Thought provoking thread…..

What started as a thread which could have descended into some choice words being used, has actually proved quite thought provoking… so I had to add my own words on this.
My perspective is from my own personal experience both nowadays as a member of the Midland Air Museum, and from my time in the RAF.
Dealing with the public and aircraft has always been a task that I enjoy, and I have always made sure that the public are as safe as can be, when in or around any aircraft. By their very nature as machines, any aircraft can be dangerous if not treated with respect; and can also be easily (and expensively) damaged if mis-handled. I too have wanted to take photos of aircraft, and I too have wanted to sit in and get the feel of many aircraft.
When in the RAF, we had stringent H&S procedures when letting any public near an aircraft, most of which were obviously very ‘live’. Getting in a fairly modern fighter usually means dealing with Ejector seats, and to this day I treat ANY seat as ‘live’, as you get no second chance if a mistake is made. All entry to cockpits was under strict supervision, if access was allowed at all. From memory at some Airshows I worked, any exhibit where access was allowed, had to have thorough checks made before being powered up, to reset and double check all switches etc – just in case.

When I started at the Midland Air Museum back in the mid-90’s, and volunteered to look after the Hunter, I still had the same respect for aircraft and their dangers, but now had to adjust it to meet the wishes of the public and what was effectively a ‘dead’ airframe. The risk of damage to either aircraft or public was still the same, but at first the chance of making the aircraft unserviceable was minimal. However things changed somewhat once work had been carried out to restore electrical power once more. The concept was to provide a much more realistic exhibit (all lit up and whirring etc), but that meant that H&S had to be re-assessed once more. I would like to think that the Museum management realised that I had a reasonable amount of level-headedness and respect for their exhibit, as I was allowed to carry on and permit public to sit in whilst the cockpit was powered up – under VERY close supervision from myself. I even produced my own version of a set of cockpit procedures, based on Pilots notes – just to act as a safeguard. My own thoroughness was important to allow the continued access to the Hunter with power on. I always do my checks before power is on; I always watch wandering hands in the cockpit, and always brief anyone BEFORE they sit in. I can see the joy in their faces when they realise just what they are experiencing, and it is a very satisfying feeling knowing that their visit has been made even more pleasurable. Photos are easy to take within the Museum environment without increasing the risks of getting hurt by bumping into exhibits (thats why they are roped off of course).
What is important to me, is that I volunteer at the Museum to help them to help the visiting public. Public coming to visit is the Museum’s “bread & butter” – and we, the ‘staff’ are there to make their visit enjoyable as best we can. Risk assessments are a fact of life these days, and the Museum has always had a healthy respect for the safety of ALL. It is a juggle between letting the public as close as possible to an exhibit, coupled with keeping a watchful eye for anyone placing themselves at risk by ignoring the barriers / climbing in un-attended aircraft etc. As a guide at the Museum, I am dressed obviously enough so that the public can approach me and ask if they can get closer etc, and unless there is an over-riding reason why not, I am more than happy to oblige as long as their safety is assured. From time to time I have witnessed some folks who ignore the barriers etc, and usually a friendly warning is enough.
I can also comment on another point raised, that of juggling working on the aircraft or showing people around. From the start, yes it was a juggle whilst a lot of work was being carried out, and I tried to keep the continuity going whilst being polite. There were times when I never seemed to get any job complete, but I was happy enough to have the excuse of a break from the toil to show someone round…lol Once the major prep work had been done, the reverse happened… I spent more time showing people around (queues at the steps at times), and less actually working on it. To be fair though, the aircraft proved rather more reliable at the Museum than had been anticipated. My time commitments altered about 18 months ago, meaning I spent less time at the Museum, and I have to say that without the sterling work of others at the Museum getting the repaint sorted, and various electrical repairs carried out in my absence, it would have started to deteriorate I’m sure. Hopefully now that my circumstances have changed a bit, I will be able to return to the Museum soon, and continue to ‘do my bit’ and make some more visitors smile 😉

Oh and on a little side note:

I remember at Bruntingthorpe a few years ago the Hunter Taxi’ing past minus canopy, it was announced over the PA that some fool had pulled the jettison handle and that the seat would have to be removed to put it back on. That would have been surely catastophic if the canopy had flown into the crowd?

Fortunatley the Hunter’s canopy does not get ‘fired’ off, merely pushed up into the airflow off it’s rails. Same method for releasing trapped aircrew on ground by firecrews etc… Yes the point is clear enough – it shouldn’t have happened, and Joe Public doesn’t usually know which aircraft would or would not fire off a canopy etc… Makes me wonder what sort of supervision had been in place…..

In response to part of your question “My info says the hunter had 30mm?” – yes the Hunter was equiped with 4 x 30mm Aden Cannon with the ammuntion feeds built into a removable gunpack (the cannon barrels remaining fixed into the airframe)

That’s a brilliant find on the web…. I must say I’m full of admiration for those that carry out this level of model engineering. I have a friend who has been constructing parts for a scale March racing car for a few years – a commission job for someone with too much cash…lol The attention to detail is amazing. Does anyone remember Robbie Coltraine’s TV series when he covered a fully working racing car micro-engineering model of a Ferrari? The March my friend’s helping build is on a similar scale….. 😮
Love that Corsair’s details, and that scratch built working micro-jet on the same site is amazing!

Nice Pics……

Some nice shots there – seems the refurb has come out well.

I love the last shot……lol
Dunno whether it should go into the long standing “How Low Can You Go” thread – or in a new one : “How The Heck Did They See Out Of That?”…. :diablo:
Must admit the silver canopy and windscreen look a whole lot better than a faded perspex look.

Maybe it’s this one?

AN-12 wreck at Kabul International

Would have posted the pic but for copywright etc… 😉

Or……….. I’ll favour the exchange of the 2 engines for something worthwhile from Cosford, and a return of their example to taxi-ing status ready for the Cosford Air Show in……… 2010 perhaps? Gawd that would get the crowds in…. :p :diablo:
(I’m assuming that Cosford’s TSR2 has a more fitted out cockpit???)

Its the ex-Chivenor gate guard complete with its original plinth as well 😮

When it arrived in Hull, Humbrol had it repainted before going ‘on the gate’. Naturally they supplied the paints 😀

.

Pity the poor sod who got tasked with that job and got given 40,000 little tins of Dark Sea Grey and Matt Green…..

Sorry, couldn’t resist it :diablo: