De Havilland and Brooklands Museums.
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buffnut453
Captain
Terry,
I'll give you a heads-up when I might be in the area...that way you can plan your escape bid and get the hell out of town (as most sensible people do when they see me coming)!
That last pic is one of my all time favourites, bar none. The perspective. The car's wheels all off the track, the slight blurring of the nearest car. Just absolutely gorgeous!!!
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- #63
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks again, and no worries about your visit - you haven't been to one of our post-airshow BBQs yet !!!
Continuing with more of the race car collection, this time from the 'Grand Prix Exhibition'.
PICS 1 and 2. The Aston Martin Special 'Razor Blade', from 1923.
PICS 3 and 4. Halford Special, from 1923. The World's first turbo-charged car, with a 1500cc, twin overhead cam, 6 cylinder engine.
PIC 5. Line up showing 1927 Delage 15S8, 1926 Bugatti Type 37 GP, and 1938 Alta.
PIC 6. The Dealge.
PICS 7 and 8. The Bugatti.
PIC 9. Alta.
PIC 10. A little more modern, and the Arrows BMW.
PICS 11 and 12. Brooklands Riley, from 1932,
More of the car collection later this evening ....................
Continuing with more of the race car collection, this time from the 'Grand Prix Exhibition'.
PICS 1 and 2. The Aston Martin Special 'Razor Blade', from 1923.
PICS 3 and 4. Halford Special, from 1923. The World's first turbo-charged car, with a 1500cc, twin overhead cam, 6 cylinder engine.
PIC 5. Line up showing 1927 Delage 15S8, 1926 Bugatti Type 37 GP, and 1938 Alta.
PIC 6. The Dealge.
PICS 7 and 8. The Bugatti.
PIC 9. Alta.
PIC 10. A little more modern, and the Arrows BMW.
PICS 11 and 12. Brooklands Riley, from 1932,
More of the car collection later this evening ....................
Great shots Terry!
- Thread starter
- #65
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks Hugh.
The last selection from the 'Grand Prix Exhibition'.
PICS 1 and 2. 1964 Cooper T72 F3 car. Charles Cooper, and his son John, pioneered the use of rear engine layout in 1958, and of course, it is still used to this day. Cooper are also famous, of course, for the rally winning Mini Cooper series. Note that the seat belts shown in the second pic are a 'modern' fitting, required under safety regulations today, as the car is still used in various events. They were not present in the 1960's.
PICS 3 and 4. Mikka Hakkinen's 1999 McLaren - Mercedes MP4-14 F1 car.
PICS 5 to 7. 'Olympus' Wolf.
PIC 8. Jordan Honda F1.
PICS 9 and 10. I was offered a 'drive' in this McLaren F1 simulator, but I had to decline, knowing that, if I could even get into the cockpit, I'd have a heck of a job getting out, without the use of a crane or explosive charge - darned arthritis !!
PIC 11. Michael Schumacher's 'circuit runabout' scooter.
PIC 12. Manx Norton 500cc racing bike, and a 1932 MG Midget, suitably posed in a scene that could be from my childhood. (in the 1950's, not the 1930's, before any smart Rs makes a comment !!).
Back tomorrow with more of the aircraft and other exhibits.
The last selection from the 'Grand Prix Exhibition'.
PICS 1 and 2. 1964 Cooper T72 F3 car. Charles Cooper, and his son John, pioneered the use of rear engine layout in 1958, and of course, it is still used to this day. Cooper are also famous, of course, for the rally winning Mini Cooper series. Note that the seat belts shown in the second pic are a 'modern' fitting, required under safety regulations today, as the car is still used in various events. They were not present in the 1960's.
PICS 3 and 4. Mikka Hakkinen's 1999 McLaren - Mercedes MP4-14 F1 car.
PICS 5 to 7. 'Olympus' Wolf.
PIC 8. Jordan Honda F1.
PICS 9 and 10. I was offered a 'drive' in this McLaren F1 simulator, but I had to decline, knowing that, if I could even get into the cockpit, I'd have a heck of a job getting out, without the use of a crane or explosive charge - darned arthritis !!
