NASAM Update as of the 8th Nov 2022

[joli-toc]

From The Chair

CLICK on heading to GO

Scout Day Oct 2022

Around 100 youngsters from three Scout Groups visited the museum on Saturday, the 29th of October 2022, to undertake various different stages of the Aviation Skills badge.

The youngsters took part in activities such as polystyrene plate glider making, stomp rocket building and flight simulators, as well as learning about aircraft, what it’s like to be a pilot, charts and navigation, weather and parts of an aircraft.

Steve B

(Photos) Scout Day Oct 2022

General Updates

This, the first edition in November 2022, contains an update from Steve (above) on Scout Day at the Museum. Below we have updates from Barry and the Painters as they struggle with morning dew to complete the two aircraft that they have been working on in the lower compound. We have more from Graham in Archives as he relates some short stories found in a wartime publication. Finally, in this edition, we have more from Malcolm as he starts work on “migrating the models” and checking them over to see what will be on display next year.

Museum Opening Times

For the remainder of 2022

As of the 1st of November and until the 14th of December 2022, the Museum’s opening times have been changed: The Museum will be open each Wednesday and Sunday from 1000 until 1500.

Opening Times for 2023

The Museum will then be closed until Wednesday the 15th of February, except for Wednesday/Thursday 28/29th of December, when we will be open from 1000 until 1500.

As of Wednesday, the 15th of February, the Museum will revert back to the pre-November opening times and will be open each Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, plus Bank Holiday Mondays, from 1000 until 1600 until further notice.

Special Events Dates 2023

The special event days in 2023 are as follows:

Sunday the 9th of April – Easter Sunday – East Anglian Air Ambulance, fundraising day
Saturday the 29th of April – Scout day
Sunday 7th May – 40s day At The Museum
Sunday 14th May – East Coast Pirates
Sunday the 21st of May – Aviation Art and Model day
Sunday the 23rd of July – Family Fun Day
Sunday the 6th of August – RAFA and Veterans Day
Sunday the 17th of September – Battle of Britain Day
Saturday the 23rd of September – Scout Day
Saturday the 28th of October – Scout Day

Pete S

From the Teams

Painters Update

25/10/22 – Gettin’ minty with it!

The 25^th was another glorious day for late October, with temperatures nudging 18 degrees. After the inevitable couple of hours of drying off, the team got cracking with the detailing on the ‘Flat Iron.’ Mark and Ian painted up the fin flashes (with Cliff evidently supervising – see Javelin-Repaint-59 pic), with some further ‘cutting in’ required next week. Up front, Gwen set about painting what appeared to be ‘polo mints’ on the forward fuselage (see Javelin-Repaint-60 pic) and outer wings (see previous Javelin-Repaint-59 pic). I suspect these may be the precursor to some roundels, but we shall find out for sure next week!

After lunch, Mark painted up the aerials under the nose (see Javelin-Repaint-61 pic), and the team also refitted the repainted red nose cones to the Firestreak missiles.

Off the port side, in the morning, Barry fitted most of the remaining small ‘stencil text’ decals to the Whirlwind, including ‘NO PICKETING ON TAIL CONE’ (see Whirlwind-Repaint-54 pic), ‘FIRE PANEL’ and FIRST AID INSIDE.’

After lunch, Barry moved back over to the ‘Flat Iron’ and set about cleaning up the engine cowls (see before and after Javelin-Repaint-62 and 63 pics) that had become spattered with paint following the current (and no doubt previous) repaint.

If the weather continues to play nicely next week, then we might just get the Javelin finished, as well as signing off the Whirlwind before winter arrives.

1/11/22 – A bad case of wind!

Yes folks, all good things must come to an end. The good weather we had enjoyed pretty much every Tuesday throughout October finally ran out as we entered November. This week, there was a bit of spit in the air, but the real problem was the wind that was forecast to gust up to 40 mph during the day. Undaunted and anxious to get the Javelin finished, the team broke open the paint tins and set about finishing some of the detailing. Mark and Ian started to try and ‘cut in’ the red on the port fin flash but soon retired hurt as the paint caddy blew over. With paint also whipping straight off the brushes, they managed to make a bit of a mess of the port side fuselage in no time (see Javelin-Repaint-64 pic)! Mark and Ian then spent the rest of the morning mopping up and pouring out their painting woes to ‘Sleepy Time Gal’ (no, really). Those of greater resolve and experience (i.e. Gwen) carried on through the wind and occasional rain to complete the roundels (last week’s polo mints) below the cockpit (see Javelin-Repaint-65 pic).

