Rotor control is by

push-pull rods from the control column. The

conventional rudder has a composite skin with a foam

core. No horizontal stabiliser is fitted.

Restoration News

All of Restoration Manager Rod Holloway’s projects are

progressing at their own unique rates. Obviously the

larger projects are taking longer than some of the smaller

work going on around the Museum, and yet information

on all of the projects is extremely interesting; I will do my

best to round up the most interesting snippets in this

short section.The Fairey boys continue to proceed with the

Ultra-Light, the most exciting update being the delivery of

the new tail unit from Vector Aerospace; and what a good

job the apprentices and Martin Hounsell have made!

(Pictured on the front page).

Many of you may have noticed a strange Doctor

Who like contraption operating in the restoration hangar?

This device is none other than a portable spraying

machine used to restore G-AVNE to her former glory

(pictured below). Great idea chaps!

Perhaps the most interesting restoration news is linked to

the Queens Flight Wessex. Many of you have undoubtedly

been a part of the musical helicopter game played at the

Museum throughout the last few months. This process

has allowed Westalnds to access the aircraft and begin

work on a number of corroded panels. Thanks to

everyone who helped in the movement of our exhibits!



Archive News

Money!

Some exciting news on the archive front! The

documentation hub at The Helicopter Museum has been

awarded a grant from the South West Federation of

Museums and Art Galleries. The grant will be used to

fight the ongoing battle against prospective pestsseeking a home in the archive store, an especially

important task given the upheaval in this part of the

museum caused by the floods last year. I would like to

extend a big thank you to the awarding body for this

funding; it will go a long way to ensuring that we

continue the much needed conservation of our artefacts.

Donations

The Museum has received a number of new and

interesting donations over the past four months. A

particularly large donation was made from John Ferrall,

and came all the way from Ireland. Among the vast

collection of boxes now safely stored in my office, there

are a number of technical publications, company

brochures, and perhaps most interesting of all,

helicopter incident and crash reports and copies of legal

cases involving helicopters. Whilst the former are

interesting in their own right, the latter make forparticularly fascinating reading and give an insight into

the murky world of helicopter politics. Also of note is a

clever little aircraft maintenance system developed by

Bristow engineers. (Pictured below).

Two Minutes with...

Museum volunteer Stacie Parker gives us her thoughts

and comments on her experiences at the Museum:

How long have you been at the museum?

‘ I started working at The Museum in July 2013’

What did you do before joining the museum?

‘I have been in customer service since I was 19 years old,

for 12 years working in hotels, in both America and in the

UK. My last job was in a call centre – YUCK :)’

What has been your best experience at the museum?

‘ Everything! Everyone is eager to share knowledge of aircraft. I also enjoy the responsibility in my roles which

have led me to be a helpful team player. Everyone is kind,

helpful, friendly made me feel part of the Museum since

day one. It’s a great place to come and spend time with

great people. I enjoy not being stuck doing just one thing

and love getting involved in all sectors of the Museum.’

What would you like to see happen at the museum in

the future?

‘ To continue growing and expanding, to see more visitors

walk through the door and to have some more unique

aircraft enter the collection. I would like to see new ideas

on how to bring in new business implemented as I find the

business sector of the Museum very interesting. I would

also like to see the Museum obtain more volunteers from

the surrounding neighbourhood to help.’

A Photograph from the Archive

Just one of our amazing images held in the media store at

the Museum! Squadron Leader Jeep Cable next to a R4.



Visitor Feedback

Here are just a few of the comments that people have

taken the time to write in our visitor book and publish on

our Facebook page. Thank you for your feedback.

‘ Repeat visit, always good’

‘Educational’

‘Absolutely splendid museum’

‘Awesome, powerful, learnt a lot’

‘Like a Kid in a sweet shop’

‘Brilliant exhibition’

‘Fantastic Museum’

‘Well done’

‘Lovely collection’

‘Interesting day out’

‘Feel at home’

‘Loved every minute’

‘Especially loved the flight,thanks!’

‘Kids enjoyed it...so did the big

kids masquerading as adults’

‘Super interesting’

Hearing such great remarks from our happy customers is

truly the most rewarding aspect at working at The

Helicopter Museum. Remember, if you have had a

particularly excellent day out please write your comments

down in the visitor book. Even more importantly, if

something has prevented you from enjoying yourself

during your visit it is vital we are told what and why!

