24/04/2021 – Update from NASAM …

Update from the Chairman

Open Again

On Sunday 18th April the museum opened its gates again.  Only the outside was open and we had no idea how many people would visit. It was a lovely day and the NAAFI was open for takeaway service. On the day, we moved two smaller aircraft outside and some exhibits to the hangar entrance so they could be seen easily.  Photos of the day can be seen below Sunday 18 Apr 21 01 thru Sunday 18 Apr 21 05.

Over the course of the six hours that we were open over 100 people came through the gates and engaged with the volunteers who were there to assist. The NAAFI did a brisk trade and several people sat around the site enjoying a cuppa in the sunshine.

Let’s hope for similar weather this week.

Work Day

An odd sort of day this week. Towards the end of last year, and before the most recent lockdown, a lot of brambles had been cleared from the front meadow. Initially, we loaded these onto a small trailer and carted them to the back of the site where a bonfire saw them off. Luckily Phil, landlord of the Buck Inn, saw us and offered to bring a large trailer onto the site which we loaded and he carted off. This was repeated three times! We would have been there quite a while with the 5′ x 3′ trailer! (photos are shown as Work Day 01 thru Work Day 03).

Steve Bell

 

No Ordinary Joe – Audio Drama (repeat)

INK commissioned playwright, Martyn Wade to tell the dramatic and tragic story of Joe Kennedy Jnr, the elder brother of JFK, who as a young man seemed destined to become President of the United States – until, that is, the Second World War intervened. No Ordinary Joe, No Ordinary Kennedy examines Joe’s complex character, and traces events which led Joe to volunteering for a top-secret and highly dangerous mission, in which he was required to fly a Liberator plane packed with explosives and bail out before it crossed the Channel. Tragically his plane exploded over Blythburgh, Suffolk killing him and his co-pilot, Lt. Wilford John Willy (Bud). This play is to honour them both and all those who flew and lost their lives during WWII.

Originally planned last year to tour Suffolk airfields including the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum,  No Ordinary Joe, No Ordinary Kennedy is now being performed as an audio drama. An optional small donation will be suggested to help raise funds for INK and The Halesworth Museum.  The link to the page containing the audio drama can be found @ No Ordinary Joe

Full details of the drama and production can be found at the foot of the blog published on the 10th of April 2021.  This can be found @ NASAM Online Flier – 10/04/2021

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General Updates

Volunteers are back in reasonable numbers now and getting busy with various projects and maintenance tasks in and around the museum as well as on the Memorial Site.  Updates to some of that work are below in addition to updates on the time-consuming work of scanning photos, documents, stickers, and other items suitable for recording on a photographic database.

Paint Team Out and About

Barry, from the paint team, sent in a couple of reports this time around.  First from the week before opening and the second from this last week.

Week 13 April 2021 –

This Tuesday saw the continuation of pressure washing the outside exhibits. The tally of cleaned aircraft now extends to include the Phantom (show in the photo Paint Team Phantom), both the T28 and the Pucara (Paint Team T28 and Pucara) plus the Westland Whirlwind (Paint Team Whirlwind). Gwen also made a start on refreshing some of the (faded) markings on selected aircraft in the lower field; the first up being the T33 (Paint team T33 01).

Week 20 April 2021 –

This week there were three separate areas of paint team activity. Cliff and Ian continued with the pressure washing of the aircraft outside. All aircraft from the front of the museum site up to and including the Phantom have now been washed; the latest completion being the (previously very grubby) Pucara (Paint Team Pucara). The next ‘target’ is the Bloodhound Missile unit (Paint Team Bloodhound).

In order to get more ‘bang for our buck’ this year, the paint team have decided to do a ‘light makeover’ of several aircraft, or in other words, refreshing the markings only. This approach has already been applied to the T33 (Paint Team T33 02) which looks immeasurably better with just a refresh of the stars, bars and colour flashes; thanks to Gwen’s endeavours. Gwen has now moved to the Mystere (Paint Team Mystere), which will also be subjected to just a refresh of markings.

The third strand of activity saw Mark and Barry commence a full strip back of the Meteor (Paint Team Meteor 01 and 02) , which is in a pretty ropey condition at present. The sanding and grinding has commenced and is expected to take at least a couple of more Tuesdays before we can consider applying any primer (and/or filler!). The current plan is to return the Meteor to a silver colour scheme, as opposed to the current camo, which will also be sympathetic to the F100 to the right and the Mystere to the left.

