Brabazon

That makes three (maybe four) pairs of wheels/tyres then:

Bristol Museum and/or Kemble, MAM and a set on external display at the Dunlop aviation tyre factory, Fort Dunlop, Birmingham.

Roger Smith.

Also a couple of wheels, one behind the other

That’s what was meant…lol Assembly as in parts forming an assembly :diablo:

Just like the photo added from Bristol but ours are in a fetching shade of green…

Pretty sure there was a section of fuselage with the name on it there too

Hi Der,

Yes perfectly correct the undercarriage assembly is still there. Although it no longer has the working hydraulic system to raise and lower the wheel and for steering. But only because it has broken down and hasnt been fixed.

I think it was always very noisy in operation at East Fortune due to the very low temperature of the hangar thus making the oil very cold.

I seem to rememeber this as I have had a member of staff operate it while we were there.

Many years ago a member of staff operated the gear when myself and a few friends showed a particular interest. We were the only ones in that hanger at the time, and as a result got an unofficial tour.
The staff member stated at the time that he wasn’t sure whether it would work due to the aged Hydraulic seals, thankfully it did, and I have the memory of seeing it work.

From Wikipedia:

Main undercarriage wheel of the Bristol Brabazon, preserved at the Bristol Industrial Museum, Bristol, England. The lady is 5 feet 4 inches tall (my wife). In 2007 this museum was permanently closed for conversion to the Museum of Bristol. The exhibits are in storage.

Photographed by Adrian Pingstone in June 2004 and placed in the public domain.

Midland Air Museum – mainwheel assembly?

Also a couple of wheels, one behind the other

Fascinating! I think I remember seeing the tyre at Kemble a few years ago (2001). I’ll have to look through the photos I took to see if it’s on any of them.
One other thing I remember that was at Kemble was an upper wing from Bulldog IIA, J3134 – does anyone know the history behind that exhibit?
Jim

There is/was a Brabazon tyre with the Bristol Aero Collection at Kemble. I don’t know if it is the one from the Bristol Industrial Museum which is currently undergoing refurbishment and due to re-open next year.

Midland Air Museum – mainwheel assembly?

Used to be a nosewheel assembly at East Fortune. Dont know if its still there.

Hi Der,

Yes perfectly correct the undercarriage assembly is still there. Although it no longer has the working hydraulic system to raise and lower the wheel and for steering. But only because it has broken down and hasnt been fixed.

I think it was always very noisy in operation at East Fortune due to the very low temperature of the hangar thus making the oil very cold.

I seem to rememeber this as I have had a member of staff operate it while we were there.

The Shuttleworth Trust had a section of fuselage with I think BRABAZON written on it, but that was a long while ago. I suspect its somewhere else now, could be the bit now held by the RR heritage Trust.

Richard

Years ago I spoke with someone who said that Rolls-Royce (at Bristol I think) had a complete transmission-(contra)-reduction-gear assembly (to couple each pair of Centaurus engines buried in the wings). Apparently it was a special display assembly; all polished and chromed.

I believe the RR Heritage trust, and the Industrial Museum own a large peice of skinning with “Brabazon” written on it, well i think it says brabazon its been a few years since i went there,

I also remember I thinkthey had a wheel of sorts from it as well,

Used to be a nosewheel assembly at East Fortune. Dont know if its still there.

Years ago, our model club – based in Bristol – made a 1:72 scale model collection of aircraft made in Bristol – from the Boxkite to Concorde and including the Brabazon.

The model collection, was, until recently, on display in a glass case at the Bristol Industrial Museum.

During visits to the museum to set the display up, we were given access to the storage area where there were dozens of fascinating items awaiting cataloguing – WD & HO Wills artifacts, Bristol Bus Company stuff etc etc

Gathering dust in a corner was one of the huge mainwheels from the Brabazon.

IIRC it had the name Dunlop in large letters in the sidewalls…….

Pity I didn’t take a photo……

Ken

PS – Attached are some pics of the model collection when we had it on show at Filton families day……