NASAM Update as of the 11th Feb 2023
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From The Chair
A Short Update
Work on Room 3 is progressing and at last, it looks as if I’ve actually done something. The preparation work of cataloguing exactly what was where took rather longer than I had hoped. Several items have been moved into temporary storage whilst we play the well-known game of Flixton Chess. This requires us to start with an empty space before we can clean and decorate that space, and then move new display items in. The first corner in the room is now empty.
Sadly we sometimes have to decide that items being taken off display will never go back on display. Thus it is necessary to take the decision to pass those items on to other museums, return them from loan, or otherwise dispose of them. Several items have fallen into these categories and will be offered to other museums, indeed some are already listed with the Museums Association.
The area will be used for a new display about the home front, mostly from World War II, but also with some items from the cold war. We hope to have that display ready by Easter. Work on room 3 will be carrying on for longer than that, but we aim to have part of it open from our reopening on February 15th.
Steve
(Photos) Work on Room 3
General Updates
In This Edition
We start this edition with a short update from Steve (above), as he explains that work is still ongoing in Room Three, to get new projects ready for the 15th Feb, when we reopen for the 2023 season.
Below, we have input from Barry, with a look back at January from the Paint Teams’ perspective. Also in this edition is an entry from Graham in Archives and a booklet from the Parachute School, as he says, “some of these made me laugh, and some of them are best left to the 1940s…”. Finally, from the teams, we have more from Malcolm as he continues work on the models, which may form part of the new RAF Training display for 2023.
Reopen 15th Feb 2023
We are due to reopen on the 15th of February, 2023.
We will then be open on every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday until further notice. We will also be open on Bank Holiday Mondays.
The Museum will be open from 1000 until 1600 on those days.
For details of the Special Event Days, please see the previous blog @ NASAM BLOG Dated 31st Jan 2023 “Dates for Your Diary”
XX108
And last but by no means least in this ‘General Update’ section, I had a note from Gary, the Museum Manager, that he has successfully bid on acquiring another aircraft for the Museum. In late October, we will become the proud owners of Jaguar GR1B XX108, which is currently located at IWM Duxford. ‘Stay tuned’ as they say, as there will be more on the aircraft and the move in future editions of the blog.
There are a couple of pictures below courtesy of the photographer Shaun Connor. The first was taken at the Farnborough International Airshow in 1978, and the second from 2002 when XX108 was used for the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour 106 engine trials. This is how the aircraft has been displayed at Duxford.
My thanks to Shaun for providing the photos for our use.
(Photos) XX108
Pete S
FromThe Teams
Painters Update
03/01/23 – Shopaholics!
Yes folks, the Paint Team were back, ringing in the New Year with a chorus of orbital sanders creating a merry dust storm in the Shop! Earlier in the day, the Skipper (Cliff) had given orders for the team to undertake a sand down and repaint of the cabinets and shelves in the Shop. Accordingly, Gwen, Ian and Barry started off by clearing out as much of the shop stock as could be reasonably removed to the back room. The rest was then covered in dust sheets before the sanders were fired up. By lunchtime, all the cabinets and shelves had been sanded back. In the afternoon, the three amigos then hoovered up and wiped down all the surfaces to remove as much old paint dust as possible, prior to painting next week.
Elsewhere, the Skipper finished off some cabinet painting in the Metalwork shop, while Mark went AWOL to undertake some airport taxi duties.
10/01/23 – All white now baby, it’s er… all white now!
Those of you of a certain age will have sussed that this week’s headline is courtesy of those ageing rockers, Free (are any of them still alive? – Ed.). The play on the Free lyrics sums up the day’s activities quite nicely. Once again, the team were back in the shop re-painting the stock cabinets.