Next door, Barry fitted the final ‘AVTUR’ decal to the black square on the starboard fuselage of the Whirlwind and then signed the job off. Special thanks to EPS who did a terrific job fitting the wide range of decals that really help lift the finished article, as you can hopefully see from the final pictures of the port and starboard (complete with 2FTS logo) (see Whirlwind-Repaint-55 and 56 pic) sides. The day was somewhat curtailed by a thunderstorm plus a colossal downpour around 2:20pm. Just prior to that the team spent a bit more time cleaning up the engine cowls on the Javelin.

Barry

(Photos) Painters Update

From The Archives

Odd Facts About The War Part II

A continuation of articles taken from “The War Illustrated” magazine on October 14th, 1939 – these stories were taken by the magazine from various press outlets and daily newspapers and offer a slightly cock-eyed view of the outbreak of war. How true they are is in the eye of the beholder…

Graham

Rumania Calls Up Specialists

Specialists are being called up to the Rumanian colours. Various Ministries have been ordered to draw up lists of indispensable persons.

Dyeing to Enlist

At Calgary the patriotic effort of a veteran of the South African and Great Wars to enlist was frustrated by the heat of the room in which he was being examined. Soon after entering the room he began to perspire, and the shoe polish which he had used to dye his grey hair began to trickle down his forehead.

A rigid cross-examination about his age followed, and, when it was discovered to be 77, he was rejected. (Times Ottawa Correspondent)

Strikes at German Factory

The Ministry of Information stated that two strikes were reported to have taken place in the Opel works in Ruesselheim. Both were followed by a number of arrests.

No More Joy-riding

The German Minister of Economics announced that all rubber tires, except those for vehicles expressly permitted to continue to operate, are to be confiscated by the State. Tires already mounted on vehicles must be reported to the authorities, and must be kept in their present condition.

New Style Hand-bag

A gas-mask cardboard container,picked up In a Suffolk village street, was found to contain: Some knitting, a ball of wool, a powder compact, lipstick, a mirror, a handkerchief, some letters, a folder containing snapshots, chocolate – and the gas-mask.

Germany’s Nervous Home Front

The Gestapo has organised a strict spy system to catch all people spreading rumours. Several death penalties have been carried out. Police charged a crowd in Prague because they cheered Polish prisoners.

First German Conchie

For failing to carry out his military duties, the first passive resister in Germany has been shot. He was described as a “fanatical member of the Society of Earnest Bible Students”.

MMU Update

It’s this time of year that nature’s mass migrations start, where birds move from their spring/summer breeding grounds to their winter feeding habitats. Most will make the journey, some elect to stay, some inevitably perish at some point.

A similar mass migration started at the museum on the 1st of November when over 70 models made the journey from their summer display cabinets to winter in the model store. Many more, probably up to 300 more, will make this journey over the next 2 months. Of these, a small amount will return to public display, others will stay in their new habitat, whilst several will perish due to old age and deterioration. All I know is it’s going to keep me very busy processing the incoming models as well as continuing the refurbishment program at the Bury Maintenance Unit. HAPPY DAYS!

One of the models presently undergoing maintenance is this Hawker Henley. It is, I think, an old Vac-form kit and if it was not so rare I would be thinking twice about doing anything to it. The worst part is the canopy which was very poorly painted. Having carefully removed it, it is very flimsy and not replaceable, I have managed to remove the majority of the paint. I now need to find a way to give it more clarity before attempting to mask and repaint (see Hawker Henley Model 01 thru 03. I’m sure my friends at the West Suffolk Model Club will give me guidance.

Again Happy Days

Malcolm

(Photos) MMU Update

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:

Click to see how to becomeMUSEUM MEMBER Click to see how to becomeMUSEUM VOLUNTEER Click to make aDONATION

Keep Up To Date

To keep up to date with further information, please keep an eye on our Social Media (see the Social Media buttons at the foot of this blog) or click on the button below to be notified by email of any upcoming changes by seeing the latest blog.