Top right: Our Museum guides; read more about them on p.4. Centre right: Andy and Jamie from AgustaWestland in front of their handy work on XV733. Bottom right: Campbell Cricket arrives at the Museum in early October. Bottom left: One of two Pumas to visit the Museum helipad on a cold December day. Centre Left: Just one of the gruesome costumes showcased at the Halloween fun day. Top Left: Father Christmas arrives by Helicopter!
Chairman of the Trustees: Elfan Ap Rees
New Year Brain Training: Lee Mills
Where did 2013 go? Or for that matter the best part of
Museum Manager Lee has come up with some devilishly
the past 40 years that I have been involved collecting
difficult riddles for you to ponder over the New Year
helicopters!
period. Before you think they are easy...A certain Collections Officer got both wrong...and proceeded to
Recently I have been striving to list all the volunteers who
throw a hissy fit...Good luck! A bottle of wine to the first
have been involved in helping to develop this great
volunteer who gets both correct!
museum of ours.......it's getting to be a long list of names and a sober reminder that what has been achieved has
THE RIVETERS
only been possible because of those who have given up their time and skills to join in and help. It's a bit like Father Christmas......he wouldn’t have been able to deliver the goods if it wasn't for all the elves beavering away all year. So this is a thanks to everyone who has helped during 2013 in some way or another and looking forward to 2014, our 25th anniversary year when, with your help, we hope to make big strides forward to ensure the future sustainability of the collection. A Happy New Year to you all.
Rod had asked Greg and Martin to rivet the undercarriage of the Mil-8. Each had been assigned a separate side to work on and each side required the exact same amount of rivets. Martin had arrived at the museum on time and had made a start, but had picked the wrong side of the aircraft to work on. Greg arrived later after three rivets had already been put in and Martin then moved back to his own side and started work. At the end of the day Greg had finished first and so to speed the process up he switched over to Martins side and put in six rivets for him. Idly curious as to who had put in the most rivets and by how many they then asked Rod for an answer. What answer should Rod give?
Elfan
ELFAN’ ELFAN’S WINTER FLIGHT A Very Happy New Year: John Clews
I think the title to this little piece says it all really; A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL STAFF MEMBERS, VOLUNTEERS, AND ANYONE INVOLVED WITH THE MUSEUM. It is common at this time of the year to look back over the last 12 months, and what a 12 months it has been! We have successfully hosted bigger and better events than ever before, and most importantly, importantly, the management of our organisation have made some big decisions about the future of the Museum. Looking back can be fun, but we should also be eagerly
On a sunny winters day Elfan decided to take his helicopter out for a flight. Enjoying the scenery he flew to his destination at a leisurely 80 miles per hour. However, on the return journey, desperate for a bacon sandwich and knowing that Cheryl was stopping serving hot food in the cafe at 3.30pm he flew back at a sprightly 120 miles per hour. Upon positioning his Brantly back into the Restoration Hangar he collared Rod and asked him to calculate his average speed for the entire journey. What answer should Rod give?
th
looking forward. This year is the Museum’s 25
Anniversary, Anniversary, a truly great achievement (especially when
Answers to John Clews via email at:
you consider that both myself and the Museum were
[email protected]
born in the same year!). To mark the occasion Lee and Shaly have arranged a number of events throughout the
Marketing the Museum
year which will showcase our collection and open us up to a wider range of people; which can only be good for
Dear Volunteers, the 2014 Museum leaflet will be out by
the Museum. To achieve this we need your input more
late January. If you are visiting a heritage attraction or
than ever. Please throw yourself into the events this year
you know of a dedicated leaflet drop, please ask for some
and be a part of the fun!
leaflets to take with you. The more diverse and interesting places that we are advertised the better!
Upcoming Events January:
Museum News Halloween Fun Day
th
12 – Open Cockpit day
A new exciting event was added to the calendar last year, year,
February: th
16 – Open Cockpit day and Helicopter Flights
and what a success it was. Our hangar was filled with ghastly ghouls besides a plethora of other scary creatures
If you are able to dedicate your time to this years events
and villains, not least our own staff members and
then please register your interest with either Lee Mills or
volunteers volunteers who, as you can see below, really got into
Shaly Dee. Any offer of help will be greatly received.
character for the day.