The day commenced with a bit of white priming of those areas that were sanded back too vigorously to bare wood last week. Attention then turned to applying a fresh white gloss topcoat. A couple of tins of white gloss had been found in the Paint Store but it soon became evident that they must have been there for some time. The first tin was a reasonably bright white colour, but the paint was full of ‘bits’ and therefore completely unusable. The second turned out to have a nice consistency but was a ‘paler shade of white’ or cream in other words. Agent Barry was therefore despatched in the pouring rain to Coopers of Bungay to procure a nice new tin of Gloss White. Upon arrival agent B was greeted with a sign on the door saying, “Closed 10th January for stock-taking.” What are the chances eh? So, Agent B returned to base somewhat soggy and paintless.
Gwen then expedited ‘Plan B’ which was to break open a tin of (white) aircraft paint instead. This proved to be very white but very thin and therefore difficult to apply to the cabinets and shelves. So, Cliff then expedited ‘Plan C’ which was to ‘borrow’ (on a non-returnable basis) a tin of White Wood Gloss from the Chippies.
By late morning, some meaningful painting had finally occurred (see pic) and continued until around 2pm when the (Chippies) paint tin ran out, just shy of completing a full first coat. To be continued next week…
17/01/23 – Fair weather painters?
With the daytime forecast high showing at barely above freezing point, Gwen and Barry decided to stay at home. With Mark still u/s with a nasty cough that left the resilient Skipper (Cliff) and Ian to carry on painting the shop shelving.
By the end of the day a full first coat had been achieved plus a partial second coat mainly on (stock) contact surfaces, which was just as well… see next week’s entry.
24/01/23 – Shop ‘til you drop!
The team returned this week ready to complete the second coat on the shop shelving only to find that Steve and Marion had re-stocked the shelves prior to going on holiday for a month. Quel dommage! Not having the energy or enthusiasm to de-stock the stock (in order to paint) before re-stocking the stock, the team decided to look for some alternative entertainment.
Gwen and Mark moved into Room 3 at the back of the shop and started prepping the cabinets in the back right corner.
Meanwhile, Ian and Barry went into the Main Hangar in order to give the green staging down the far end on the right a clean coat of green Cuprinol, prior to some new ‘model’ cabinets appearing. During the clean-down, it became apparent the front kickboard of OSB had rotted out on the left-hand side. So, the call went out to our friends The Chippies to come and effect a repair. Michael and Ash rocked up about 5 minutes later and fitted a new piece of plyboard along the front (see pic). That then allowed Ian and Barry to complete the first coat, including ‘touching in’ the green handprint left by one of the Chippies (fingerprint evidence was taken later to identify the culprit, tee hee).
After le déjeuner, Gwen made a start on white glossing the cabinets in Room 3 while the boys (minus the Skipper, who was away on Stirling duty) went walkabout! Well, not quite. Looking for jobs and having bumped into Dave D. the boys were pointed towards the rather substantial swathe of brambles growing over the rear car park fencing. About an hour later and after several thorns had been removed from hands and clothing the rear car park was free from overgrowing brambles.
31/01/23 – Let’s go round again!
Yes folks, this week’s headline, courtesy of the Average White Band, summed up the mood in the camp when the team revisited the white wall panels that we painted in the Link Trainer room a few weeks ago. Mould has already reappeared on the panels rendering them unusable for now. Jim spent last week cleaning them down with stain remover, but it was apparent that a sand back and a different coat of paint was going to be required to sort it.
Barry then spent the morning with detail sander giving both panels a light key and then going back to bare wood where the mould was worst. After some stain-resistant primer had been applied to the bare patches, Ian and Mark moved in to give both panels a coat of white gloss this time (as opposed to white emulsion) to hopefully ‘seal’ the surfaces.
Elsewhere, Gwen and Cliff finished off the shelving re-paint in Room 3 and Ian gave the ‘green corner’ in the Main Hangar a second coat of green Cuprinol.
