Awesome work, that flight deck really looks the part now!
Now they’re all complete, I’m struck by how heavy and over-engineered the pilots’ seats are. Is there any reason why Shorts didn’t just use a sheet alloy seat a la Lancaster (or indeed like most other contemporary types)?!

I have mixed feelings about this.

On one hand, the decision to break up the collection does seem absurd – the Battle is such a crucial phase in the history of the RAF that it richly deserves its own display. And that the fact that much of it took place over and around London and the South East seems to fit incredibly neatly into the “local interest” agenda. What better way to engage with local communities that trying to tell the story of London as a war zone, all of which happened in the remarkably recent past and yet seems so alien to someone growing up in the capital today?

Still, I’ve always thought that the BoB display could do with starting again from scratch. No, I wasn’t a fan of the Beacon (!) but at the very least the displays look tired, the layout of the hall in that awkward “U” shape seems clunky, and the complete lack of natural light made the whole thing seem pokey, however much or little they turned on the artifical lights. The glazing of the end by the Sunderland made a huge difference, why not keep the building in its current purpose, but put some clear panels in the walls, and glaze the other end? I also feel like they could use the opportunity to focus the collection a little bit-the disposal of the Jungmeister definitely seems like the right decision, and to me, the Bf110 would look so much more poignant and powerful displayed with the Lancaster. I’d also swap the Battle for the Blenheim, relocate the CR42 to a new display elsewhere about the Middle East and Western Desert, and have the Gladiator, Stuka and Battle in a separate space at the beginning, setting the scene by telling the story of the disasters and heroism leading up to Dunkirk. Then the remaining aircraft could be re-arranged to tell the story in a more focused way, with the small artefacts, medals, uniforms etc interspersed rather than hidden away in an attic that’s always closed.

There’s a great opportunity here to turn the RAFM into something more widely accessible and improve the display of the exhibits; they look to have made an excellent start with the WW1 exhibition but I can’t help feeling apprehensive that they might blow it.

Super shots! Many thanks to the late lamented Mk.12 for sending them in. I particularly love the shot of it banking away from the camera over Freshwater. Something about the light quality reminds me of a wartime colour shot.

A terrific set of photos Errol, many thanks for sharing. Perhaps you need to set up a TVAL diary thread like the Duxford one!

Is the Lindbergh Miles Mohawk still in store at Stafford? Now that is an aircraft with relatively little relevance to the RAFM which would look wonderful in my “local” museum at Woodley!

‘I am pleased to confirm that work will commence on the conservation of IWM’s Handley Page Victor in late April 2016.
The aircraft will be dismantled in the Conservation Hall in AirSpace and transported to the Conservation in Action hangar. While a survey of the aircraft has shown the aircraft to be in better condition internally than the exterior appearance would suggest, the conservation work is likely to take between three and five years.
On completion, the Victor will be displayed in the AirSpace exhibition’

Best piece of news I’ve read all week, nay all year. 😀 I’ve been coming to Duxford since 2000, aged ten, and in the intervening sixteen years have worried about the Victor on every visit. It’ll be wonderful to finally see it getting the TLC it deserves.
Hope they’re correct about the interior condition. I took shelter under it during the thundery squalls last year at FL, and it did not look pretty up close, with water ingress from the top of the wing dripping out from under the engines.

That’s a pretty amazing rescue story, and great to hear that NASM are preserving such a significant machine. Thanks!