Interesting visitors
We have had a number of varied groups visit us over the past three months. These include: st
81 St. Andrew Cubs
Churchfield School
Henbury Primary School
The day was more than just an excuse to dress up though, with many other activities including trips through o ur very
Sandford & Churchill Cubs
own Hell-icopter and a showing of the classic 'A Nightmare Before Christmas' in our fi lm theatre. The
Blenheim Scouts
th
event will be repeated (with a special 25 Anniversary twist) later this year.
nd
82 St. Bernadette Cubs Christmas Celebrations
Feedback from these groups was excellent, and we must therefore congratulate our guides on a busy but great
This event, which by now has become iconic at the
three months!
Museum, has proved to also be one of the most popular with our customers; but then can you really be surprised, Dear volunteers
Father Christmas did fly in by helicopter! We hope that everyone had a great time and a very Merry Christmas.
Please note that development work is going on in the Museum car park (and what a difference this has made already!) and the painting of our o ur entrance and front end buildings will be commencing shortly. Please be mindful that you may be asked to move your vehicles to specific areas of the car park over o ver the coming weeks to enable the builders to crack on with the much needed work. Anyone interested interested in helping with the painting should see Shaly for details. New Volunteers
Please make the following volunteer welcome and say hello: Special thanks to Ken Crane, ambassador to the North
Tom Hender: Hender: otherwise known as ‘Young ‘Young Tom’ Tom’
Pole, for liaising with Father Christmas on behalf of the Museum prior to the event!
Restoration News: Rod Holloway Queen’s Flight
Tour Guides: Ken Crane
I read with interest in the last issue of the number of Interesting Visitors and Scouts that have been obtaining
I am glad to announc e that all work on the Queen’s
their Air Activity Badges. Yet, Yet, there has been no mention
Flight Wessex has now been completed and she will be
of the work all our guides do to encourage and assist
moved back to her original position in the New Year.
these groups in and around the Museum. I thought it
‘Creep’ had recently been developing on XV733, which
would be nice to introduce everyone to our guides so that
was identified by staff at AgustaWestland as a type of
praise can be directed their way in the future.
corrosion called filiform corrosion. It is believed that in many cases, the corrosion in question was linked to rivet
Let’s take Martin Degg who has taken the lead on the
positions on the aircraft. In agreement with Museum
programme for the Cubs. He has taken the time to go
staff, the experts from Agusta Westland recommended a
through their requirements with the Area Leaders to
strip, treat and refinish for the affected areas. This
produce a separate programme programme and with the help of the
consisted of stripping the current paint from the
other guides this initiative has been a great success.
corroded areas, the removal of corrosion using a brush
Alan Whitfield has had a great deal of experience working
and specified forms of abrasives, all followed by pickling
with the Wasp, Scout and other aircrafts ’ engines and
and refinishing.
rotor heads which enables us to go to him for any technical answers. Chris May worked on Concorde for quite a number of years and was also connected with the Bristol Aero Collection. He spends a lot of his time speaking to visitors and answering their questions. Then there's Ray Dunn who is a retired School Teacher. He started in the Museum with a fascination for the “Hind” and has gained quite a lot of knowledge with this aircraft; a ircraft; he has now moved onto other helicopters so that he can give a complete tour. Richard Street has only been with us for a short time after retiring from t he Royal Army Service Corps and finally the Territorial Territorial Army. Richard has now been able to pick-up enough knowledge to be able to take adult tours around the Museum. Peter Baylis worked at Westlands for much of his life; he has of course got experience on most of the British aircraft but still has to learn the entire collection. If you ever hear that he is going to give his talk on o n the first powered hang glider, glider, you must attend. A new edition to the team is Stacey Parker, who by just sitting in the cockpi t with the Cubs has impressed Martin and is in the throes of learning about the other aircraft which will enable her to pass out as a Guide. And there's myself, who's responsible for collating the bookings when they come through reception and try to organise the required number of guides for each Tour,
We must extend a huge thank you to the chaps from AgustaWestland for the great job that they have
Air Activity Badge, Cockpit and Simulator session, or anyother requirements (plus I do cover a few of the tours!)
completed for the Museum. I think the best compliment that we can pay them is by saying that you can really not see that any work has been done at all! This thanks must be extended to the company itself for taking an interest in us and for working with us to protect the heritage of AgustaWestland. (for more of Rod’s pictures please see p.6)
Ed: Thank you for this Ken; it really is interesting how
diverse the tour guide team is. I must say a big “Thank you!” to the team for all their hard work throughout the
year. year. One of the areas where we get lots of really positive feedback is in regard to the quality of our tours which is only made possible by the dedication of our guides.
