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April News
Story added on 28th April 2012
Sorry for the longer than usual interval between postings.
The weather has been so unpredictable in the last 4 weeks that painting and outside activities have almost been at a standstill, When you start painting in a cloudless morning sky you dont expect a torrential downpour during the afternoon to spoil all your hard work. The net result is that despite a carefully study of the weather forecasts, experience tells you they are not always correct and you become reluctant to take a chance. This has affected the Vulcan team more than most but steady progress has been made as shown in the accompanying photos. The tail area still remains to be tackled but the team are chomping at the bit to get it completed. But it is looking considerably smarter and is a credit to the teams efforts. Plans are in hand for some special commemorative decals to go on the nose which should provide a unique photo opportunity. Details will be posted on the site.
A Guild of Aviation Artists sketch day was held earlier in the month and as soon as any photos of this most successful event are available they will be posted. Suffice to say a lot of work was sketched out and we await to view any completed works at a later date. We cant photgraph the works themselves for obvious reasons but we hope to show the flavour of the event.
Once again in reference to the Vulcan, a complete cockpit spring clean has been carried out. You can work out the footfall yourself, its open 363 days a year and an average of 20 to 30 visitors a day means the floor and panels do get a bit mucky. Public (or member) access to the upper deck pilot area (in fairness to the equipment) is not allowed but it still somehow manages to get itself dirty. Pictures show the cleaned panels ( the floor isnt very interesting to photograph) sparkling again. The cockpit is 99% complete and even has the F95 camera fitted above the bomb aimers window, (Used in the cod war I think).
Back from a refurbishment at The Rolls Royce Heritage Coventry Branch is our sectioned Mamba engine, photos speak louder than words in this case to show the very high standard of restoration achieved and we are extremely grateful for their participation in this project.
Our Curator/Lecturer was invited to give a talk to the Rugby Aviation Group on the History and Development of the Aircraft Carrier. This proved to be a very succesful talk and is now on the list of available lecture topics that can be booked from the Museum. Whilst this is a new topic to the carriculum there are plenty available and if you are thinking of a way to keep your interest group occupied for an evening please give Dianne a ring to enquire about availability.
Whilst on the same theme a full days display was undertaken by the museum at Edghill Aerodrome to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the testing of Sir Frank Whittles jet engine in the E28/39 from that airfield. In the evening our Curator was invited to give a lecture on Sir Frank Whittle outlineing his local connections and the early days in the development of his engine. Once again a very rewarding experience for all of those involved. Once again the copy has preceded the photos which have missed the deadline but as soon as they are here they will be displayed.
Currently on display in a room quite close to the Vulcan are pictures and models commemorating the Falklands war. Copies of the newspaper front pages of the time remind us all that it wasnt that long ago. A few photos show the theme of the display and it is proposed to keep the display open during the next few months. There is plenty to read and the display is being constantly updated, well worth a visit.
The upstairs display area of our museum hardly seems to get a mention in the news blog. But it is kept constantly updated and moved around with new exhibits appearing as if by magic. All in themed areas to give some continuity and very much focused on Coventry and its manufacturers. I am going to include at least one picture in every news update from now on.
To start the ball rolling a picture of a wartime poster aimed at aircrew crewrooms I imagine. The 1154 Transmitter in the background was of course used in a large number of Bombers (& Marine craft incidentally) during the conflict.
