HeliCollections

30th Anniversary of Falklands Conflict

2012-02-11T07:55:00.000-08:00

The Helicopter Museum is to hold a signing event to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Falklands Conflict.

If you are a veteran of the conflict and feel that you would like to take part over the weekend of 19th and 20th May 2012 please make contact with the museum, to provide us with contact details for you. You will then be contacted closer to the time of the event to make arrangements.

Thank you.

2012 Les Morris Award

2012-02-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

Social helicopter pilot group, Twirly Birds has announced the 2012 Les Morris Award Recipient as our Chairman, Elfan Ap Rees. Elfan is a noted aviation historian, author, pilot and founder of The Helicopter Museum. After his first helicopter flight in 1960, Elfan went on to become a helicopter pilot with experience in over 80 model type aircraft over his long career. He launched HELICOPTER International, in 1977, followed by HELiDATA News and Classified in 1980 and afterward, Military Helicopter News in 2005.

Elfan has received several prestigious awards to include the British Helicopter Advisory Board “Eric Brown” Trophy in 2002 for his contributions to the industry and also the American Helicopter Society (AHS) “John Schneider” Historical Award, in 2007 for his tireless work promoting the rotorcraft industry. He received the HAI “Excellence in Communication” award in 1987.

The Les Morris Award signifies the pioneering spirit of Twirly Birds and the award is reserved for members that have made an exemplary contribution to the helicopter community over their lifetime. Twirly Bird President, Mr. Steve Sullivan will present the Les Morris Award for lifetime achievement to Elfan during their annual meeting on 12 FEB 2012 at the Dallas Convention Center, during the 2012 HAI Heli-Expo.

About Twirly Birds Twirly Birds is an international organization founded in 1949 by pioneering pilots of helicopters and other vertical take-off aircraft. The sole purpose of this nonprofit organization of individuals is to recognize and foster the fellowship of those brought together by the common bond of vertical flight and to facilitate the cordial exchange of experience and opinions as the helicopter and other vertical take-off aircraft art progresses. For more information regarding the organization or membership categories and qualifications, please visit the Twirly Birds website at www.twirlybirds.org or by contacting Jim Kettles, membership chairman at tbmembership@yahoo.com.

Gazelle Engine Project

2012-02-11T04:57:00.000-08:00

The first British-designed turboshaft engine to enter service, the 1600shp Gazelle was installed from the late 1950's in the Bristol Belvedere, built at Weston-super-Mare, and the early Westland Wessex helicopters, but was rapidly succeeded by lighter and smaller engines developed to provide similar power. One of these, the Rolls-Royce Gnome replaced the Gazelle in the Wessex, being small enough for two to be installed side by side in the same area as the previous power plant.

The Gazelle remained in service with the Belvedere until 1969 and with the Wessex Mk.3 until the mid 1980's.

The museum is extremely proud to now have on display the first of three Gazelle engines which provide the focus for a partnered project between us and the Rolls Royce Heritage Trust in nearby Filton, Bristol. Here are some images of it being unloaded when it was recently returned.

Kevin Dutton - 9yr old Huey fanatic and his captivating website

2012-01-21T04:25:00.000-08:00

http://lz-vietnam.weebly.com/index.html

As you look through, it is easy to forget that this website was created by a 9 year old. Please take the time to have a look. It is truly captivating.

Museum to appear in TV show

2012-01-21T03:26:00.000-08:00

A London based film crew took over the museum recently to film a brand new episode of American TV Show, Seconds from Disaster. The episode entitled 'Black Hawk Down' recreated the near disastrous American Military mission into Somalia on October 3^rd 1993 which was made famous by Director Ridley Scott's Oscar winning movie of the same name.

Sections of the Museums hangar were transformed by a set design team to recreate the Marines barracks and Ops Centre, and a helicopter from the museum's collection was modified to resemble the Black Hawk.

Seconds from Disaster is an American documentary television series that investigates historically relevant man-made and natural disasters. Each episode aims to explain a single incident by analyzing the causes and circumstances that ultimately affected the disaster. The series uses re-enactments, interviews, testimonies, and CGI to analyze the sequence of events second-by-second for the audience.