Two Minutes With...
Archive News
As mentioned in the last newsletter, the Archive has
Simon Bell
been awarded a grant to improve the environmental environmental and pest control aspects of the t he Museum store. The grant has enabled us to become better educated about the threats posed to us by pests, and perhaps more importantly, importantly, how to combat such threats. A large portion of the grant was spent on a Collections Care kit from Helena Jaeschke, who we are also indebted to for advising us on pest prevention protocol.
This week Simon Bell takes to the interrogation chair to be quizzed on his thoughts regarding the Museum. Simon works in the cafe and is often the first to get into the spirit for events and and dress up. He is certainly well known for his Bane costume which he wears at any opportunity! Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions Simon. How long have you been at the museum? ‘ I have been at the Museum for a year and a quarter. What did you do before joining the museum? ‘I was a trainee chef at the Imperial in Weston town centre before starting at t he he Museum.’ What has been your best experience at the museum? ‘I think Stars of Time would have to be my best experience at the Museum, the atmosphere amongst the customers and the Museum team was great.’ What would you like to see happen at the museum in the future? ‘For the future of the Museum, I, like the rest of the team, would like to see t he Museum expand so that we can house more aircraft. With the vision of expansion also comes the prospect of bigger infrastructure which means
Perhaps the biggest outcome of the grant is that the
a bigger and better café.
decision has been made to put pest t raps upon our shelves and fragile items. This means particularly fragile
Spotters
items, such as the materials pictured above, can be targeted with specialist traps.
Landing information about the aircraft that have stopped off at the museum in the last 3 months for all you
Ultra-Light Items
I am pleased to announce that, owing to the initiative of
spotters out there: October
Date, Type, Registration, Flown From:
Morton. The interview will soon be with us at the
10.10.2013, AS350 B3, G-OLFA, Goodwood
Museum, where it will be stored along with copies of
10.10.2013, Enstrom 480B, G-RRAK, Gloucester
important Ultra-Light slides, until the aircraft is fully
21.10.2013, Merlin, V788, R.A.F Benson
restored and ready to be displayed. We are incredibly
21.10.2013, Agusta 109, G-TRAW, Plymouth
thankful to John for agreeing to do the interview and for
21.10.2013, Lynx Mk. 8, ?????, Yeovilton
25.10.2013, 2x Merlin, ?????, R.A.F Benson
volunteer John Derrick, we have been able to contribute to a one off interview with Ultra-Light test pilot John
his friend Ian for taking care of the arrangements.
Spotters Section – Section – Continued Continued November
Date, Type, Registration, Flown From:
...I can hardly believe it... I have double checked the log book and apparently there have been no landings at the Museum for the whole of November! Spotters Section – Section – Continued Continued December
Date, Type, Registration, Flown From:
02.12.2013, A109, ?????, Liskeard
08.12.2013, Bell 206B, G-BEWY, Urchinwood
11.12.2013, Robinson R44, G-PROJ
12.12.2013, Puma Mk.2, ZJ957, R.A.F Benson
12.12.2013, Puma Mk.2, XW231, R.A.F Benson
17.12.2013, Squirrel, ?????, Middle Wallop
18.12.2013, Lynx Mk. 8, ?????, Yeovilton
29.12.2013, Robinson R44, G-CDWK, Gloucester
Chairman: The two Puma HC. Mk2s mark the first visit of
this upgraded version to the Museum. Powered by more powerful Turbomeca Makila engines and with a glass cockpit, these are currently carrying out pilot training sorties before the type is declared operational later this year. Visitor Feedback
‘ Very Very good, well worth a visit ’ ’ ‘ Tops! Tops! ’ ’ ‘Really good, enjoyed it’ ‘ Really Really fun and educational, overall very interesting ’ ’ ‘ Best Best Museum I have seen for ages ’ ’ ‘ Yay! Yay! Super fun time! ’ ’ ‘ Keep Keep up the good work ’ ’
Hire The Museum! Do you have a Birthday or Anniversary coming up? Have you thought about hiring yo ur 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 2014 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 coul d they have been given to the t he 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! Encourage your friends and family to visit, every admission helps!
How to contact us? Tel: 01934-635227, Email:
[email protected] Website: 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 o f 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 the restoration 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
