14/03/2021 – Update from NASAM …

Diary Dates

CLICK on heading to GO

In the last edition, we published a note from the Chairman giving an overview of when we are likely to be open again. These dates are published again below as a reminder.

The museum will be open weekly on a Sunday from Sunday the 18th of April. Once we see the reaction, and if it is positive, we hope to open on more days. However, we do intend to open on the Bank Holiday Monday the 3rd of May as well. The current plans are that the museum will be open on:

Sunday 18th April
Sunday 25th April
Sunday 2nd May
Monday 3rd May
Sunday 9th May and
Sunday 16th May

These dates will be added to our Social Media Calendars shortly. If the government unlock process continues as per plan, we should also be able to open up the buildings to the public from Monday 17th May. We will publish these dates as soon as they are known.

We are unable to open the NAAFI café just yet, so we will be serving hot drinks on a takeaway basis from a kiosk outside.

Weather permitting we will open the hangar doors fully so that people can see inside, and we will attempt to move some of the exhibits outside if we can.

Keep an eye on this blog and our Social Media sites for more information on dates and on what exhibits are being moved outside. for the day.

This Edition Of The Online Flier

Diary Dates Reminder ↑
Stay Up-To-Date →
Huby, Flixton Stalwart ↓
Brain Teaser
Auster T10 Update
Photo Scanning Continues
Office Update
Gallery Section
Coming Next Edition
Another Brain Teaser
More Scanning Updates
Would You Like To Help

Stay Up-To-Date

To stay up-to-date, especially with the reopening possibilities, we suggest that readers keep an eye on the blog and our Social Media sites. Links to the Social Media sites can be found at the foot of this blog.

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HUBY FAIRHEAD

A SHORT REVIEW OF A LENGTHY AND DEDICATED FLIXTON STALWART.

(Ed – With grateful thanks to the contributions of both IAN HANCOCK and IVAN LAST, this article first appeared in the Newsletter sent out to Members in Feb 2021).

In 1973 HUBY joined the Flixton team and it was not long before he became an active member of the Committee as well as taking on the role of Secretary for a number of years. He also took on the role of newsletter editor up until 1997.

HUBY took on many challenges and carried out a large amount of the physical work himself, including a new concrete floor in the Buck Barn, part barn conversion into a uni-sex toilet, and took leading roles (with others) in procuring a number of the site’s aircraft.

Thanks to a grant within a regeneration scheme funded by the East of England Development Agency/Suffolk CC/European Regional Development Fund early in 1999, the museum was at last able to move forward with a number of key projects on site including the building of a toilet block, production of leaflets and aircraft signage, installation of 3 phase power, erection of fencing and planning and building of the Adair Walk. This grant also allowed the museum to take HUBY on as museum keeper to enable the regular opening of the museum.

In 2010 HUBY took on the additional volunteer role of Curator, successfully revamping and adding artefacts, photographs, and notes of interest to many displays. These roles included the ordering of stock for the NAAFI and Shop and required him to travel regularly to pick up and deliver stock, mostly when the museum was closed.

HUBY worked with other museum members and contributed much to the content and production of a number of booklets on AIRFIELDS OF EAST ANGLIA.

Another valuable contribution was that of developing and collection of artefacts, memorabilia, and historical data relating to the Royal Observer Corps, which he had served in for around 30 years, most certainly a part of the Flixton Site which always held a special interest for him.

His wife JOSIE supported him, working in the Shop and NAAFI throughout his time as our Keeper/Manager/Curator. We do not recall HUBY taking sick leave, and never more than a couple of days annual holiday each year. He always called in at the museum on his days off to check security, work on exhibits, and feed the cats. The cats became visitor attractions in their own right all supporting aviation names.

HUBY worked long hours, and on many occasions gave up free time to escort visitors around the museum and the airfield when they could not arrive during opening times. He would pop in during seasonal closed periods to check on site security, even on Christmas days!

The museum has been his life.

HUBY …. Thank You

Brain Teaser

In this edition, we have the second set of anagram brain teaser puzzles. The subject is still “Aircraft in the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum“. The only clue is, the number of words in both anagram and aircraft name is the same.

hand live lava indexes
week hark awash
beardless priggishly prongs
pipers valance rice
crispiness upmarket verifier

Go to the solution

Auster T10 Update

Restoration of the Auster T10 continued last year before the government COVID lockdown prevented Volunteers from working on the project. John Self who has been overseeing and working on the project for a number of years now sent in some photos and explanations of what had been going on towards the end of 2020 when the airframe was covered.

Gwen and her paint team have also been involved in the priming and top coating of the airframe. This is set to continue once the Volunteers are allowed to resume work after the lockdown is lifted.

A new spinner has been produced by a friend of the museum and added to the project.

The photos have been linked with John’s words in a video. This 2-minute look at the restoration is below.

NASAM Auster T10 Renovation Pt II

This video and others from the museum can be seen on the NASAM YouTube channel @

NASAM YouTube Videos

Photo Scanning

Несколько российских самолетов

Paul R, one of the Volunteers, doing the scanning of photos, now reports that he is on to an album with Several Russian Planes from airshows in 1998 at Fairford and Farnborough. Six of these are reproduced in the gallery below (Soviet #1 through #6):

Tupolev Tu-22M – NATO reporting name ‘Backfire’ – a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s.
Ilyushin Il-76 ‘Candid B’ – a multi-purpose four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union’s Ilyushin design bureau.
MiG-21 ‘Fishbed J’ – a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau.
Antonov An-74 ‘Coaler B’ – a Soviet/Ukrainian transport aircraft developed by Antonov. It is a variant of the An-72.
Mig-29K ‘Fulcrum’ – a twin-engine jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter.
Antonov An-2 ‘Colt’ – a Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bureau.

A Few Monochrome Images

An update from Paul M with a few monochrome photos being scanned from an album. These have short descriptions about where and when they were taken, as follows:

Album 3-042 is a Primary Glider
Album 3-068 An RAF parade inspected by Trenchard 1950
Album 3-100 Trenchard plus two 2 RAF corporals
Album 3- 107 RAF regiment Armoured car Celle Germany C1950
Album XX-001 Princess Margaret Wildenrath 16-7-64
Album XX -003 Jimmy Edwards Wildenrath 22-7-64

Interesting to note that the last one above is of Jimmy Edwards who served in the RAF during WWII and was awarded the DFC. He served with 271 Sqn based at Doncaster and took part in the D-Day landings. His Dakota was shot down at Arnhem in 1944 which resulted in his facial injuries which required plastic surgery and which he disguised with his famous handlebar moustache which was very much his trademark in his later career. His injuries and plastic surgery made him a member of the Guinea Pig Club.

Just a Random Update

Continuation of the scanning is still ongoing, with Steve sending in the following four shots from an album that all came from the same person. These are labelled below as Random #1 through Random #4.

A British Mystery

And finally, some more from Michael who is now working his way through a “British Airways History Album”. This album was owned by Kenneth S, again Michael has some questions on a few of the pictures. The pictures are all prefixed with BA #n.

First up is a mystery aircraft – no information written apart from on the back it says, Post Card. The aircraft registration is clear: BA #1 G-AMAG. Does anybody know what it is, when it served BEA and when the photo was taken?
The second is, I think, BA #2 Armstrong-Whitworth Argosy. Not a very good photo, this time without any clues from the photograph collector or the print itself, even the registration on the tail is blurred in the original. Any ideas on this one, anybody?
Next is BA#3 British Airways Lockheed Tristar, G-BBAG read from the picture itself, turning onto the runway. The origin of the photograph and about the aircraft are not given. Any information would be useful.
Another unusual aircraft in the B.O.A.C. Fleet, BA #4 is this de Havilland 104 Dove G-AMZY used, according to Kenneth Spencer, by B.O.A.C. as a training aircraft and ‘runabout’ at Heathrow in 1959.
Finally, what many regard as one of the best-looking airliners, if not aircraft ever built, and should need no introduction. BA #5 Concorde, No mystery as to what, but which one yes?. Nothing on the photograph identifies it. Who cares, Michael couldn’t resist the picture.

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Office Update

Further work has taken place in the office. Notice boards have been fixed to the walls allowing us to keep everyone informed. In order to brighten up the place a bit some of the stored artwork has been hung as well.

It’s beginning to look a bit more homely as shown in the photos below (Office Update #1 through #3).

Steve Bell

Gallery Section

RAF regiment Armoured car Celle Germany C1950

BA #3 British Airways Lockheed Tristar G-BBAG

BA #4 is this de Havilland 104 Dove G-AMZY

Coming In The Next Edition

Nothing is in the pipeline as yet for the next edition, but I know we will have at least:

Another short brain teaser on aircraft in the museum, and
A few more photographs from the archives

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Would You Like To Help

The museum continues to incur expenses for insurance, maintenance and some essential running costs, and I make no apologies for keeping this section in the blog. Normally being part-funded mostly by visitor and membership donations, in these restricted times, we have been forced to rely on some grants from local and national authorities to help us meet some, but not all, of those costs.

If you feel able to help the museum, there are several ways you can do this. Help by becoming a Museum Member, also by Volunteering to help at the museum, or by donating to assist in our running costs. To become a Museum Member or to Volunteer Member, please click on the appropriate button below to see the details on our main website.