Inscape Landscape - An Exhibition of Art by Rachael Lomas

2012-01-07T04:37:00.000-08:00

To tie in with the 30th Anniversary of the Falklands Conflict, West Country artist Rachael Lomas will be exhibiting a brand new selection of artwork at The Helicopter Museum.

The exhibition, entitled ‘Inscape Landscape’, will reflect upon the environment of the Falkland Islands and how it may have affected the progress of the war. “I want to interpret the conflict from a retrospective view point, examining the ‘Inscape’ of the servicemen involved and how they connected emotionally with the environment,” explained Rachael. “The terrain is visually harsh, foreboding and somewhat unnerving and I think that serves as a very powerful metaphor for what the troops had to endure both physically and mentally during the campaign”.

Rachael, a BA Honours Graduate who studied Fine Art at Oxford Brookes University and completed an MA in History of Art at Christie’s Education, has applied herself enthusiastically in researching the subject and planning the exhibition. During this period of research, she interviewed veterans of the conflict to gain first hand knowledge and a detailed insight into the mindset of the troops involved.

In capturing the complexities of the Falklands War in visual form, Rachael will explore the subject matter with intricate pen and ink drawings and structural art book forms. The ordered nature of the line drawings, meticulous cut shapes and the diffused use of shadow imagery, creates a thought provoking visual forum of fragmented memories and comradeship.

Rachael Lomas' exhibition will run alongside a factual display detailing the various roles played by helicopters during the 1982 conflict which has been created by the volunteers at The Helicopter Museum in association with The North Somerset Modelling Society.

The exhibition itself will also form part of a very special 30^th Anniversary event taking place at the Museum in May as part of the national 'Museums at Night 2012' campaign. The Commemorative Falklands Weekend will feature a Military Vehicle Display, Living History Encampment and Historical Re-enactment Society.

'Inscape Landscape' and 'The Falklands Conflict' will open on February 1st and run for 26 weeks.

on of helicopters.

Latest Acquisition

2011-12-17T06:06:00.000-08:00

This week we have taken delivery of a Mk1 Seaspray Radar system, comprising of a scanner, transmitter, receiver, signal processor and control indicator, for our Navy Lynx prototype XX910.

Now all we need to do is decide how to use it. Ideally we would like to exhibit it next to the aircraft but our ever growing collection means we have limited space. The other option is to fit the radar to the aircraft for safe keeping, and for the purpose of completion. Decisions, decisions. Practicality versus preference again!

John 'Jeep' Cable

2011-12-14T07:07:00.000-08:00

Last week we began looking through a box which enclosed numerous items relating to John 'Jeep' Cable who died in the Cierva Air Horse crash with Alan Marsh in 1950.

The box encloses log books and personal scrap books incorporating many photographs, including some of the famed 'Heli Jeep'. We have yet to go through the box in detail but look forward to making more sense of the contents.

The strangest part of looking through the scrap books is knowing that they were once handled by Cable himself, and even stranger is working through the photographs and actually starting to recognise the faces of people as they move through their lives and careers. Add the smell of old paper to this experience and you have a true 'goosebumps' kind of moment.

Lucky pilot

2011-11-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15848886
Take a peak at this shocking report of a helicopter crash in Auckland.

Santa To Fly Into Weston-super-Mare

2011-11-24T04:20:00.000-08:00

Its all ‘chocs away’ at The Helicopter Museum this Christmas as Santa’s Flight School comes to town.

The Weston-super-Mare attraction is playing host to a special family event that grants children, not only the chance to meet Santa Claus but to have a go at flying his famous sleigh as well.

“There will be a life size sleigh replica hooked up to a giant screen” explained ‘Head Flight School Instructor’, Simon Tolley. “Children will be able to climb into the famous sleigh and literally fly their reindeer over a virtual Weston-super-Mare.”

To supervise proceedings, Santa himself will also be dropping in to meet the crowds and offer the would-be Christmas pilots some tips on how to steer reindeer.

He will be flying down from his famous Toy Factory by helicopter and landing on the museums helipad on the morning of the event. He is scheduled to land at 11am (dependent on weather both here and at the North Pole) and is looking forward to greeting all the children from the local area.

Also on the day there will be charity stalls selling toys, books and presents. There will also be games for the younger visitors, open cockpits and helicopter flights in the afternoon (additional cost). Seasonal fayre will also be served throughout the day from the Museum cafe.

The event takes place on Sunday 11th December and children can visit for free (max 2 per single adult).

