NASAM Update as of the 21st Jan 2022
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Chairman’s Update
2021, So Much Fun
Lockdown
The year started as so much of the previous year had been, in lockdown. Initially, we couldn’t even allow volunteers on site. Three trustees regularly checked the site for security but otherwise, no work took place.
Luckily after a brief period, we were allowed to have “staff” on-site if what they needed to do couldn’t be done from home. That at least meant that the place didn’t look like a morgue every time we visited. During the snow, it was very eerie in the hangar with no light coming through the clear roof panels.
In April, the Government announced that outdoor venues could reopen from mid-May We had five weeks of outdoor opening which were well attended. We adapted by moving various items of interest to the hangar entrance as well as a few more outside each time we opened the gates.
Mid-June saw us fully reopened, with restrictions on numbers in place, and we decided that we would only open three days per week.
Event Days
Due to the restrictions, we couldn’t hold the first few event days of the year but when restrictions eased we started with a Family Fun day in July. We managed a further five special days which were well attended. We also had RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypasts for two events (and should have had one for a third but the weather further North intervened).
The volunteers have really stepped up to the plate in respect of opening. Typically, we have had 8-12 every Sunday and 4-8 Wednesday and Saturday. Visitors have remarked positively about the helpful volunteers and how friendly the atmosphere at the museum is.
Visitors have also commented positively on the general improvement in the hangars. The volunteers have worked hard across the year to improve the appearance and de-clutter. Work being carried out over the winter should help this improvement to continue. More on that later.
Finances
Overall, the financial result was better than expected. With grants from the Arts Council and East Suffolk Council together with our Business Interruption Insurance, our income was around 85% of normal. This despite only opening for just over 100 days instead of the normal 200+ days pre-pandemic. Donations from visitors were also up in relation to the numbers attending.
Projects
We made the decision to close the museum over the winter, from mid-November until late February, in order to complete a refresh of several displays in the main hangar. Work is progressing well and the key new displays will be “Ejector Seats”, “Merlin at War” and the “Cold War” are all starting to look good. In addition, large parts of the hangar floor have been painted and other areas will follow.
A major project that has been happening over the last two years is replacing as many of our old neon tube light fittings with LED versions. This will help the museum reduce its significant electrical consumption, and in doing so reduce our bills significantly.
End of Year
As an experiment this year we decided to open for two days between Christmas and the New Year. It would be an understatement to say that on the Wednesday, the weather didn’t play ball, it was very cold and wet. The Thursday was much better with record temperatures for late December. It was dry and one volunteer manning the gate commented that it was quite pleasant sitting outside (in a coat). Over 100 people visited across the two days, and as ever many positive comments were received. Many visitors stated that there was so much to see they would be back. We look forward to welcoming them again.
We have our regular volunteers to thank for the positive end to the year and the support that they gave throughout the year.
2022, Looking Forward and Beyond
Forward Planning
It’s always easy to look forward and create predictions, far harder to get them remotely right! We must however have a viable forward plan in order to maintain our accreditation without which we cannot apply for any of the mainstream grants.
The plan to commence charging for admission has been delayed to 2023, mostly due to continued uncertainty caused by the pandemic. The signs are that the UK government is looking to “ride it out” which would be good news for staying open, obviously, there are other criteria in their minds though so who knows what will happen next on that front.
One major thing that is happening is that the museum has advertised the role of manager and we will be interviewing a shortlist of candidates in early February. The trustees are determined to only appoint the right applicant and not merely the best of the bunch. That said we have had applications that appear very good. We just need to see how that pans out in person. If we cannot find the right person, we have proven that we can operate as a volunteer only operation quite successfully. Should this happen, then the trustees will need continued excellent support from the volunteers.
Event Days
Hopefully, this year will see far more of our event days happen and even more people visit discovering the delights that we offer in the process. The event days planned so far can be found @ https://aviationmuseum.site/Events2022
We look forward to welcoming you, our members and supporters, back to the museum to see the enhancements we are making. We think and hope that you will approve, so please visit and let us know.
