I finally got around to going to Hendon yesterday and I was very unimpressed. The Graham White hanger is great, although a bit sparse on additional information and display boards (yes they could move those engines – I don’t think a lot of planning has gone into this part of te museum!)
The Bomber Command “Night Bombers at night” part is pathetic. A lacky told me that they had turned the lights of to make it better for photographers! That is a first on me, less light for better pictures. He also told me he thought the Lanc looked better in the dark. I bit my lip and did not tell him that I thought he was an idiot and should be shot.
Millstones didn’t do a lot for me. I got the feeling that a hell of a lot of money got spent on what is basically an enlarged Nissen Hut (semi-circular building is hardly cutting-edge design) and although the Eurofighter and Bleriot are positoined well the rest was uninspired. It is a shame that no one looked at the Musee de l”Air to see how this sort of thing should be done (right down to the blue screens over the windows to colour balance the light from the electrical lighting).
My least favourite bit was the BB hall. What the hell is going on there? You can’t get around if the ‘fifteen’ minute presentation is going on (and let’s face it we get all of that about three times a week on the Hitler Channel) and bearing in mind the time it takes to shepherd people through the dark to their seats and get them out again that takes up about half an hour each hour and the place makes the Bomber hall look like it is blazing sunlight.
I also thought the rest of the museum was hapharzardly arranged, crowded, and the snack bar thingie by the Spit 24 intrusive on space.
All museums need to move with the times but it needs to be done sympathetically.
Melvyn Hiscock
By: Papa Lima - 10th April 2004 at 17:19
Kev35:
wouldn’t a timed exposure eliminate the “people milling around” (as long as none of them trip over your tripod in the dark!)
A light-hearted observation from Sweden!
However, although I have not been to Hendon for years, it sounds as if it’s no place to take my camera!
By: kev35 - 10th April 2004 at 16:37
Of course the Lancaster looks better in the dark, you can’t see the dust. I have been twice in the last two years and each time it gets worse. Why don’t they just scrap the Battle? It’s perfectly obvious the RAF Museum are ashamed to have it as part of their collection. It’s one of the aircraft I would really like to see, it is evocative of the sacrifice of the RAF during May, 1940, and where is it? Tucked away so it can barely be seen. Cruise missile in Milestones of Flight. Why? Is it because it represents the technology which allows the wrong country to be hit? The black hole that is the Bomber Command Hall might as well be closed half the time. The only way to get decent photos is to use a timed exposure and a tripod which due to the amount of people milling around is not really that practical.
I can cope with the BoB Hall, education ensures that future generations might have at least some of the feeling for that period which we all share.
I don’t know about a petition but perhaps what they really need is a whip round to pay the electricity bill!
Regards,
kev35
By: Dez - 10th April 2004 at 02:38
As for Milestones, I was unimpressed by the building and the layout. It cost a lot of money and I am not convinced that it was spent in the best way.
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Agreed! If you look at what display space that building actualy has? a third of it is taken up by a reception area/cafe/’control tower’ type thing.
I for one enjoy ‘Our Finest Hour’ if it can educate at least a few more people, particularly younger people then its worth it! again the layout is a bit messy!
Overall i do enjoy visiting Hendon, i think the next year or two will be key and we will see plenty more changes…
By: Hatton - 9th April 2004 at 22:53
Originally posted by Dez
Melvyn, i think your comments are a bit hard, however each to there own opinion!;)I feel that the museum is going through a very transitional period and im sure plans are a foot to sort out some of the comments you and others have made…
The thing to remember is though is that these are OUR aircraft. They are national assets and the RAF Museum is a national museum therefore they should listen to the public comment on how these artefacts are being cared for and displayed. Sadly they do not. Complaints about the lighting at Hendon and S-Sugar have been raised time before whether it be through comment forms, letters, verbal concerns or thorugh lancman foaming at the mouth by the Lanc 😉
We shoudl be thankful we have such a fantastic collection of aircraft which are in dry covered surroundings but none of us can kid ourselves that the way aircraft are presented at Hendon is in the league of say Duxford or Elvington.
By: Melvyn Hiscock - 9th April 2004 at 20:03
Originally posted by Dez
Melvyn, i think your comments are a bit hard, however each to there own opinion!;)I feel that the museum is going through a very transitional period and im sure plans are a foot to sort out some of the comments you and others have made…
Agreed the main museum is in a state of flux and remember I did say I liked the WW1 stuff, but the BoB thing is very limiting to visitors that do not want yet another Battle of Britain intro film and the lighting is awful. The lighting in the Bomber Command museum has been mentioned on this forum before and I thought those comments were a bit harsh until I went there and saw it for myself. To then have someone tell me this was to make photographs easier was ludicrous and shows a lack of basic understanding since I doubt the person I spoke to was mouthing his own words, just the official line.
I simply cannot believe that anyone might think that making a museum gloomy is going to appeal to anyone.
As for Milestones, I was unimpressed by the building and the layout. It cost a lot of money and I am not convinced that it was spent in the best way.
I got the feeling that the museum had lost its way and I have been a frequent visitor over the past twenty years.
MH
By: Dez - 9th April 2004 at 19:24
Melvyn, i think your comments are a bit hard, however each to there own opinion!;)
I feel that the museum is going through a very transitional period and im sure plans are a foot to sort out some of the comments you and others have made…
By: Bluebird Mike - 9th April 2004 at 15:02
Yup, the ground crew display at the Wimpey is fine; not too over-powering of the aircraft as a whole itself, and the background tape of clanging noises is subtle and evocotive. My grandad really was one of those guys once, and he was impressed and moved by it.
I’d like to see something like this done for the Lanc- a full crew, gear in hand, gathered around by the rear door, with perhaps just one on the ladder. The rear door would be open, giving Joe Public a tantalising glimpse of the interior. You could even go all the way and have a crew bus parked there; after all, Sugar’s most photographed side is her port, nose art side, so even having a bus on the other side would not detract from the aircraft overall.
Still, I despair at the place, I really do.
🙁
By: Dave Homewood - 9th April 2004 at 14:33
I visited Hendon in 1993, and I was over-awed by the contents of the museum, and to me, coming from the other side of the world, I did think it was a great experience – one I had long dreamed about.
However, even then I was struck by the lack of imagination in the displaying of those wonderful planes. I found that many of my photos did not turn out too well because of the poor lighting in the museum, and now I hear the lighting is much worse!?!
And I felt that they really needed to make the whole thing a bit more dramatic than simply squeezing as many planes into a hangar that can fit. It was difficult to see some of the planes due to the way they were crammed together.
It is sad that 11 years later things are no better, and on the contrary, seemingly are getting worse. As far as displaying the aircraft with lighting goes, I feel they could do not better than to take a look at how the RNZAF Museum does it. They consulted a theatrical lighting company to help set up the displays, with an absolutely wonderful effect. You’re not allowed to use flash photography in the museum, but the lighting is so good you don’t need it if you have a tripod (see a few photos I took here:
http://forum.airforces.info/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23627&highlight=rnzaf+museum)
I’m sure that the Hendon management realise that they have an amazing collection, but I wish they could put a bit of thought into presenting their colection to the public. Let’s hope that things change for the better soon.
Here is one of the displays i was impressed with there – the Wellington with a few dummies to add drama – they need more of this sort of thing, it brings the aircraft to ‘life’ – though I think they should custom build the dummies and not get the offcasts from Grace Brother’s window display!
By: Bluebird Mike - 9th April 2004 at 14:05
Some form of petition of opinions to old Foppy might be a good idea. How could we arrange that?
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April 9, 2004 at 1:38 pm