Spotters Section

June

Date, Type, Registration, Flown From:

05.06.2013, Bell Jet Ranger 3, G-BCBW,

Shrewsbury Helistrip

03.06.2013, Merlin 3, ???, RAF Benson

09.06.2013, Bell 206, G-BEWY, Urchinwood

16.06.2013, Bell 206, G-BEWY, Urchinwood

19.06.2013, Chinook, ???, RAF Odiham

21.06.2013, Lynx Mk. 9, ???, RNAS Yeovilton

22.06.2013, R.A.F Squirrel, ZJ 267, R.A.F

Shawbury

July


14.07.2013, Bell 206B, G-BEWY, Urchinwood

17.07.2013, R22, G-CBXK, Bristol Airport 23.07.2013, Lynx, ZE378, R.A.F St Mawgan

24.07.2013, Chinook, ???, ???

31.07.2013, Merlin, ???, R.A.F Benson

August


01.08.2013, Merlin, ZJ127, R.A.F Benson

02.08.2013, 2 x Lynx, ??? Middle Wallop

04.08.2013, Bell 206, G-XBOX, Congresbury

06.08.2013, Chinook, ???, Odiham

07.08.2013, Merlin, ???, Culdrose

07.08.2013, Jet Ranger, G-XBOX, Bristol

10.08.2013, R44, G-CHAP, Wolverhampton

13.08.2013, Squirrel, ZJ249, Middle Wallop

18.08.2013, Alouette 3, G-BVSD, Cheltenham

20.8.2013, R44, G-PGGY, Redhill

22.08.2013, R44, G-CDWK, ???

25.08.2013, Jet Ranger, G-MFMF, ???

28.08.2013, Jet Ranger, G-MFMF, Congresbury

September


25.08.2013, Jet Ranger, G-MFMF, Chard

25.08.2013, Jet Ranger, G-MFMF, Chard

AS350, M-GMOM, ???

18.09.2013, Lynx Mk.8, XZ892, Yeovilton



Hire The Museum!

Do you have a Birthday or anniversary coming up? Have you thought about Hiring your village hall for a party?

The Helicopter Museum is available for public hire and is not as expensive as you might think. We already have several

‘private’ events booked in for 2012 with groups ranging from 50-500 people. If you are interested in aviation, the

museum can provide a unique backdrop for your special day. Please contact Lee Mills or Shaly Dee for details.

Other Ways You Can Help?

There are many ways in which you can volunteer at The Helicopter Museum. Many of us have our own set duties in our

own little section of the museum; but there are many times throughout the year when volunteers can branch out and

get involved in a number of ways, raising funds being one of the main ones. If volunteers would like to play their part

and help the museum raise funds and secure its future, please have a chat with either Lee or Shaly.

The museum is always desperate for volunteers to help out at its events and you can play your part in many ways.

When was the last time you took some museum leaflets to your local pub, club or school?

Have you ever pinned up a museum event flyer on your local village notice board?

Could you give up an hour or so to help prepare for an event?

Have you given unwanted items to a charity shop recently, could they have been given to the museum to sell on

their bric-a-brac stalls?

Please don't just leave it for other people to do, play your part and support the museum you volunteer at.

Your Museum Needs You!

How to contact us? Tel: 01934-635227,

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.helicoptermuseum.co.uk

mailto:[email protected]



http://www.helicoptermuseum.co.uk/







HOW YOU CAN HELP

Whilst it is easy to forget, The Helicopter Museum is indeed a charity. Aircraft do not preserve themselves and a big part

of what the museum does is conservation and restoration based. The acquisition, preservation and restoration of

aircraft, some of which are the only existing examples left in the world, takes place on a daily basis at the museum so

that our aircraft can be enjoyed for generations to come. If you would like to help us in our task by contributing to therestoration budget, then please fill in the form below and send it off to us.

Your Donation

I would like to support the Helicopter Museum in their efforts to conserve and restore aircraft and educate the public

about vertical flight history and technology with a gift of:

£10 £20 £30 £50 £100 Other £

Name:

Phone Number:

Email Address:

Home Address:

Postcode:

I enclose a cheque made payable to The Helicopter Museum

Help us further by using gift aid

Thanks to the gift aid scheme we can reclaim money on your donation from the government. For every pound you give

us, we can claim an extra 25p. For example, a donation of £15 becomes £18.75 with gift aid at no extra cost to you.

I am a UK taxpayer and would like The Helicopter Museum to treat all future donations from today as gift aid donations.

I understand that in the relevant tax year I must pay an amount of income tax and/or capital gains tax at least equal to

the tax that the charity reclaims on my donation.

Signature:

Please return this form in an envelope to:

The Helicopter Museum, Locking Moor Road, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS24 8PP

the helicopter museum: newsletter vol. 7

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