Steve
Model Hurricane Refurb
As mentioned above, one of the new displays in the main hangar will be the “Merlin at War” display. The model Hurricane that we had positioned near the main hangar door is going to become an important part of that display once it has been refurbished. Colin B has now started that refurbishment as can be seen from the pictures below (Model Hurricane Refurb 01 and 02). When the refurbishment is complete, it will be suspended above the other items in that Merlin display.
Steve
(Photos) Model Hurricane Refurb
General Updates
The museum remains closed at the moment for our Winter Maintenance. It is planned to reopen in late February, however, please keep an eye on this blog and our Social Media Sites for details on the opening date and the opening days throughout 2022.
Updates this edition from the Chairman, the museum Secretary and the from our Painters, Engineers and the MMU.
Secretary’s Update
Volunteers are still working hard to complete changes to displays in the museum prior to the reopening in February.
We have had notification of one Junior School requiring a visit in April who are studying World War Two.
We are also looking forward to giving a warm welcome to one of the 446th Bomb Group members from the U.S, coming to visit in late January. More about that in the next update, hopefully with some photos.
Pam
Engineering Update
6/1/22 The Auster Moves
Last Thursday, a group of volunteers from engineering and other teams, Dave D, John H, Brian J and John S completed the tricky task of moving the Auster from the engineering workshop area, where it has been undergoing a rebuild, via the outside doors and then back into the Ken Wallis Hall (see Auster Display 01 thru 07).
The Auster was donated back in 2016 as an airframe of Auster AOP.6/T.10 VX123. An ex-Army Air Corps aircraft, it had been converted to a Beagle Terrier as G-ARLP before being donated to the Museum. This donation was reported in the blog on 4th August 2017 as it started its refurbishment here. After moving the fuselage through the hangar, the Auster was placed next to the Stearman, again a very tricky manoeuvre (see Auster Display 08 and 09).
6/1/22 Hurricane Refurb
Having freed up some space on the workshop floor, this was immediately taken up by Hurricane parts (see Hurricane Refurb 01 thru 04), which were moved into the workshop for some refurbishment works as yet to be fully negotiated and scoped. This move was carried out by the volunteers who however reported one casualty who was left behind on the hanger floor (Moving Casualty)
The Hurricane is the remains of Hurricane Mk I P3708 of 257 Squadron RAF. This aircraft crashed near Foulness in August of 1940.
The Hurricane refurbishment is expected to take some time so watch this space for more updates.
John S
(Photos) Engineering Update
Painters Update
11/1/22 – New Year, Clean Start!
And no folks, I’m not referring to Mrs J’s attempt at a dry January, but the primary Paint Team activity this week was… er, cleaning! Mark and Ian set about cleaning the exhibits in the model cabinets in the Main Hangar (see Display Cab Cleaning 02). This turned out to be no easy task. Well actually, taking the models out was easy; putting them back in again was not so easy! Evidently, the exhibitor had given much thought as to how the models would all squeeze in, without any overlapping wings.
Later on, Mark and Ian decided to ‘go large’, turning their attention to the BA Boeing 707 model in the Main Hangar. The 707 was covered in a thick layer of grime, to the extent that the boys didn’t even realise that there was a transparent cutaway down the entire length of the port side fuselage until they had given it a wash, which then revealed it. Anyway, after a wash and wipe down the 707 was back to looking very sharp in its 1980s BA ‘Landor’ livery (see BA 707 01).
Over in Bomber Command, Cliff and Gwen continued with the cleaning of exhibits and cabinets. After lunch, they also gave the rest of the floor a new coat of Smurf Blue paint (see Bomber Command 01).