Nice Pair of Bristols!

2011-11-18T02:34:00.000-08:00

I could not resist sharing this cartoon, prepared by our very own Barry 'Greg' Gregory.

Inscape Landscape - An Exhibition of Art by Rachael Lomas

2011-11-12T03:31:00.000-08:00

To tie in with the 30th Anniversary of the Falklands War, West Country artist Rachael Lomas will be exhibiting a selection of artwork that reflects the Falklands environment and how it affected the progress of the conflict. The exhibition aims to interpret the 'Inscape' of the troops and how they become 'one' with the environment emotionally.

Rachael Lomas' exhibition will run alongside a factual display detailing the roles played by helicopters during the 1982 conflict.

The exhibition will run from 1st February to 22nd July.

Naval aviator - Lynx landing

2011-10-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist sharing this footage of a naval aviator landing a Lynx on a ship in rough seas.

http://bit.ly/n8QLNH

9 year old fundraiser supports North West Air Ambulance

2011-10-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

On October 22nd and 23rd nine year old Kevin Dutton will be helping the North West Air Ambulance at a fundraising event taking place in Blackpool. Other visitors will include a UH-1H and OH-6A helicopter.

I wrote about Kevin a while back as he has his own website - 'Huey Fan Club UK'. Kevin recently posted some photos from his visit to The Helicopter Museum which can be seen here:
http://hueyfanclubuk.weebly.com/helicopter-museum.html

G-AVNE update - replacing the nose section

2011-10-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

Fortunately, the sun has been shining today and provided the perfect environment for taking G-AVNE's nose section (with sand filters) outside for a good clean.

The good news is that it is structurally sound, there is evidence of corrosion (unsurprisingly) but after being cleaned we are confident that some anti-corrosive treatment should keep trouble at bay.

Once it has been treated, it can be refitted to the aircraft along with the tail section that was removed for similar treatment.

It is really satisfying to reach these milestones, however they are a stark reminder that the next part of the project looms - the floor in the cabin needs to be taken up which is a huge task alone, but the nerve-wracking part will be finding out what is underneath..........

Behind the Scenes - a busy week to come

2011-10-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

Next week will be busy for us as we embark upon two very different training events.

On Wednesday the collections team will be learning how to fully utilise our collections management database which should provide the opportunity for some interesting debates about how we organise our artefacts. The truth is, building a database of what you have is a huge undertaking and it presents so many challenges. Recently we have been debating 'object vs concept' in various guises and it all relates to us having to anticipate how researchers are likely to want to access our information. Some fascinating, and heated, discussions have been had!

Thursday will see us take a more 'hand-on approach as a number of us will be spending the day with a conservator, learning about different ways to care for metals. This could prove invaluable to members of our aircraft preservation team - even those who may think they already know it all!!

Our Gyroboat in action!

2011-09-22T04:50:00.000-07:00

http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=3198

Take a look at this piece of footage from the Scottish Screen Archive - Collections Volunteer John Clews just stumbled across footage of the Bensen B8 Gyroboat, which would later come to the museum as a gift from the Brooklands Museum.

It really is so good to see parts of our collection in their former lives!

An update from the Collections Office

2011-09-16T03:55:00.000-07:00

As I write, the noise of air raid sirens and low flying bombers surround me as the sound systems are tested ready for tomorrow evening's annual Hangar Dance. Not the usual soundtrack to a days work in 2011 I must admit!

As ever, the last few weeks have been busy here in the Collections Office. Our temperature readings are indicative of the fast approaching Autumn/Winter period which provides us with a great opportunity to reflect upon what we have achieved in the past year and what we hope to achive in the coming year.

It can be incredibly difficult to quantify collections work, however we are elated that we are very close to having catalogued 3,000 objects on our electronic database (MODES) which is 3,000 more than we had 3 years ago! Even better news is that the pace is picking up now that many of the initial teething problems involved with implementing a new system have been overcome.

I am fortunate enough to work with an innovative and dedicated team of volunteers, all of whom bring with them different knowledge and skills. Between us we are making good progress and next month we will be visited by Nick Pearce-Smith from the MODES Users Association who will help us develop our cataloguing skills further.

The coming year will be incredibly busy for us as we start to photograph objects in our collection and utilise these within the electronic database, and I hope to begin to make some of these images available for viewing on this blog too so watch this space!

