Recovering from awesome ” Stars of Time” event yesterday. !500 visitors in a single day was an interesting test of the museum’s ability to handle large numbers,especially when you see a Dalek at the cafe hatch asking for a coffee!
Ken Wallis an absolute star too,spending almost all day with “Little Nellie” chatting to visitors about his film role and completely unmoved by Darth Vadar’s heavy breathing .Absolute hoot !

Next week the museum is hosting a visit by the Westland team who prepared and supported the Lynx World Record 25 years ago…..

Updating …our hangar looks strangely empty of Lynx at present ,following the departure of ZE477 to join XX910 at Yeovilton.G-LYNX is being unveiled to the Westland workforce on Friday 8th July and then returns here with the other two on 11th,all looking nice and new!
Meanwhile several others have been repositioned in readiness.

We have been having a major sort-out of spares recently and are trying to re-store in a more logical manner but the recent disposal of three spare W30 cabins meant a hurried filling of containers and we are now almost back to square one.Most of the bits are Wessex and Whirlwind and other older types so cant help with Lynx panel bits at present but will keep an eye open.

Restoration wise the Belvedere crew are wanting to move the aircraft to put the rear rotorhead back on and then are probably in a position to fit the tailplanes and begin working on restoring the main rotor blades and repainting the aircraft. However that will need another carefully planned move around in that part of the museum….still at least we don’t have to fit it though a nine foot door like IWM and the B-17 !

Well today was an opportunity to see some of the helicopters outdoors whist the chess game was played in the hangar.
I went down at lunchtime to see the Queens Flight Whirlwind being moved by a number of chiefs and few injuns ,which is usually a recipe for disaster.
However once a little bit of order was restored it seemed to be going OK.
Hopefully by tomorrow all will be in place ,ready for next month when the Lynx fleet returns !
This weekend is Fathers Day with quite a few flights booked already.Just hope the sun shines a bit.
Working up too for the Stars of Time event at the end of the month…Dr Who,James Bond etc etc …should be great fun.Was that really a Dalek I saw today in the hangar…oh yes it was!

Will it..wont it…The Museum has been asked to loan out the stretched Lynx 3 for Yeovilton Air Day and now we have to see if we can get it out and back in after relocating the Mi-8.Otherwise we may have to delay the move until mid July.Other smaller moves will go ahead on the 18th anyway. Expect rain that day !

Probably not fussed…the originals were 145hp Continental IO-300Cs.