De Havilland and Brooklands Museums.

Airframes · Apr 11, 2019

An unexpected bonus was this 'walk through' Wellington fuselage section.
Although devoid of some interior fittings, and with the crew stations enclosed in 'Perspex', most of the main features were present, and gave a sense of what the interior would have been like, albeit without any 'skin'.
Entry was gained via a set of angled steps, in the approximate location of the nose entry hatch in the belly, aft of the front turret and bomb aimer's positions. Note the modern, 'non-slip' floor covering, and the truncated main spar, cut to allow ease of access to the rear exit.

More of the Museum exhibits still to come.

Wurger · Apr 11, 2019

fubar57 · Apr 11, 2019

C'est très sympa

Airframes · Apr 11, 2019

Thanks, Wojtek and George.

The next small selection is from the Vimy Pavilion.
Although the remaining exhibits, and the Vimy in particular, were crowded into a corner, and difficult to photograph in full, we were otherwise fortunate, as the Pavilion was being prepared for an exhibition, with some exhibits already removed to storage, and the Hawk due to be moved out the following day.

The Hawk is the Mk.50, with the military serial number ZA101, and the civilian registration 'G-Hawk', and served as a company demonstrator and development aircraft from 1976 onwards. It was donated to the Museum by BAe, and arrived from Salmesbury by road, in January this year.

The Vickers Vimy replica was commissioned by Peter McMillan, in order to re-create three long distance flights, and made its first flight, in California, on 30th July 1994.
It completed the flight to Australia, marking the 75th anniversary of the event, and then flew to South Africa in 1999.
In July 2005, Steve Fossett and Mark Rebholz re-created the first Atlantic crossing, flown by Alcock and Brown, flying from St.John's, Newfoundland, to Clifdon, Ireland, in just under 19 hours.
The aircraft was moved to Dunsfold in 2006, where it was maintained in flying condition by volunteers from the Brooklands Museum, and attended various airshows, including Farnborough and Goodwood.
It was flown to Brooklands on 15th November, 2009, landing on the grass airstrip at Merceded World (on the former Weybbridge airfield), and retired from flying.

A few more odds and sods still to come .................

Gnomey · Apr 11, 2019

Lovely shots Terry!

Airframes · Apr 11, 2019

Thanks Hugh.

My final selection are a few 'abstract' shots, from both museums, with the final pic being a view over part of the vast 'Mercedes World' complex, with its race and test tracks, on the site of the former Vickers Weybridge factory airfield, directly opposite the entrance to the Brooklands Museum.
Thanks for taking the time to view the pics, and I hope you have enjoyed the pictorial tour of these two splendid museums.