And now...back to work!

Forthcoming lecture - 24th September 2011

2011-09-03T03:40:00.000-07:00

As part of our regular 'Spotter's Weekend', David Gibbings will be giving a daytime lecture at 11am in the Museums Lecture Room entitled 'The Evolution of the British Helicopter Industry'. The lecture will include a section on G-LYNX which is on display in the museum's main hangar.

David Gibbings is a retired Career Flight Test Engineer and aviation historian, lecturer and artist. He worked for 38 years testing helicopters with over 3000hrs flying time as flight test crew.
He also worked on the Fairey Rotodyne, the remaining parts of which are on display at the museum, and has a specialised interest in similar projects.

There is no additional charge for the lecture, only standard museum entrance with free entry to all friends of the museum with a valid membership card and Gift Aid return visitors.

Spotters Tours will be held over the weekend at various times throughout the day.

Internet fame for 9 yr old with Huey obsession

2011-08-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

http://bit.ly/rs1Wrf

hueyfanclubuk.weebly.com

http://bit.ly/nvCOnD

These links take you to some articles about Kevin Dutton, an enthusiastic 9 year old, and to his own website which details his interest in the Huey helicopter.

Help required!

2011-08-13T07:28:00.000-07:00

As part of our ongoing effort to catalogue our extensive collection, one of our core objectives is to ensure that the information we record is easily retrievable.

One aspect of this process of organisation involves terminology control, which can become extremely complicated given the numbers of manufacturer collaborations and variants of the numerous models of helicopters that have been built, or proposed.

We now need to build up a definitive list of engine manufacturers, in the same way that we have for helicopter manufacturers. It would be good to know of anywhere which may have such a list already rather than start the long process from scratch unnecessarily. Any thoughts/comments welcome.

National television coverage for The Helicopter Museum

2011-08-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

Brian Dowling and a crew from ITV's 'This Morning' spent some time recording at the museum today and a feature will be included in a show to be aired later this week.

It's back - the Sue Cullum Toy Collection

2011-08-10T07:37:00.000-07:00

Examples of toy helicopter are now available for viewing in our new exhibition cases.

Part of the 'Sue Cullum' collection was on display prior to the burst of a water pipe that consequently damaged the exhibition cases holding the collection last Winter. Some old favourites and some examples previously held in our stores are now on display here at the museum.

Stars of Time - 31st July

2011-08-06T07:55:00.001-07:00

http://www.starsoftime.co.uk/

Take a look at the highlights from last weekend's Stars of Time event!

Napier Gazelle Engines

2011-08-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

This week saw the departure of 3 Napier Gazelle engines from the museum which were taken by the Rolls Royce Heritage Trust (RRHT) to their workshop in Bristol. The engines are 3 of 8 engines which are being stripped down to retrieve the best components which will then form, hopefully, 4 good engines for exhibition.

It is intended that, once the project is complete, 2 of the engines will be installed in our Belvedere XG452 and a third engine will be an independent exhibit. The fourth, final, engine will be retained by RRHT as an exhibit.

The project is being worked on by volunteers at RRHT who are currently spending 2 days a week stripping down the engines they already have there. The 5 engines which were already at RRHT's workshop were bought by The Helicopter Museum from a private individual in Gloucester. Two of the engines were previously being used for tractor racing.

Stars of Time - 31st July

2011-07-30T03:45:00.000-07:00

Last minute preparations are underway today to ready ourselves for the 'Stars of Time' event running tomorrow from 10am - 5:30pm.

For more information on what's in store visit http://www.starsoftime.co.uk/
If you don't already have tickets you can get them on the door tomorrow....

Forthcoming acquisitions.....

2011-07-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

The last week has been busy is terms of offers of objects for donation. The latest offerings include manuals and a selection of spares from Yeovil College, a large Gulf war spec Lynx model from MBDA in Stevenage and the remains of a home made small helicopter from a retired Flight Lieutenant in Shropshire.

Furthermore, we have just been contacted by one of our Friends in Germany to offer some tools for the Hughes 300.

The next challenge is to get it all to the museum....

AgustaWestland secures £32 million grant

2011-07-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

http://bbc.in/nLoD77

Good news for the local economy as AgustaWestland secures a government grant