Hangar Dance

Most people think of museums as quite, sedate locations but for one night this September The Helicopter Museum is going to literally 'rock' that image with an evening of jive dancing and swing music.

Tickets have gone on sale for the Annual Charity Hangar Dance at The Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare. The one night only event takes place on Saturday 15^th September from 7.30pm to Midnight and features a live performance by 'Swing Fever'. The West Country based group specialise in Swing and Jazz music and have performed all over the World, including at Ned Kelly's famous jazz club in Hong Kong and for Her Majesty the Queen in 2007.

During the evening the aircraft hangars will rock to the sounds of WWII era music and American swing, while guests dance the night away in an authentic aviation hangar setting with real historic aircraft and wartime decoration. Museum staff and Volunteers will be dressed up in period costumes ranging from Spitfire Pilots and Land Girls to American G. I’s and an 'anti-rationing' buffet will be laid on for guests. There will also be a licensed bar serving drinks and refreshments throughout the evening.

Smart dress is requested with period attire optional so if anybody is looking for the opportunity to dress up World War Two style or dust off the old flight jacket, poodle skirt or penny loafers this is the ideal opportunity.

Tickets are £12.00, which includes the evening buffet and can be purchased from The Helicopter Museum on 01934 635227.

Flying visits

There is nothing quite like watching a helicopter in flight, it is an even better experience watching them land and take off. Here at the museum we are blessed with a fully functional landing pad and get  many different aircraft gracing us with their presence. The last few weeks has seen some real crackers which are worth sharing with you.

We were lucky enough for this Apache to land on 03/08/2012, what a treat for our customers.

Another intesesting landing included this fire and rescue EC135 on the 04/08/2012.

This R66 landed at our helipad on the 13/08/2012.

To top it off we are expecting a Chinook at 4 O’clock today!

Museum Welcomes More Female Volunteers

Volunteer engineers at The Helicopter Museum now include a growing number of women keen to get involved in conservation and restoration work on the collection and to learn new skills for future careers in the military or aviation industry. 

One previous volunteer, Emily Stagg, has already completed her first year of obtaining an aeronautical engineering degree at Brighton University and the museum is currently hosting several new female volunteers including Lauren Shipway, who is studying Aerospace Engineering at Bath University. 

Volunteers Lauren Shipway and Linda Hamblyn

Other new volunteers, Linda Hamblyn and Azucena Sastre, work alongside the male volunteers, on the collection and in the archives, helping to build up the database of documentation and memorabilia held as part of the collection. Several female volunteers also work in The Museum's gift shop and café, where the friendly working environment has seen new friendships develop and social events organised outside The Museum.

Sharon Webber, The Helicopter Museum Assistant Manager said “We are keen to attract new volunteers of all ages, provided they are over 18. These ladies have demonstrated it isn’t just a male preserve and that the museum can equally provide interest and experience for women as well.”

 

Anyone interested in the work being carried out is welcome to contact Sharon at The Museum on 01934 635227 or email to helimuseum@btconnect.com    

Heroic museum volunteers mentioned online

The Helicopter Museum has always been lucky to have a large group of dedicated volunteers up for anything; the sad fact is volunteers rarely gain recognition outside the museum for their valiant efforts. The story of the Falklands event held earlier this year is one story that has managed to filter through to the wider museum community. Please follow the link below to read the story of how our volunteers saved the day! 

http://museumsatnight.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/battle-volunteers-helicopter-museum/ 

New Museum Newsletter

The first issue of a new museum newsletter was made available for the first time today. Please follow the link to check it out and tell us what you think!  

http://www.scribd.com/doc/98802301/Newsletter-Vol-1?secret_password=1p0tflk41g2714om84wi

HELIDAYS IS GO

The Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare has confirmed that the 2012 Weston Super HeliDays fly-in and static helicopter display will take place over the weekend of 21^st - 22^nd July at the museum's Weston Airfield Site.

Already confirmed are the German Navy and participation from para-public agencies, in addition to a number of visiting civil helicopters from private and commercial operators.

The military aircraft are expected to arrive on Friday 20^th and to remain until departure early on Monday 23^rd July.

“We are very pleased to be keeping this long running aviation event alive, even though we have had to relocate it from the Beach Lawns due to the recession and rising costs.” Said Museum Restoration Manager Rod Holloway who has acted as Head Aircraft Marshaller at the event for the last ten years “Weston has almost 60 years of helicopter tradition, from manufacturing to the museum and we need to continue waving the flag for future generations.”

Gazelle engines return to the museum!

On Thursday the museum received the two Gazelle engines mentioned in the previous blog post. The engines arrived early Thursday morning and were offloaded by our restoration volunteers and the team from Rolls-Royce. The engines are of an excellent standard and will surely make fantastic exhibits in the museum.  A big thank you to everyone at Rolls Royce Heritage Trust who worked on the project!