The Helicopter Museum update

RN decorated Helicopter pilot Jerry Grayson visiting us from his home in Australia this Sunday…signing copies of his book” Recue Pilot”. Took part in the Fastnet Yacht rescues and was film pilot for Treasure Hunt series with Anneka Rice ,Black Hawk Down and James Bond movies.
Should be an interesting day.

Good news – more space is welcome. It was bit of a squeeze visiting in a Chinook some years back!!

One of the spare Skeeters moved into restoration hangar today …XL767….which is being prepared for shipment to the Polish Air Museum as an exchange.
Navy Lynx XX910 now back on display neatly folded.

Lynx 2 XX910 moved out of line up today and tail folded ready for installation of main blade fold equipment . Museum plans to display in future with blades and tail folded for the first time. Some tidying and minor works to be done too before being repositioned.
Volunteers and staff have also been sprucing up the cafe and other buildings ready for the new tourist season,the car park has been relaid and enlarged and progress made towards new expansion.
The museum is also beginning to look towards forming a new specialist team to restore original WW 2 buildings and structures ……wood working,brick laying ,painting and decorating skills welcomed for weekends through the summer months. Come and spend your summer by the seaside……camping available for team members and their loved ones if they can help.
Interested? Contact the museum chairman directly on [email]office@aviapress.co.uk[/email] with details of skills and availability.

Thank you very much for your reply,
regards
jack…

I can confirm that all four Skeeter pods have been identified….the one with no data plate appears to be XL736.The others are XL767,XM557 and XN345.

Also sorry to hear of ‘Sox’s departure. A bit on the Tartan Terror’s excellent Blog on test pilots: http://thetartanterror.blogspot.com.au/2006/06/charles-td-sox-hosegood-1920.html

Sad to report the passing of former Bristol Helicopters chief test pilot Sox Hosegood today. Great character and one of the very last surviving British pioneer helicopter pilots. He celebrated his 93rd birthday earlier this month .

Very sad to hear that. I only met him once, when the Bristol 173 arrived at the Bristol Aero Collection at Kemble in 2002, exactly 50 years after its first flight, which he flew.

Andrew

Just catching up on this thread, and it brought to mind a visit on 27/4/11 where 4 Skeeter pods were out of storage during a reshuffle. At that time the id,s of these were in doubt, as anything been confirmed on these 4?.

Sad to report the passing of former Bristol Helicopters chief test pilot Sox Hosegood today. Great character and one of the very last surviving British pioneer helicopter pilots. He celebrated his 93rd birthday earlier this month .

Close shave on Wednesday in the extreme high winds when our W30-200 gate guardian was blown off its wheel jacks and slewed towards a boundary fence. Fortunately no damage,other than a tyre off its rim and now safely secured more strongly. Had a nasty feeling the night before that the museum needed to do something but by the time I could make contact it was too late. Currently it is temporarily stored in a corner of the car park on concrete awaiting permanent resisting so wasn’t tied down.
If anyone else has problems with aircraft like this ,especially on soft ground,highly recommend Duckbill Anchors as tie downs .We have used them for years and they never let us down.

The new Cricket is now on display in the main hangar but we are struggling a bit on the history when it was at Newtownards in Northern Ireland.We know it was kit built by JJ Fitzgerald and registered in 1999, but don’t know when it was actually purchased or any flight details as we have no paperwork. It is in very good condition so if it flew at all,it couldn’t have been much.
If anyone can help plug the gaps it would be appreciated.
Also how many kit build Crickets were actually sold/ built? The original production run of 33aircraft is well documented but then ,after 1971, it goes hazy. We know Peter Lovegrove and partners revived the design for a time in the 1980-90s and then others tried again post 2001 but just how many were built? It doesn’t help that variations appeared for a while under different names on the CAA register?

Incidentally I looked back on that old thread and can clarify some of the later Grasshopper history. Although three airframes were registered it appears only one complete aircraft flew.Because it was modular they first flew the basic frame ‘XFM and then matched the tail section and engines to make up the complete one which we have on display.the third airframe never got beyond the front fuselage section it would seem. I say we have a complete one but in reality it is missing the Continental engines. We have been offered one but if anyone knows of a second scrap Continental,let us know.

Thanks for that feedback heli1. I always knew G-ARVN as the Servotech Grasshopper but I noticed that the CAA website now records it as built by Servotech but with type designation as shown in my original post. I think there’s been some revisionism in their more recent records as looking at the original record cards held by the CAA it was indeed initially registered with the designation you quote. So thanks for clarifying its proper name! It sounds like I’ll never get to see it as it must have moved down the restoration queue a few times over the years. I do though appreciate all of the effort and resources that continue to go into your superb collection – keep up the good work.

Tim

Hi…the original Grasshopper is still in storage at present. It was acquired incomplete and with only one engine but is still planned for reassembly one day,when we have enough additional undercover space to put it on display. The project will however have to wait until then.
Incidentally it was pre Cierva Rotorcraft although also designed by Jacob Shapiro.Hence it’s correct title is the Servotech Grasshopper

Always good to hear an update. Can you please confirm the present status of G-ARVN Cierva CR.LTH1 Grasshopper 1? Not to be confused with the Grasshopper II which you also have but is a completely different design.

I have seen a photo of ‘RVN in store at Weston only a few years back. It’s been with the museum for many years but SFAIK never on display. When I visited the museum last year the volunteers I spoke to who we’re working on airframes had no knowledge of G-ARVN and suggested it may be held inside a container. The Grasshopper 1 was an interesting concept – will it ever see the light of day or is it doomed to obscurity?

Here is a link to a thread which appeared on Pprune and illustrates the two Grasshopper types.
http://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/434759-strange-helicopter-redhill.html

Tim

Despite the heavy rain trying to punch out our electrics and flood the cafe we remain open for visitors.Yesterday a 40 minute flight showed water surrounding us on the old airfield whilst the Somerset Levels are a lake as far as the eye can see .really sorry for those in the middle of it.

The second Cricket is indeed kit assembled from the Reincarnation period but follows the original design ,including the Volkswagen power plant and is in very good condition .The museum doesn’t have its full history except that it was assembled in Newtownards NI circa 1999 .both therefore qualify as genuine examples in their own way The older example crashed on about its third flight and has some front end damage including no windscreen so will be kept in reserve for now as the museum doesn’t really have the space to show both.
DaveF68…..so sorry your balls didn’t come up tonight!

Anyone got a spare £250,000?….2500….250…25 ??????? Every little bit helps!

If the rubber balls come up tonight…..

Looking at the register -the new ‘Cricket’ is an amateur built machine – will that take presidence over a factory built genuine example?