Vimy

She’s out on Duxford’s flightline as i speak.!!

Brian you should have stayed!!:rolleyes::D

STAYED 😮

The roads had turned into rivers and it was interesting watching the hail stones shatter and splatter all over the windscreen of the bus 😀

Brian

Brian you should have stayed!!:rolleyes::D

Has it reached Duxford yet?

At 16.00 an almighty storm dumped itself on Duxford with thunder/lightning/hail stones/rain. It cleared up enough to get from Hanger 5 to main entrance but then it started up again at 16.45, just as the bus turned up, with all of the above being dumped on Duxford again and most of the way into Cambridge.:eek:

Brian

NEWS FROM BROOKLANDS MUSEUM
15 JUNE 2009

VIMY RETURNS TO ENGLAND TODAY
WILL STOP OFF AT FAIROAKS AIRPORT MID-AFTERNOON

09.55 15 June 2009
The Brooklands Museum Vimy NX71MY is due to leave Galway Airport in the next few minutes en route to Fairoaks Airport in Surrey, where it will be on the ground for approx. one hour for a Press Call before departing for its final destination of Duxford. Depending on the weather (currently fine with predicted light tail winds) the Vimy should take about four and a half hours to fly to Fairoaks. Viewing facilities will be available at Fairoaks. Updates on the Vimy’s progress will be issued throughout the day on the Brooklands Museum Website www.brooklandsmuseum.com.

For further information call

Allan Winn, Museum Director: 01932 857381
Roger Ramage, Museum PR: 01932 857381 ext 238

VIMY

Thanks for that info.GASYD are there any pics of this great event?
Nosmo

More news!

14th June 2009. TRANSATLANTIC BIPLANE RETURNS TO IRELAND

BROOKLANDS VIMY TRIUMPHS AT THE CONNEMARA AIR SHOW.

Yesterday the Brooklands Museum’s Vickers Vimy replica flew over the bay at Clifden, Galway, as the finale of the Connemara Air Show. Its flight marked the 90th anniversary of Alcock and Brown’s pioneering non-stop transatlantic flight of June 1919.

In 2005 this same aeroplane, piloted by Mark Rebholz and the late Steve Fossett, re-enacted the 1919 flight in 18 hours, 22 minutes, landing near Clifden, just as the original Vimy had done 90 years earlier.

Brooklands Museum’s chief pilot, John Dodd, a highly experienced flyer and display pilot, with 13,500 flying hours in his logbook, said “This has been the most significant aviation event I have ever been involved in. The aeroplane is unique and, with a wingspan of 68 feet, it is the largest airworthy biplane in the world”.

Engineer and copilot Clive Edwards said “in 30 years of flying worldwide on numerous aviation adventures, this one has really stood out. By operating this big old biplane, we are stepping back in time and learning how it used to be done 90 years ago”.

Brooklands Museum General Manager, Julian Temple, said “after the Vimy successfully completed the transatlantic re-enactment in 2005 she was donated to Brooklands Museum and we were delighted to be in Clifden this weekend to pay tribute to Alcock and Brown and to what we consider the most important flight in aviation history”.

The Vimy will be on show to the public at Duxford Airfield, Cambridge, throughout the summer. It will then be retired for permanent preservation at Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey, where Vimys were built at the end of World War One.

For more information visit www.brooklandsmuseum.com and www.connemaraairshow.ie. or contact Julian Temple on 07871 085049.

Hi Brian,

Latest news: The Vimy is scheduled to depart Galway at 09:00a and arrive at Fairoaks at around 13:00a. She will depart Fairoaks for Duxford somewhen later that afternoon with a flypast at Brooklands on route.
All above allowing for weather and serviceability.

Hope to see some of You there? (or there, or there!!)

Cheers

Many thanks.

I’ll be there, at Duxford, tomorrow and hopefully it’ll arrive before the museum closes.:D

Brian

Hi Brian,

Latest news: The Vimy is scheduled to depart Galway at 09:00a and arrive at Fairoaks at around 13:00a. She will depart Fairoaks for Duxford somewhen later that afternoon with a flypast at Brooklands on route.
All above allowing for weather and serviceability.