Also in the pipeline is a possible repaint of the Valetta this year, for which the paint team are currently looking into quotes for scaffolding and possible use of media blasting to strip back the surfaces.

Scanning Continues

Meanwhile back at home, Paul M is continuing to scan in various photos from the albums he has from the Archive Section.  Part of the latest batch are some black and white photos of various aircraft.  Paul sent these in for the blog.  These have been labelled in the album as:

• Album 3 – 005 is Multiple Moths.
• Album 3 -006 86 Express.
• Album 3 – 007 another Tiger Moth.
• Album 3 – 008 cockpit view of yet another Tiger Moth.
• Album 3 – 009 Chipmunk.
• Album 3 – 010 Moth Minor.
• Album 3 – 020 Mosquito. 

Chippies Update

Michael also sent in a couple of updates from the Chippies Workshop. 

Week 13 April 2021 –

The update from the week before the Sunday Opening showed more progress on the VRP: the carpenters, having made the parts for the picket fence and given it an initial coat of paint too over the last few volunteering days, installed it ready for the weekend reopening. Pictures of the work in progress and after installation are below (Picket Fence 01 thru Picket Fence 05).

Week 20 April 2021 –

This last week, On Tuesday Steve, asked us for a stand to place the donations card terminal on. By the end of the day, we had one ready and applied the first coat of paint. Thursday we applied the second coat of paint ready for use this weekend. In the first photo (Donation Terminal Stand 01) Dave H completes the final touches while Morris looks on, deciding how he is going to paint it. In the background, Paul carries out the annual electrical portable appliance testing. Photo 2 (Donation Terminal Stand 01) shows the completed stand. 

Thursday the chippies put up an aluminium signage panel on the posts next to the Visitor reception Point (VRP With Signage Panel).

Next up, we cut out and added the perspex shelves, front and side to the new display cabinet which is now in the Bolton & Paul Hanger. The green tinge in photo 4 (Luftwaffe Model Display Cabinet) is because we left the protective film on while Jim completes his artwork and displays the models of the Luftwaffe aircraft.

Finally, this week, we are replacing the wheels on two of the flatbed trolleys used to move just about anything around the museum site. The third trolley already had solid tyres so we are giving the remaining two solid tyres as well. This will save people effort as the old tyres are prone to deflate and the new wheels are virtually maintenance-free. Photo 5 (Wheels Being Prepared) shows some of the new wheels ready to replace the old ones. The first trolley went on the bench Thursday afternoon and we started work disassembling it.

Memorial Site Update

Brian sent in his first update on the work that he has been doing at the 446 Memorial Site located on the airfield.  He reports that he has been maintaining the Memorial for just over one year now, slowly improving the site and flying the American flag at appropriate times. Recently he has put down a weed suppressant and covered it with new 10mm gravel, taken off the suckers around the tree in the front and cut the main Ivy roots ascending the tree.  He has also carried out regular cutting of the grass and trimming of the beech hedge at the rear of the site.

The next job is to repair and paint the little fence around the site. The memorial plaque needs constant cleaning as it discolours with Alga very quickly. he reports that he does need someone who could paint in some very small detail on the Liberators fuselage as the flag has deteriorated badly. 

Photos of the site are shown in Memorial Update 01 thru Memorial Update 05.

My continued thanks go to everyone who has provided updates enabling us to keep our readers up-to-date.

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Brain Teaser

In this edition, we have yet another set of anagram brain teaser puzzles. As we still have a few aircraft names that we have not covered, the subject is still “Aircraft in the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum“.  The clue, as before, the number of words in both anagram and aircraft name is the same.

1. crummy hoagie viking
2. submariners hope race rant
3. glynn jaw renowned
4. wildlens withdrawn
   
5. natty badge noisemaker 
   

Solutions are at the foot of the blog, and you can use the green button below to go there and a button link is at the solution to bring you back.  Good luck.

Go To Solution

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Coming In The Next Edition

I am hoping that in the next edition, we may well have information for opening post the restrictions being eased on the 17th May.  Watch this space.

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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.

      

To donate, please click the donate button below to be taken to our donations page.

 

For all other details on the museum, please go to our main web page by clicking on the picture below.  Thank you for taking the time to read this.

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Brain Teaser Anagram Solution

The solution to the anagram in this edition of the Online Flier:

1. MIKOYAN GUREVICH MIG
2. NORTH AMERICAN SUPER SABRE
3. GOWLAND JENNY WREN
4. WESTLAND WHIRLWIND
5. BOEING STEARMAN KAYDET

You can use the green button link below to return back to your place in the blog.

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