Lucky pilot

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

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!

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

Inscape Landscape - An Exhibition of Art by Rachael Lomas

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

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

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

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..........