Evidently not cut out for cleaning duties, Barry disappeared into the furthest recesses of the museum in order to give the Lancaster pilot’s seat its topcoat. After a bit of improvisation in the Metal Workshop, a temporary spray booth (of sorts) was rigged up enabling Barry to go to work with the rattle can (see Bomber Command 02). The seat now wears a coat of ‘period correct’ grey/green paint and will be put back on show in Bomber Command. Thanks to John and Roger for use of their facilities.
After lunch, Barry moved into the Main Hangar in order to continue with the re-painting of the Mosquito Oleos. By close of play, both legs had been re-painted in silver; leaving just the supporting frame to re-coat in blue next week.
18/1/22 – Ice Cold in…Flixton!
Yes folks, it was blimmin’ freezing at El Museo this week. The team arrived with the car thermometer showing a heady 0.5 degrees Celsius, with a thick frost covering the outside exhibits (see Canberra, T33A and Javelin). Encouragingly (not), the Main Hangar was even colder! Despite the unwelcoming conditions, the team saddled up and got into work mode, supported in some cases by six layers of clothing and three pairs of socks!
Over in Bomber Command Gwen soldiered on with the cleaning of the hut and its exhibits, while Cliff went walkabout (presumably to somewhere warmer? – Ed.).
In the Main Hangar, Mark and Ian spent the day cleaning out the model cabinets down the right-hand side (see Display Cab Cleaning 03). After several models literally fell apart in their hands, the boys managed to put back in everything in the afternoon that they had taken out in the morning.
Also in the Main Hangar, Barry set about painting the frame for the Mosquito Oleos (see Mosquito Oleos 03), before moving on to paint the frame that will hold the recently refurbed Lancaster pilot’s seat. The hangar was so cold that he had to ‘loosen’ the paint first by heating it up and then blowing hot air over the metal frames so that the paint would go on without turning immediately to treacle. By the end of day, the paint had still not set! In the afternoon, Barry started a refurb of the Sea Harrier model stand. The stand had turned from the original white to various shades of mould encrusted grey-green. By close of play, the stand had been sanded back to a sort of white. Next week some anti-mould agent will be applied before putting on a fresh top coat.
Just after lunch, the team were treated to some brief entertainment as an Apache from Wattisham decided to ‘buzz’ the museum, circling around at not much more than treetop level (see Apache Visitor).
Barry
(Photos) Painters Update
Model Maintenance Unit
16/1/22 Nimrod R1 Project
After over 6 months on the production line, the 1/72 scale Nimrod R1 has finally been rolled out and is ready for delivery in mid-February to the Museum.
Overall an enjoyable build although the painting, especially the white top, did take up most of the time, at least 6 coats were required, it probably could have done with another. The model is brush painted with Humbrol and Revell enamel paint, most of the markings were taken from the kit decals although the aircraft’s serial numbers came from dedicated sheets. The actual kit allowed a choice of 6 versions and this one is really an amalgamation of 2 of those to represent a RAF Wyton based aircraft from the late ’70s. In view of very limited photos of R1’s from that period the aerial fit is in the nature of best guess (see Nimrod Build 01 and 06 thru 09).
Malcolm
(Photos) MMU Nimrod R1
Once again many thanks to the contributors for their input to this edition and to the dedication that they put into their volunteer work throughout all of last year.
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The Repeat Info
The repeat information is still here I’m afraid, and I make no apologies for keeping his section in our blog. We are a charitable organisation relying on monies from the public to keep us going. Any help we receive is gratefully accepted and enables the museum to continue in our mission “To conserve, preserve and promote the history of aviation in East Anglia, whilst providing a fun, family-friendly and interactive museum, promoting education and remembrance of the events of the past“.
Are you thinking of helping ??
We obtain most of our finances by donations and by membership fees. We save money by having a dedicated group of volunteers that keep the museum and the exhibits both manned and maintained. We hope therefore a few people may consider helping in the ways below.
There are three easy ways to help: Help by becoming a Museum Member, also by Volunteering to help at the museum, or by Donating to assist in our running costs. Please click on the appropriate button below to access the appropriate information:
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Click to make aDONATION
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