climbing in

re

which Lancaster?

The way the cockpit of the Halifax at IWM is laid out is good no way you could twiddle with it where as you get an ideea how cramped it is.

Interesting thread!

There are some great stories,comments,concerns both for and against general access by joe public.
One horror story I heard about years ago concerned a young boy being allowed into I beleive a F4 or something? Anywya it was at a US airshow and the child managed to pull the seat handle which sadly was not safetied at the time. The unthinkable happened and it became a fatal accident.

Now to continue this thread. As most of you know I have worked on restoring our lancaster for the past 15 years. Back in the early days, the public was welcome to tour through the interior starting from the nose and exiting through the rear crew door. This worked out fine as the interior was pretty much gutted with bare panels fitted at the main crew positions etc. Other than the odd banged head or bruised shin that lost an argument with the main spar, everything went fine.

Moving on a few years, restoration started on the main panels. The pilot’s,Flt engineer and Nav’s panels were all repaired and restored with correct instruments. These panels were then covered in plexiglass panels to stop any unwanted damage. Tours continued with renewed interest now that the interior was being restored.
Work then began o nreplacing the canopy glass which was smashed out by vandals years ago. It was at this time that damage was showing up to the controls and panels even though notices were in place asking to look but not touch. Once the canopy work was finished the aircraft was closed off at the main spar and visitors could only go inside through the rear crew door up to the spar. By special request such as ex aircrew or families etc the door to the cockpit can be opened up under supervision due to the aircraft now being in Live condition.

Sorry to ramble on, the only major damage to date was some “enthusiast” grabbing onto the replica guns on our FN121 Turret and pulling down hard on the barrel to see if it was real or not. This action snapped the barrell off and he walked away and wasnt caught. We were told of this by another visitor who had seen him do it. Also one day I was going through the lanc during a lull in visitors picking up the usual flyers and gum wrappers etc when I came across a belt of about 30 303 links from one of our displays!:eek: It didnt take long to figure out that it was removed from our FN50 top turret that is on display beside the aircraft.:mad: I have a feeling that someeon had second thoughts about taking it with them while inside the plane!

Visiting & Viewing cockpits

To save hijacking LesB’s thread, I thought Id bring Sadsacks thread back to life. I have to agree with Bri’s comments about Hendon (LesB’s 922 thread), Ive never been there and was planning to go, but now, with the attitude hes described, NO WAY. If there is a shortage of volunteers or staff then I can understand a lack of cockpit entry, though Bournemouth has a few cockpits that they allow you unsupervised entry, and some obviously they require supervised entry.

If I wanted to stand and look at an aeroplane and think “Oh how pretty” or take a photo, I just have to stand outside an airfield or at the crowd line at an airshow.

Museums like Hendon are very famous and one would have thought they would have a good reputation, guess that theory has gone out the window.

Bex

I have never met a sixteen year old that didn’t know everything.

Yes Melv, I imagine you have ‘known’ a few well versed sixteen year olds…:) 😉 🙂

I aint having a go at him, I am sure he gives up plenty of time and I hope by now he knows a lot more than he did in summer 1996, when that picture was taken.

Its just that when a 16 year old knows more about the aircraft than the person meant to be telling you about them, oh dear!

I have never met a sixteen year old that didn’t know everything.

re:

I aint having a go at him, I am sure he gives up plenty of time and I hope by now he knows a lot more than he did in summer 1996, when that picture was taken.

Its just that when a 16 year old knows more about the aircraft than the person meant to be telling you about them, oh dear!

Just out of interest, how long ago was that photo taken?

Perhaps instead of criticising the guide who you say mis-informed you, you should actually be thanking him for giving up his time to help out at Old Warden so that the hangers can be opened to the likes of you to see Britain’s aviaition heritage. Without volunteers, many of these organisations would not be able to survive and open to the Public.

We all make mistakes, we are human.

I would guess the poor guide having given up a lot of valued time would understandably be offended to be told he was wrong, when told by a 16 year old!

If he’s the chap by the tailplane then he was our guide at this years Autumn Swimming Day – who doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about. Is he just willing and safe? Does he do it as a wind up? There are many possibilities…

Adrian

got it wrong heres the Hornet Moth, isnt it lovely!

And no longer at OW mores the pity, always felt sorry for the Hornet Moth there, for no other reason than SHE (not ‘it’ you heathen :p ) wore the (entirely accurate I’m sure) ‘Scarecrow’ impressed camo, when all her other civillian hangar mates had such nice bright ‘clothes’….