PIC 11. Michael Schumacher's 'circuit runabout' scooter.
PIC 12. Manx Norton 500cc racing bike, and a 1932 MG Midget, suitably posed in a scene that could be from my childhood. (in the 1950's, not the 1930's, before any smart Rs makes a comment !!).
Back tomorrow with more of the aircraft and other exhibits.
- Thread starter
- #66
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Last lot for today, and moving on to some of the aircraft and exhibits in the Brooklands Aircraft Factory, housed in the original Belman hangar, with, in some of the pics, a hint of the Wellington, yet to come.
PIC 1 Bleriot replica.
PIC 2 Nice SE5a replica, with the wings stored alongside.
PIC 3. Hunter fuselage, in the colours of 4 Sqn, again with the wings stored alongside.
PIC 4. TSR 2 nose section.
PICS 5 and 6 Air Canada Vickers Vanguard cockpit procedures trainer.
PIC 7. Vickers Valiant nose section, in the original 'silver' finish.
PIC 8. Hawker P1127, predecessor to the Kestrel and Harrier VTOL aircraft, from 1964.
I'll post more tomorrow, with the Wellington, and others.
Thanks for your interest so far.
PIC 1 Bleriot replica.
PIC 2 Nice SE5a replica, with the wings stored alongside.
PIC 3. Hunter fuselage, in the colours of 4 Sqn, again with the wings stored alongside.
PIC 4. TSR 2 nose section.
PICS 5 and 6 Air Canada Vickers Vanguard cockpit procedures trainer.
PIC 7. Vickers Valiant nose section, in the original 'silver' finish.
PIC 8. Hawker P1127, predecessor to the Kestrel and Harrier VTOL aircraft, from 1964.
I'll post more tomorrow, with the Wellington, and others.
Thanks for your interest so far.
fubar57
General
Just caught up 3 pages, great shots Terry
Crimea_River
Marshal
I agree. Note that the Vanguard simulator is painted in the TCA (Trans-Canada Airlines) scheme, Air Canada's earlier guise.
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- #71
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks very much chaps, glad you like them.
Just sorting the next batches, to be posted very soon.
Just sorting the next batches, to be posted very soon.
Lovely shots Terry!
- Thread starter
- #74
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks Wojtek and Hugh.
And now to the star feature, and the main reason for our visit to Brooklands - the 'Loch Ness' Wellington.
Vickers Wellington Mk1a, N2980, was built at Brooklands, and had it's maiden flight on 16th November, 1939, with 'Mutt' Summers at the controls.
This is one of only two surviving complete Wellingtons, and the only one to see combat operations. (the other is the RAFM Wellington T.Mk10, currently under refurbishment at Cosford).
The aircraft was first assigned to 149 Squadron, at Mildenhall, and carried the code letter 'R', taking part in a number of operations, including the infamous daylight attack on Heligoland Bight, on 18th December 1939, when over half of the 22 aircraft deployed were shot down.
It then served with 37 Squadron, based at Feltwell, when it completed a further 14 day and night operations, before being transferred to 20 OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) at Lossiemouth, in the north of Scotland.
During a training flight on the night of 31st December, 1940, N2980 developed engine trouble, and ditched in Loch Ness. All of the crew escaped, some by parachute, but the rear gunner was killed when his canopy failed to deploy.
In 1976, a team of American Loch Ness Monster hunters discovered the Wellington on the bed of the Loch, and by 1985, after much publicity and fund raising, a local team recovered the aircraft, in remarkably good condition, on 21st September, 1985. When connected to a battery, the tail lights still worked, and there were still personal effects on board.
The aircraft was moved to Brooklands, and gradually restored to its present condition, leaving much of the geodetic structure on view.
There was only one location in the hangar where it was possible to get a shot of the complete aircraft at ground level, which was just inside the hangar entrance. Unfortunately, there was a small crowd of people obstructing the view, and as I became so engrossed in taking a shed load of detail pics, I completely forgot to take a shot at the entrance later !
