Westland Wessex's in Museums

I am pleasantly surprised by the amount of affection the Wessex is held in, and the number of ex-Wessex Wobblers there are on the forum.
And for those of you who didn’t see it on the other thread, a picture of the Wessex T shirt I bought my Son in MK last week…

Hello all,

Following on this thread, there is an ex SAR Wessex parked in the bottom of Capenwray Diving Centre up near Lancaster and a ‘Green’ Wessex of some sort outside Formby Range contol headquarters … by chance im investigating the posibility of purchasing this Formby machine SHOULD it come up for sale! If it does and im lucky, she will be going to the Walney Aviation Heritage Trust museum …. watch this space!

The Wessex is ‘Queen of the Skies’ says he with 1400 hrs on type kind courtesy of 72 Sqn RAF…

Fly Safe All …Neil

Old Fart
Just visited the Helicopter Museum who may be interested in some seat covers..

Pete,
one slight correction for you, they’re Whirlwinds!
good photos none the less!

Oh b#####, I thought there was something not quite right, same family though and how many of these exist.

The Helicopter Museum is at the located on the edge of the old Weston-Super-Mare airfield and is signposed (Very close to RAF Locking)

Managed a flight in a Wessex when on ATC camp at Stafford a few years back – I loved it…

Thanks Arm Waver, my first Wessex flight was on ATC camp at Coltishall in ’85 on a 22 sqn example, I was allowed to sit in the crewman’s seat (to the right of the door) and swivel around so that I could put my head out of the door!
That felt really daring, until I actually got onto training and had to go through the initiation steps:

The first item caused part of my downfall when I did that to the Crewman Leader…..

Pete,
one slight correction for you, they’re Whirlwinds!
good photos none the less!

I just dug these out of my brothers old photo album.
We were on holiday at Folkestone, August 1960 and for some reason went to Deal for the day only to find that this had just landed on the prom.
The first picture I scanned to see if I could make out the reg just in case this airframe had survived, but unfortunately the picture is too old and grainy for me to make it out, well it was taken with a Brownie, incidentally, I’m the youth standing in front with the filthy shorts, must have been caught short, no, no, my mother would never have allowed it.
Just for a laugh, second picture is of my only attempted take off in a Wessex, forgot to shut the clamshell doors though, I hope the pilot cleaned the seat afterwards.
I think thats my mother standing in front of the Bedford chatting up the aircrew, my old man was probably insulting the radio equipment on board, as he would, it never paid to take the old boy anywhere near any radio equipment.
My only other ‘trip’ in a Wessex was the flight to the carrier at Yeovilton, well, one of the kids believed it anyway.

The Helicopter Museum is at the located on the edge of the old Weston-Super-Mare airfield and is signposed (Very close to RAF Locking)

Managed a flight in a Wessex when on ATC camp at Stafford a few years back – I loved it…

Excuse my ignorance, but where is the Helicopter Museum, please?

We had one of the Queen’s flight Wessex visit us after dropping the Queen Mother off in Manchester, he got the wrong gate into Shawbury, realised his mistake halfway down and then swung right in front of us as he changed…our Captain had a little word in his shell-like!
I will dig out the photos later and scan them

G-ATBZ at THM was used on engine run days… I know the culprit who used the angle grinder on the blade that is shorn short in the photo. (No it wasn’t me)

These are some of the wessex at THM.

The Ulster Aviation Society Wessex is XR517, ex 72 & 60 sqdn and formly displayed outside the Transair shop at Shoreham.

Flew XV728 many times between 1993 and 1996, first with 60 then 72 Sqn. ‘Queen of the Skies’ 😎 . They don’t build ’em like that anymore. Don’t you feel old when the planes you flew in are in museums? 😮

I was a trainee Crewman from ’88-’89 at Shawbury, they were great in the training mode, as you didn’t have practice emergencies, you had real ones every flight! 😀

Certainly a solidly built aircraft that gave you a lot of confidence

XV728

Flew XV728 many times between 1993 and 1996, first with 60 then 72 Sqn. ‘Queen of the Skies’ 😎 . They don’t build ’em like that anymore. Don’t you feel old when the planes you flew in are in museums? 😮

I know that there is/was a helicopter sunk – not preserved I’m afraid – in a gravel pit in Leicestershire as a target for divers. Is that a Wessex? Anybody know? At the novice depths there was an ex BMA Viscount cockpit.

Yeah that’s a wessex, it’s at Stoney Cove along with the Viscount nose and a cessna/piper similar light aircraft

I know that there is/was a helicopter sunk – not preserved I’m afraid – in a gravel pit in Leicestershire as a target for divers. Is that a Wessex? Anybody know? At the novice depths there was an ex BMA Viscount cockpit.

There is a Dragonfly (WP503) submerged in Lancashire.

Also found this web site on old british military aircraft which might help Demobbed

Here’s Newark’s HC2, XV728.

It has now been moved inside the new display hangar.

A vietnam vet Choktaw is now flying in the US, but I think the problem with getting one flying over here is the availability of suitable Gnomes. I spoke to an operator of Wasps/Scouts who had looked into it.
The Dutch porloined quite a few engines for their sport of tractor pulling…..a tractor in the unlimited class can be fitted with 4 gnomes (or 5 ex-Shackleton Griffons). 🙁 😮
It is effectively drag-racing in mud, pulling a heavy sled….whatever pops your cork! :confused:

It take it there are none flying, but is there anychance of one taking to the air again?

Steve

I know that there is/was a helicopter sunk – not preserved I’m afraid – in a gravel pit in Leicestershire as a target for divers. Is that a Wessex? Anybody know? At the novice depths there was an ex BMA Viscount cockpit.