The Helicopter Museum: Newsletter Vol. 7
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Transcript of 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!
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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!
7/27/2019 The Helicopter Museum: Newsletter Vol. 7
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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.
7/27/2019 The Helicopter Museum: Newsletter Vol. 7
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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!
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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.
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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
Date, Type, Registration, Flown From:
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
Date, Type, Registration, Flown From:
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
Date, Type, Registration, Flown From:
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
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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
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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