This, and the next post, show some general views of the aircraft, both at ground level, and from the gallery above.
And now to the star feature, and the main reason for our visit to Brooklands - the 'Loch Ness' Wellington.
Vickers Wellington Mk1a, N2980, was built at Brooklands, and had it's maiden flight on 16th November, 1939, with 'Mutt' Summers at the controls.
This is one of only two surviving complete Wellingtons, and the only one to see combat operations. (the other is the RAFM Wellington T.Mk10, currently under refurbishment at Cosford).
The aircraft was first assigned to 149 Squadron, at Mildenhall, and carried the code letter 'R', taking part in a number of operations, including the infamous daylight attack on Heligoland Bight, on 18th December 1939, when over half of the 22 aircraft deployed were shot down.
It then served with 37 Squadron, based at Feltwell, when it completed a further 14 day and night operations, before being transferred to 20 OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) at Lossiemouth, in the north of Scotland.
During a training flight on the night of 31st December, 1940, N2980 developed engine trouble, and ditched in Loch Ness. All of the crew escaped, some by parachute, but the rear gunner was killed when his canopy failed to deploy.
In 1976, a team of American Loch Ness Monster hunters discovered the Wellington on the bed of the Loch, and by 1985, after much publicity and fund raising, a local team recovered the aircraft, in remarkably good condition, on 21st September, 1985. When connected to a battery, the tail lights still worked, and there were still personal effects on board.
The aircraft was moved to Brooklands, and gradually restored to its present condition, leaving much of the geodetic structure on view.
There was only one location in the hangar where it was possible to get a shot of the complete aircraft at ground level, which was just inside the hangar entrance. Unfortunately, there was a small crowd of people obstructing the view, and as I became so engrossed in taking a shed load of detail pics, I completely forgot to take a shot at the entrance later !
This, and the next post, show some general views of the aircraft, both at ground level, and from the gallery above.
- Thread starter
- #75
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
More Wellington pics.
Back soon, with more aircraft and other exhibits.
Back soon, with more aircraft and other exhibits.
fubar57
General
Cool. I still find it an odd way to construct an aircarft
Yup. That was done by the volunteers at the Museum of Flight at East Fortune in Scotland, where that cockpit mock up was on display for many years. It was originally built for TCA and a Canadian guy helped the museum with its colour scheme, if I can recall.
Interestingly, another East Fortune connection with Brooklands Museum is that the Wellington was recovered in Loch Ness by a team from Heriott Watt university in Edinburgh and at the time it was raised it was offered to the Royal Scottish Museum (now the National Museums of Scotland) to be housed at East Fortune, but the museum had to turn the offer down because it didn't have either the funding or space. At the time the RSM only had one hangar at EF, which was already full of aeroplanes, so the Wellington had nowhere to go.
The final connection is that in the mid 80s, once East Fortune had been established as The Museum of Flight, it had a compound and a hangar and in the compound was a Vulcan (Falklands veteran XM597) and a Comet and the museum wanted a Concorde to place next to them. The only airframe available was G-BBDG, which was stored in bits at Filton for years and the idea was to get funding to put the Concorde next to the Vulcan and Comet and place a big tent like structure over the three aircraft. I saw the plans for it once, but the museum didn't have the money. G-BBDG is Brooklands' Concorde, while East Fortune now has G-BOAA, British Airways' first production Concorde and the only production variant in service not retrofitted with the fuel tank liners after the Concorde crash at Gonesse.
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Crimea_River
Marshal
Great pics Terry and good supplemental info Grant.
- Thread starter
- #80
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks chaps, and thanks Grant for the info.
I remember following the Wellington recovery in 'Fly Past' magazine. There are some videos, on You Tube, showing the actual recovery and beaching.
Back a little later with more pics ................
I remember following the Wellington recovery in 'Fly Past' magazine. There are some videos, on You Tube, showing the actual recovery and beaching.
Back a little later with more pics ................
