Positive changes ahead at Brooklands

I see they are looking for door wheels and rails for a Bellman or T2 type hangar.
https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/about/latest-news/hangar-wheels-and-rails-wanted
mmitch.

Many thanks for that clarification. It would be good to see them both under cover.

P1127_wingchange by Jelle Hieminga, on Flickr

The sign on the fence says:

As the last of the P1127 prototype series, XP984 was the first to feature the wing design which was included on the production version, the Hawker-Siddeley Kestrel. For several years it has been fitted with an incorrect wing from an earlier P1127 but we have recently been able to acquire a correctly shaped wing from an early Hawker-Siddeley Harrier. The wing will be fitted as part of a complete restoration of the aircraft before it becomes part of the new Brooklands Aircraft Factory Project due to open in Summer 2017.

I hope this answers your question. I am not sure about the Swift but that might move into the Aircraft Factory project as well.

Why is the P.1127 apparently exchanging its wing for one from a Harrier? The Swift really should not be outside!

Brooklands Museum remains a great value price for admissions. Although currently concentrating on motoring, most weekends have wonderful special events – a very active museum.

The listed Bellman hangar has already started to be re-erected after it has been renovated in Wales. Meantime, work continues of getting the re-exposed Finishing Straight ready for use again in June.

Most aircraft remain open for visits almost every day. For the moment, the Flight Shed with some of the airframes from the hangar (e.g. Hurricane and Harrier) will not be accessable until the summer.

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My only complaint would be that they run the Gift Aid process back-to-front compared to all other museums I know of; i.e. you pay MORE to get in and have to recover the extra cost via your tax return. That seems a bit perverse.

That is a bone of contention not only at Brooklands, where we must visit.

At Chatham Naval Dockyard, They now charge £22 for an adult or £19.50 for concessions. Justifying this by saying you can visit as many times
as you like in 12 months. Ok if you live close by, but not if you are some distance away, or on holiday. It seems they have to offer this deal in
order to get grants.
I don’t know how this has affected visitor numbers, but Duxford seemed to manage without resorting to exorbitant entrance fees.

Funny I’m just sitting here in California looking through my videos from 91 and there we are at Brooklands, R Robert has come a long way!! Back then there were still bits of concord parts lying about all over the place outside. And nobody seemed to Mind where me and the kids wandered. I miss those days not a HiViz vest in sight and a bit of personnel responsibility required.

Brooklands is one of those rare sites that has something to appeal to all ages. My grandchildren, under 2 and under 5 at the last visit (October), enjoy the open space, the buses and the aircraft outside while I can do the aviation-nerd and car-geek thing. I was pleased a couple of years ago to encounter a boy of around 12 working as a volunteer and we had a great chat about the cars. Nice to see many vehicles are kept running and used for joy rides.
Knock Mercedes is you must but Mercedes World is free and has much to see, and also keeps the kids interested.
I am looking forward to the revamp of the museum site this year and will make a visit once all is up and running. My only complaint would be that they run the Gift Aid process back-to-front compared to all other museums I know of; i.e. you pay MORE to get in and have to recover the extra cost via your tax return. That seems a bit perverse.

Referring to Joe90 and Creaking Door’s Post above, I am the person responsible for this work and can tell you that there are a number of PLAYLISTS dealing with events at Brooklands since 1984 when I first moved there with my company National Rescue.

They include:

Brooklands pre 2000 which has much footage of the Brooklands aircraft collection arriving. Plus some of the old buildings like the fires station, some hangers and the canteen.

Brooklands after 2000 including some events, the rebuilding of the site and the arrival of later aircraft like the Vimy.

Plus specific Playlist for events like the Emergency Vehicle Day.

The best place to start and see the playlist is here www.youtube.com/user/andysvideo

Please enjoy as they were made for people like you.

Andy

A few from New Year’s Day:

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I found these interesting videos on youTube after following the link above:

https://youtu.be/ftCqPoDtDM4

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2t3Fv37blMo

I wonder if the ‘move’ could somehow have been taken advantage of (although I don’t suppose the museum would have wanted too many people there); I’d have paid good money just to see the Wellington out in the daylight!

Thanks for the update!

Hi all. The video link below nicely illustrates the current state of the museum since the final parts of the Bellman hangar have been dismantled. It is already undergoing renovation in Wales and will be returned to its new position in the coming months (footings for it are almost complete!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNXJj3GdiDI&index=5&list=PLD60750C987B6AE0D

The Vimy and Wellington have already been housed in their new structures. The only thing missing for visitors at the moment is access to the completed Flight Shed where some of the airframes are stored. This will reopen later in the summer of 2017.

You will be pleasantly surprised by what is on show now.

Joe90

I trust I am not repeating anything but the ‘Flight Shed’ is nearing completion. Soon some of the artifacts from the ‘Wellington’ hangar will be moved in. The Wellington will have a temporary structure so will still be accessable. The Vimy will also have a new structure with plans to extract it for engine runs. The 1-11 will be relocated behind the Concorde and the VC-10 fuselage relocated to where the 1-11 is now. The London Bus Museum may seem out of place by some but it contains a wonderful collection of vehicles and is an added attraction for visitors to the museum without any extra charge.

Give the place a year or so for a major positive change. Where else can you see a great collection of aircraft (most with access) and racing cars all kept in a historic location?

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Very good news on the additional funding, much needed. I’m one of those lucky people I guess who is part of the design team who is responsible of the relocation and refurbishment of the Bellman hanger and flight shed. They will look very good with many interactive features for the many hopeful visitors. Its certainly going to be challenging project. I will see if ‘construction’ photos along with any interesting ‘design’ drawings can be published from the DT in the public domain. So happens I have had a meeting today on various M&E aspects of the project.

More good news for Brooklands. 🙂
http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/index.php?/news/story/re-engineering-of-brooklands-gets-budget-boost/
mmitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmakSwlYLs0

Worth watching all the way through if you have not seen it before 😀

When I was there they were looking at removing the Wellington’s wings to move it out of the hangar.
I expect there will be quite a few movements to empty that hangar!
mmitch.

Yes, I visit Brooklands quite regularly (at least once every two weeks, sometimes more) & would be glad to let everyone know of any changes as they happen.

Does anybody on this forum regularly visit Brooklands ? If so it would be greatly appreciated if any aircraft movement could be advertised. I did email the museum direct about proposed aircraft movements but had no reply. Mention has been made of a ‘tent’ for the Vimy, what about the Wellington, would be great to be able to photograph it outside. Indeed has the Wellington ever been outside, thinks it was restored and assembled in the hangar.