Hope to see some of You there? (or there, or there!!)

Cheers

Watch this space for more news where it will land!!

Not Duxford?

Brian

Ok, Nosmo,

Nothing on TV seen here either but possibly in the weekend editions of the Daily Mail with air to air shots.

Vimy still due back into UK on Monday, weather permiting. Watch this space for more news where it will land!!

Cheers

VIMY

Thanks for that info. I have not seen anything on the TV news about it flying to Ireland on this important anniversary.
Nosmo

12th June 2009. THE BROOKLANDS VIMY RETURNS TO CLIFDEN TO COMMEMORATE THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF ALCOCK AND BROWN’S 1919 TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT.

Brooklands Museum’s historic airworthy Vickers Vimy replica NX71MY arrived back in Ireland yesterday as part of the 90th anniversary celebrations of Alcock and Brown’s historic landfall there in June 1919 after making the world’s first non-stop transatlantic flight.

In 2005, this same aeroplane, piloted by Mark Rebholz, and the late Steve Fossett, took off from Newfoundland completing the epic journey in 18 hours, 22 minutes, retracing Alcock and Brown’s heroic flight before landing on the golf course at Ballyconneely, Galway.

After a 5-hour flight yesterday from Duxford Airfield in Cambridgeshire, the Brooklands Vimy crossed the Irish Sea in bright sunshine and near perfect weather conditions before landing at Galway Airport at 18.00 hours.

Brooklands Museum’s chief pilot, John Dodd, arrived with a huge smile on his face, and told the waiting crowd “that was fantastic, the Vimy performed like a dream and it was so enjoyable that we were tempted to keep on flying”.

Engineer and co-pilot, Clive Edwards, said “the aircraft performed faultlessly and of the many historic aircraft that I have worked on, the Vimy goes down as the best experience of all”.

Brooklands Museum General Manager, Julian Temple, said “after the Vimy successfully completed the transatlantic re-enactment in 2005 she was donated to Brooklands Museum and we are delighted to be in Clifden this weekend to pay tribute to Alcock and Brown and what we consider to be the most important flight in aviation history”.

At a press conference today at Galway Airport to launch tomorrow’s Connemara Air Show, the Vimy was photographed flying over Galway and was then joined by two “Team Guinot” Stearman biplanes complete with wing- walkers for a unique formation flypast.

At the Connemara Air Show on Saturday, June 13th, at Clifden, the Vimy will be the star attraction of the afternoon’s air display.

For more information visit www.brooklandsmuseum.com and www.connemaraairshow.ie. or contact Julian Temple on 07871 085049.

Thanks to the great effort of the team the Vimy flew out from Duxford at 12:43 and landed at Galway Airport at 18:00.

She will be back at Duxford, weather allowing on Monday 15th or Tuesday 16th.
Will post more news when I hear.

Cheers

Vimy in the air this evening at around 18.51pm

Subject to the wonderful June weather and the team putting her back together and tarting her up a bit!, the Vimy is attempting up 3 flights today, the first pencilled in at 11:00.

Hope to see some of You there..

Cheers
GASYD

Many, many thanks for the information, great to get news on it from an official source. A Vimy coming in at Brooklands again would be quite something to see! Here’s hoping it happens.

DongleUK,

The answer to Your question supplied by a museum spokesman:

“There is provision for a grass airstrip at Brooklands on land now owned by Mercedes-Benz World and this is intended purely for limited use by Brooklands Museum. Although not yet fully prepared and ready for use, our Vimy pilots have already recce’d it on the ground and plan to carry out some trial approaches/landings with a suitable light aircraft in the near future to determine work required to enable the Vimy to be flown in there later this year. The next obvious questions will be how can the aeroplane then be moved across the river Wey onto the museum site and where will it be housed. Both of these tasks are achievable and their planning will begin in earnest after the Alcock & Brown 90th Anniversary”.