Uh oh, panel wipe addiction there manifesting itself….:eek:

TT

re

got it wrong heres the Hornet Moth, isnt it lovely!

re

Caption contest? I found the pic I mentioned, taken at OW. And thats not me clambering into the Rapide.

I would guess the poor guide having given up a lot of valued time would understandably be offended to be told he was wrong, when told by a 16 year old!

I was at an airshow a few years ago, talking to a young AH Cobra pilot. They were allowing people to get in the A/C and fiddle with the shiny things in there. While we were talking, with him saying he was glad HE had not signed the A/C out because of all the trouble and time it would take to readjust all the instruments and everything that were being messed with, his eyes got REAL BIG. He dashed to the cockpit and ushered a child out. He said the child was about two steps away from blowing the rotors off in preparation for ejecting.

I think he was having you on. The Cobra doesn’t have a crew ejection system… in fact, no US or other Western helo does. AFAIK, only the Russian KA-50 has the upward-firing, rotor blade-shedding system you describe.

Didnt realise it was so easy to get to Old Warden, I will look into it. mind you, seeing how spiky I can be on here, would you really want me dealing with the public!

Hi Sadsack, perhaps that would be a positive attitude to have, if you were to witness someone climbing one of the collections aircraft .

ATB
Digsworth

re

Didnt realise it was so easy to get to Old Warden, I will look into it. mind you, seeing how spiky I can be on here, would you really want me dealing with the public!

Agreed about the will and way bit, i used to cycle to Leeds train stn, take the train to Newark nth gate and cycle to the museum. occasionally i would spend the night in Newark at a B&B and be back there on the sunday too. age wasn’t an issue either as i started going when i was about 16 or 17.

all the best.

Greg

I would love to, but I’m up in Lincs and dont drive.

Seems to be plenty of volunteer work out there.
We do at the Collection have people who come from as far a field as Lincs to work on aircraft and much further too and under more trying circumstances.
You could do your volunteering in blocks and stay over.
As Nosedive says, where’s there’s a will…

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Not sure where you live in Linconshire
Train from Lincoln to Newark North Gate (25 mins)
Train from Newark North Gate to Peterborough (30 mins),
Train from Peterborough to Biggleswade (35 mins).
Bicycle from Biggleswade to Old Warden (10 min) – I do this part on a regular basis
total time, about 2 hours

Alternatively you could break your journey at Newark Northgate Station and become a volunteer at Newark!

http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/membership.htm

Or perhaps one of the Lincolnshire Groups – Thorpe Camp, Metheringham etc

Like many forumites Im also a volunteer, but at GAM near Gatwick, and I can normally be found with a pair of legs sticking out of our Canberra, and if someone wanted to look around its cockpit that would be fine with me as long as it was safe to do so and they dont mind getting dirty or wet. Ok our PR7 is a dead duck, (Not if Ive got anything to with it, Y should our Frightning gang have all the fun LoL) but I would only stop entry to the aircraft if I was doing something that I considered may interfeer with or spoil something I had recently done.

Id also hope that the visitor would listen to anything I had to say regarding safety, as I know which parts will “bite” back, as some of the forumites know me and know all too well when Ive lost a fight with a Cranberry LoL and had a good chuckle at my expense.

One thing I do enjoy about restoring this airframe is Ive been in contact with former aircrews who actually flew the aircraft in service, another is learning more about the aircraft Im working on, Im no Cranberry expert but I want to know more, so if I make a mistake in any statements on a PR7 then feel free to correct me.

Finally, providing a visitor respects the chance to gain entry to aircraft then it will continue, but if the bad apples want to ruin it by being stupid (Im being polite here) then im pretty sure pretty sure Museums and owners will change attitudes and stop anyone getting inside.

Bex

I would love to, but I’m up in Lincs and dont drive.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Not sure where you live in Linconshire
Train from Lincoln to Newark North Gate (25 mins)
Train from Newark North Gate to Peterborough (30 mins),
Train from Peterborough to Biggleswade (35 mins).
Bicycle from Biggleswade to Old Warden (10 min) – I do this part on a regular basis
total time, about 2 hours

re

So you don’t fancy becoming a Shuttleworth volunteer then?

I would love to, but I’m up in Lincs and dont drive.