Barry
(Photos) Painters Update
From the Archives
SONGS OF THE PARACHUTE SCHOOL
You know how it is when you’re looking for something – you find something completely different that you weren’t looking for and it turns out to be much more interesting. So it was last week in the main library – hunting for a book on Sea King helicopters for Ray and found – hidden in plain sight, a small booklet simply titled “Songs of the Parachute School” (motto – ‘Knowledge Dispels Fear’!). I meant to flick through it – but ended up singing along! So that took care of half an hour – sorry for the delay Ray!!
For a shilling, you got these pearls – and many more:
Every unit has its own particular songs and ditties, and whilst serving with that unit you sing the songs and join in the fun. Later you try to recall these songs, but it is seldom possible as memories are too short. Like other units, the Parachute School, which opened at Ringway in 1940, had its songs and its own versions of popular tunes. The dropping zone at Tatton Park resounded to the sounds of these songs. The various nationalities of the Allies proved no barrier.
“Slight alterations have been necessary in one or two of the lyrics, but the sentiment remains the same.”
Graham
THE MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE
Sung to the tune of “The Man on the Flying Trapeze”
He steps through the door with the greatest of ease,
His feet are together and so are his knees;
His ‘chute didn’t open, he fell like a stone,
And they threw his pro-forma away.
I’M DREAMING OF A SOFT LANDING
Sung to the tune of “White Christmas”
I’m dreaming of a soft landing,
Just like the way we’re taught to fall,
Feet and knees together, soft as a feather,
It seems so easy after all;
I’m dreaming of a soft landing,
My thoughts go drifting through the night,
May my first balloon jump be right,
And may all my touch-downs be as light.
BLESS ‘EM ALL
They say there’s an aircraft just leaving the drome,
Bound for the dropping-zone
Heavily laden with parachute troops,
Everyone stifling a groan.
There’s many a soldier that’s jumped once before,
There’s many a one had a fall,
But you get no promotion if your ‘chute doesn’t open,
So cheer up, my lads, bless ‘em all.
Bless ‘em all, bless ’em all,
The parachute packers and all.
Bless all the sergeants and their paratroops,
Bless all the packers and their statichutes,
‘Cos we’re saying good-bye to them all,
As out of the aircraft we fall,
You’ll get no promotion if your ‘chute doesn’t open,
So cheer up, my lads, bless ‘em all.
THE PARACHUTIST
When civvy folks are tucked in tight,
And we are pushed around at night,
Although we know it isn’t right,
It’s foolish but it’s fun.
With yells and shouts we do alight,
Upon the Dropping Zone at night,
Although we know it isn’t right,
It’s foolish but it’s fun.
We’d love to pull the Sergeants ‘chute
And hear him yell: “Oh bl***y hell”
Then tell the officers to go as well.
It’s foolish but it’s fun.
We always see the morning light,
We jump all day and jump all night,
Although we know it isn’t right,
It’s foolish but it’s fun.
MMU Update
Things do not always go to plan
One of the models removed from the old Trainer Display was a Vampire T11. Although the paintwork is in reasonable condition, the cockpit canopy left a lot to be desired (See Vampire T11 Model 01). As it happens, I had a recently issued Airfix kit of the aircraft in my stash (see Vampire T11 Model 02, so I decided to build it as a direct replacement for the existing example. The Airfix model builds up to be XK624 ( the museum’s Vampire) when she flew with the CFS in the dayglow colour scheme. The build is going well, but disaster has struck on application of the wing decals; they broke up when trying to apply them around the leading edge of the wings(see photos). Further thought now required to rectify this; luckily, a set of aftermarket dayglow decals is at hand; hopefully, all will be well in the end (see Vampire T11 Model 03 and 04).
Now, who remembers the shows at Seething Airfield put on by the Waveney Flying Group. Two aircraft in the group in the early 1970s were Chipmunk G-AKDN , one of the very earliest examples of the Chipmunk, and Tiger Moth G-ANJA.
Both models are shown in the livery worn as seen in September 1973 and will be delivered to the museum before the end of the month for display.
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“.
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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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