NASAM Update as of the 9th Sep 2021

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Chairman’s Update

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ROC Day Update

The museum has been advised by the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight that the flypast on the ROC Day (Sunday 19^th Sep 2021) will be two aircraft.

We have been advised that, subject to operational and weather considerations on the day, both a Spitfire and a Hurricane will now carry out the flypast.

Junior Engineering Day

For those budding Junior Engineers who were hoping to come to the museum and do some practical work with our Volunteers, we are sorry to say that due to our insurers being a little tardy this year, we have been unable to get the required insurance to run the Junior Engineering Days as we have done in the past. The next day was to be scheduled for late October this year, but now we will try to organise a day in May/June 2022. Keep an eye on this blog or our Social Media for new dates as soon as we get the insurance resolved.

Steve Bell

Keep Up To Date

To keep up to date with further information, please keep an eye on our Social Media or click on the button below to be notified of any upcoming changes in the latest blog.

Go to the form forEMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

The latest COVID restrictions in place at and around the museum can be found by clicking on the button.

NASAM COVID Guidance

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General Interest & Updates

Suffolk At War

Suffolk Archives have notified the museum that they will be running a number of lectures for those interested in Suffolk’s military contribution to the First World War, Second World War and the Cold War. This contribution had significant localised effects across the United Kingdom, including in Suffolk. This lecture series examines how the geography, topography, population, industry, and socioeconomic factors influenced and contributed to Suffolk’s impact on and experience of conflict during the twentieth century.

The series of lectures on “Suffolk at War” starts this week with Dr John Greenacre of the University of Suffolk. The talks can be attended in person at the new archive centre in Ipswich, The Hold, or watched online from the comfort of your own home. You can see a preview from the pilot event here: https://youtu.be/U6VFZb3WJEc

Details regarding each of the eight lecture series events and how to book a place (both at “The Hold” or online) can be found by clicking on the appropriate lecture below. You can also book the complete series of lectures.

9^th September     Lecture 1 – Suffolk Under Attack
23^rd September   Lecture 2 – The Suffolk Regiment during the World Wars
7^th October        Lecture 3 – Air Forces and their Bases in Suffolk
21^st October        Lecture 4 – Suffolk’s Coast and Naval Warfare
4^th November      Lecture 5 – The Defence of Suffolk
18^th November   Lecture 6 – Industry in Wartime Suffolk
2^nd December      Lecture 7 – The Suffolk Regiment during the Cold War
16^th December    Lecture 8 – Memory and Memorialisation of War in Suffolk

The first lecture, Suffolk Under Attack, is this Thursday, 9^th September, at 7.30pm.

You can find full details of all of the lectures and book tickets here: https://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk/public-events-programme/online-lecture-series/

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From Around The Museum

More updates from the Volunteers on their working weeks at the Museum.

Chippies Update

From Michael in the Workshops:

31st Aug… As August drew to a close, Tuesday in the Chippies Workshop was a day for tidying up projects. Morris gave the Gardeners new desk/PPE storage a lick of paint (Gardeners Desk 05) before Brian took possession on Thursday.

Dave H and Michael F cut perspex shelves for the new Cold War Display Cases. We then decided it was better to leave the perspex in the workshop until it was time to fill the cabinet with displays, to prevent damage. So Ian S with his assistant Dave together with Ash and Michael F moved the second case to its home in the hangar(Display Cabinet 03). Now we have a bit more space to move around in the workshop.

Next up, Ash and Michael had a look at some chairs from the NAAFI which have been waiting for repair for a while. After much deliberation, we ended up putting in an extra cross strut which seemed to reduce the wobble on most of the five. They too returned to the hanger, emptying even more space in the workshop.

A high seat used in the Bric-a-Brac was coming to pieces so Ash got some glue and Dave’s trusty clamps to squeeze the joints back together

Finally, Dave H turned his attention to the ride-on model Steerman that seems to have been under construction forever – well at least before lockdown (Streerman Model 01). Now it has an undercarriage and soon the upper wing will be in place. Who knows, it might be finished by Christmas!

And don’t worry about all that space in the workshop – another project or two will soon fill it up as we all know a museum abhors a vacuum.

(Photos) Chippies Update

Painters Update

And from Barry:

31/8/21 – Giving it the hairdryer treatment!

And we’re not talking about Fergie’s legendary inspirational Man Utd half time pep talk that involved a hairdryer being huzzed in the direction of Becks (allegedly!). Oh no, we’re talking about how best to dry the rain spots off a Meteor quickly on a damp and drizzly Tuesday morning in August (is it really August?). In a rare inspired moment, Barry packed his Garden Leaf Vac into the car and set off for Flixton. Set to ‘blow’ the Vac did the business and only about half an hour’s play was lost due to the overnight wet weather. The rest of the day was spent finishing the grey priming and flattening any areas of primer that had lifted (Meteor Refurb 26 and 27). The plan next week is to start the topcoat, hurrah! A detailed Specification of Requirements document was also sent off this week to prospective suppliers of transfers for the main Meteor markings.

Over on the Valetta, the selective repaint (the red bits) was nearing completion. Cliff was contemplating how to finish off the nose in front of the cockpit, which couldn’t be reached from the scaffolding alone. Cliff suggested shimmying over the nose, possibly on a crawl board lashed to the scaffold tower. Some of the team expressed some unease over this proposed manoeuvre and suggested that the matter should be referred to the Health & Safety Officer for approval (er… hang on a minute that’s er… Cliff!).

(Photos) Painters Update

Once again many thanks to the contributors for their input to this edition and to the dedication that they put into their Volunteer work.

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Would You Like To Help

We are now seeing visitor numbers increase slightly on the limited opening days (aided by being open three days per week), however, because of the restricted numbers due to Government guidelines, the donations are still well below the levels of previous years. The museum continues to incur expenses for insurance, maintenance and essential running costs, I make no apologies therefore for keeping this section in the blog, therefore, hoping a few people will consider helping in the ways below.

If you think you can 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.