The Fleet Air Arm Museum – A Recent Visit

Nice to see the Wyvern back in the main display area, as she was in Cobham when I visited her last year. If the display console is working beside it then it has some lovely film of Wyverns in action for those interested.

Nice photos by the way!

Rob

Thanks for the answer. 🙂

Wow, thanks for the great pictures. 🙂

The museum is on my ‘to do’ list, but it is very far from here. 🙁

I don’t really understand why the Concorde exhibit is there though, is there link with the location?

The reason that the Concorde is at VL is that at the time of its retirement from test flying the Transport Minister was Anthony Wedgewood Benn, who was a Bristol MP, he wanted the aircraft preserved in the West Country and at that time the only aviation museum who could take it was the FAAM, the aircraft was transferred to the ownership of the Science Museum and flown into VL, the SM then paid for a hangar to be built into which the Concorde was placed, hope that answer’s your question.

When did the Mig 15 arrive and from where? Obviously not from North Korea!

The Mig is an ex Polish AF example and arrived at the museum on 14th May 1987

Wow, thanks for the great pictures. 🙂

The museum is on my ‘to do’ list, but it is very far from here. 🙁

I don’t really understand why the Concorde exhibit is there though, is there link with the location?

Hall 4

Close by the BAC221 is a Hawker Hunter T8M. The two seat versions always look a bit odd to me, but I really like the colour scheme on this aircraft.

Wearing a similar scheme nearby on a ramp, is a Sea Harrier FRS.1. I think some future pilot has been practising his aviation in this area, as there’s a small paper aeroplane that has landed on the launch ramp near the top spot light.

The last aircraft in the hall is a Westland Wyvern TF1, which interestingly was never flown.

The last large area to see, is visible through a viewing window, and that is the Restoration Hangar. During my visit, I could see the early stages of the restoration of a Sea Gladiator, one of only 60 manufactured. This was recovered from a Norwegian lake in the early 1970’s.

There are also a number of other exhibitions of art and artefacts around the museum, but having my four year old in tow, I didn’t spend a great deal of time looking around those. That’s something for next time!

I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour. If you are ever in that part of the country, the FAAM is a must see.

After you have finished looking around the flight deck, there is the option to leave the hall or continue the tour through the carrier island, seeing the various operations rooms, bridge etc, before walking out onto the Goofers deck, overlooking the whole of the flight deck.

Hall 4 – The Leading Edge exhibition.

Hall 4 is dominated by the first British Concorde prototype, but that is only one of several very interesting airframes.

Tucked down under the right wing tip of Concorde is the HP 115. It was a test bed for slow speed delta wings for the Concorde development.

Just ahead of that is the Hawker P1127. If you look at the FAAM website, this airframe had quite an interesting career.

Next to that is the BAC 221, which was also part of the development of Concorde.

The last aircraft on the starboard side is the Buccaneer S1, with the S2B on the other side of the deck.

The rear wall of the hall also forms a large screen, onto which is projected an aircraft retrieval via the arrester wires.

Slightly forwards of the Buccaneer S2B is the Wessex you arrived on

In the middle of the deck is a Hawker Sea Hawk.

Next to the Sea Hawk is a Gannet COD4.

On the other side of the foredeck, next to the front of the island, is the Scimitar.

Beside that is the Sea Vixen.

Moving on down the starboard side of the deck is the Supermarine Attacker.

Next is the Sea Vampire.

It would be nice if they could rearrange the WW2 hall and convert it to the below decks part of a carrier. I’d like to see the aircraft in hangar deck dioramas. There does seem to be the space to position a couple of aircraft with at least one wing open. On aircraft like the Firefly, Fulmar and Avenger, the wings do hide much of the airframe.

I think my last visit was in 2008, and I don’t recall the MiG-15 on that visit, and I don’t know when it arrived or from where. I also remember a WW1 Albatros in one of the halls, which wasn’t there this visit.

Anyway, we’re about to board a flight to the aircraft carrier.

Hall 3 – The Aircraft Carrier Experience

In my opinion, this is one of the best displays/dioramas in any UK museum. After walking out of Hall 2, you enter a small corridor leading to a Westland Wessex helicopter. About every five minutes, the Wessex ‘Flies’ to the carrier. You enter the main cargo area and the door shuts behind you. You hear the pilot on the radio getting clearances etc, and then hear the engines and the whole compartment begins to shake.

My daughter on board the Wessex for the flight to the carrier.

For a couple of minutes the engine noise, shaking and radio chatter continues until you get clearance to land, after which the cargo door on the opposite side of the Wessex opens, and you can walk out onto the carrier deck.

You are now standing on a Royal Navy carrier flight deck, around the 1960’s/70’s. At the foredeck, there is a Phantom on the catapult, and a sound a light show gives you an impression of the take off preparations. The engines begin to glow, you hear the roar, the blast shields rise out of the deck, and then the end wall of the hall becomes a projector screen showing the aircraft racing off the end of the deck and climbing away.

This is one of my favourite museums. Access is great and largely unhindered and the staff are very friendly.

Blackburn NA39 XK488 has been over the road in Cobham Hall for quite a while.

Blackburn NA39 – Yeovilton October 2009 by shuttleworthpix, on Flickr

The LIM2 (Polish Mig 15) was acquired from Aces High in 1987

When did the Mig 15 arrive and from where? Obviously not from North Korea!

Same here. Never been and haven’t had a good recent ‘look’ at what’s on display. Thanks heaps, Stephen.

Good report and a great museum. I remember visiting it from its earliest days and have enjoyed the experience every time. My only gripe is that, as with many naval aircraft collections, no doubt because space is often at a premium the vast majority of aircraft are displayed with wings or rotors folded. This hides much of each airframe from ready view and makes photography very awkward too which is a shame when they have taken so much trouble to conserve the aircraft.

Tim

Great report and really interesting to see the pictures for someone who has never been. Definitely on the must visit list but I guess location is always a bit more challenging compared to say Hendon or Duxford.

Hall 2

Sea Fury

MiG-15

There are a few other exhibits in Hall 2, such as a Harvard and Autogyro, but I’m trying to be sensible with the number of pics, and I didn’t image everything.

It’s now getting late, so I’ll continue the tour tomorrow with the Carrier Experience.

Hall 2

Hellcat

Avenger

Seafire

Firefly

Hall 2 – World War Two to Korea

Swordfish

Fulmar

Martlet – This is undergoing a ‘reverse restoration’ like the Corsair, slowly removing layers of paint to get back to the original wartime paint.

Corsair

Walrus

Dragonfly

Sea King