Hope that helps,

Cheers

DongleUK,

The answer to Your question supplied by a museum spokesman:

“There is provision for a grass airstrip at Brooklands on land now owned by Mercedes-Benz World and this is intended purely for limited use by Brooklands Museum. Although not yet fully prepared and ready for use, our Vimy pilots have already recce’d it on the ground and plan to carry out some trial approaches/landings with a suitable light aircraft in the near future to determine work required to enable the Vimy to be flown in there later this year. The next obvious questions will be how can the aeroplane then be moved across the river Wey onto the museum site and where will it be housed. Both of these tasks are achievable and their planning will begin in earnest after the Alcock & Brown 90th Anniversary”.

Hope that helps,

Cheers

On a related note, does anyone know how plans are progressing for a grass strip at Brooklands? Last I heard a couple of years ago the museum was to get one as part of the redevelopment of the old airfield site.

If this is still the plan, then is there a chance the Vimy might be operated from it at some future point? I only ask as the statement says the Vimy is to be kept ‘live’.

VIMY NEWS LATEST – 5 June 2009

BROOKLANDS VIMY APPEAL LAUNCHED WITH SPECIAL LECTURE:
FUNDS RAISED WILL HELP PAY FOR APPEARANCE AT
ALCOCK & BROWN 90TH ANNIVERSARY DISPLAY

Brooklands Museum has celebrated the launch of its Vimy Appeal Fund with a successful initial fund-raising evening. The fund will help the Museum cover some of the costs of the Brooklands Vimy’s farewell flying appearances and permanent display in this, the 90th anniversary year of two great Vimy pioneering flights, the first transatlantic crossing and first flight from England to Australia in 1919.

The Museum’s airworthy Vickers Vimy replica NX71MY is due to revisit Clifden in County Galway, Ireland, to mark the 90th anniversary of Alcock and Brown’s historic landfall there in June 1919. It will also undertake special flights in November to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Smith Brothers’ historic flight to Australia.

This first fund-raising evening was held at short notice on 3rd June, and featured a superbly-illustrated lecture on the Vimy’s three re-enactment flights given by Vimy Triple Crown co-ordinator Jenny Moseley with help from three special guests: the Vimy’s instigator, original owner and pilot, Peter McMillan; the Editor of ‘Aeroplane’, Mick Oakey; and the Museum’s chief pilot, John Dodd.

Jenny also conducted an auction of some super prizes donated by Vimy enthusiasts including Vimy memorabilia, a flight in a vintage Piper Cub, a Tower of London VIP tour and a flight in Brooklands Museum’s new Concorde Simulator. An impressive total of more than £2,400 was raised from the auction proceeds and donations made on the night, which will help offset some of the costs of the aeroplane’s anniversary flight to Ireland.

The Vimy is currently based at Duxford, Cambs, courtesy of the Imperial War Museum. Weather permitting, the aeroplane will be test flown at Duxford next Wednesday (10th June) and depart directly for Galway on the morning of Thursday 11th. On the 12th she is scheduled to fly before the world’s press at the launch of the Connemara Airshow at Galway airport at noon. The Vimy will then appear as the highlight of the show on Saturday 13th June before returning to England on the 14th or 15th.

This coming November, after the Vimy marks the 90th anniversary of the first flight from England to Australia, Brooklands Museum intends (in agreement with its Trustees, the Vimy’s previous owners and the Civil Aviation Authority), to retire the aeroplane as a permanent ’live exhibit’ at Brooklands.

All offers of support including further donations should be sent to Julian Temple, General Manager – Museum Operations, Brooklands Museum, Brooklands Road, Weybridge, Surrey. KT13 0QN. Tel: 01932 857381 ext. 240 or 0787 1085049; email: [email]juliantemple@brooklandsmuseum.com[/email]. Payments should be made to ‘Brooklands Museum Trust Ltd’.

5 June 2009