NASAM Update as of the 12th May 2023

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General Updates

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In This Edition of the Blog

In “From The Teams”

We start from the teams this week with an article from a different Archivist than usual (Graham has taken this week off from providing us with old and dusty papers). Instead Tony in Archives has put together a display of DR (Dead Reckoning) nav instruments in Archive 2, which he’s previously opened to visitors on a couple of occasions. As he wants to make this feature more available, he has put together a few lines about the display (and a photo), and this is what you will find below. The display is only open when Tony is at the Museum for the time being, as the rest of the Volunteers have been frightened off by the maths involved in explaining what happens. However, if you see “Archive 2” open, then pop inside, and Tony will take you through the exhibits and the explanation of DR Navigation.

Next up, we have Gary, the Museum Manager and a report on the Scout Day a few weeks back. This with some photos of the event are shown.

Speaking of photos, John S sent in a selection of photos from the 40s Themed Day at the Museum.

The final “From the Teams” this week is the Paint Team. In this update, Barry tells how the focus for the team at the moment is really the Hunter, which sits in pride of place just outside the main hangar and is usually the focal point for visitors on foot or by a variety of two, three and four wheels. The aircraft is used as the focal point for photographs of visiting bikers, and car enthusiasts. Their intention is to get it looking smart again.

This Coming Sunday

This coming Sunday, the 14th of May 2023 is another event day at the Museum. This week it is the biggie for petrolheads and all car enthusiasts. Great Yarmouth’s largest car club, the East Coast Pirates hold its annual extravaganza at the Museum.

The club will be bringing their extensive collection of classic British and foreign cars, hot rods and American muscle cars as well as trikes and bikes to the Museum in their 12th Annual rally at the Museum. The event has become one of the biggest shows of the year and is likely to see an eclectic mix of classic, vintage and unusual cars together. Hopefully, with a decent weather report, there will be plenty of photo opportunities.

Mike Kendal and his 40’s style singers and dancers will be adding their special brand of entertainment to the day with wartime music and dancing in the main hangar during the day.

The day will also provide an additional spectacular flypast by a Spitfire from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Confirmation of the flypast will only be given on the day provided that the weather and operational commitments allow. We do not have many of these flypasts this year so this is an opportunity not to be missed.

The Museum will be open to the public from 1000 through to 1600. There are plenty of aircraft and cockpits to see, with over 60 on display. Some of the cockpits will be open and provided we have enough Volunteers on site then the Flight Simulators will be in operation.

The NAAFI café will be serving hot and cold drinks, snacks and cake. The shop will also be selling soft drinks and ice cream, so with picnic tables throughout the site this is a great day out for the family, including the family dog. Please keep the dogs on a lease so as to keep them safe, and please note that dogs are not allowed in the shop of the rooms behind the shop.

We are wheelchair friendly with access to all areas – apart from aircraft cockpits.

Pete S

FromThe Teams

Air Navigation – A New Display

Background

In the early days of flying, navigation was easy. Planes were slow, you only flew on days when the weather was good and, by and large, flights were of short duration, to and from your local flying club airfield. Navigation, such as it was, entailed looking down from your cockpit and comparing what you saw with the Ordnance Survey map on your lap. If you did get lost during a flight, you dropped down to the nearest railway line and flew along it until you reached a station whose name you could read; in extremis, you landed in a field and asked a passer-by where you were.

By the 1930s things had changed, particularly for military aircraft. Planes flew higher and faster and, given the threat of war, had to fly in more marginal weather conditions. Knowing where you were and how you’d get to your destination became a matter of vector triangles and calculation.

The Problem of Drift

Imagine swimming across a river. Your eyes are fixed on some point on the far bank but the current in the river will carry you downstream; you are drifting off course. Something similar happens to aircraft in flight; any wind encountered will push the aircraft off its course, although the compass bearing the pilot is following will be the same. This deviation is called ‘drift’ and compensating for it is the Navigator’s job.

The Navigator’s Solution

Before any flight, the Navigator gets a weather report for his area; this will give him the speed of the wind and the direction from which it’s blowing. He already knows the course to be followed and the air speed of the aircraft. Entering this data into the navigation calculator will enable him to predict the drift, so he can alter the pilot’s compass bearing to account for it; he is, literally, ‘aiming off for wind’. The actual bearing to be flown is known as the Track; the navigation calculator will also give him the ground speed of the aircraft.

Air Speed vs Ground Speed

The air speed of an aircraft is that speed indicated on the pilot’s instrument panel; it takes no account of wind. Say, for example, an aircraft is flying at an indicated speed of 100 mph but into a headwind of 30 mph; to an observer on the ground, the aircraft is travelling at 70 mph. Ground speed is important because it determines how long a flight will take and has implications for the amount of fuel needed for the flight.

The new display in Archive 2 comprises the instruments in service in the 30s and 40s and how they were used. The display is ‘hands-on’, and visitors are encouraged to have a go … assistance will be given!

Tony

Scout Day 29/04/23

Please see the attached photos below of the well-attended Scout Day on Saturday, the 29th of April 2023. Thanks go out to the following volunteers who made the day special for the youngsters:

(in no particular order) Ray K, Colin B, Simon H, Andy S, Bob C, Martin H, Ruby N, Peter W, Ivor D, Alan I, Peter G, George S-S and Tony A.

A special mention also must go to the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight for a superb Spitfire flypast.

Gary

(Photos) Scout Day Apr 2023

40s Themed Day

The 40s Themed Day at the Museum was this Sunday past, the 7th of May, 2023. we had a few nice vehicles, some dancing, some bikers and good weather. A great day out was had by all, and the music and dancing in the main hangar was provided by Mike Kendall and his people. Some of the photos have been captioned.

04 – Old body but modern running gear and power steering. Cheat!
06 – Biker fleet
07 – The answer to noisy children?
08 & 09 – Elegance
10 – DJ and dancer taking a rest
11 & 12 – Dancing to the 40s music
13 – Can you guess that they’re bikers? The woman far right is German, and we’ve had good chats, especially last year with her father, who had a good sense of humour

John S

(Photos) 40s Day at NASAM

Painters Update

02/05/23 – “Do they still make Radox?”

The mood in the camp was a bit flat this week. Firstly, we were a man down before kick-off, with Private Walker failing a late fitness test, feeling a bit unwell and consequently staying at home. Secondly, Mark; a closet Gooner; was doubly depressed with the Gunners having meekly conceded the Premiership to Man City it would seem, plus the prospect of another uncomfortable day of sanding the undersides of the Hunter. So, in deference to Mark, I won’t mention the football anymore.

The day commenced with a quick Tete-Arteta-Tete between Cliff and Mark over who was going to lie on the floor in order to sand the belly of the Hunter. The rough ground of large Granit (Xhaka) chippings looked particularly uninviting, with Cliff in the end ‘taking one for the team’ getting down ready to play Paint Team yoga. Cliff kicked off the session by adopting the ‘Saka potatoes’ position (see pic), while Mark went for a ‘half Zinchenko’ while sanding the port underwing (see pic). Over on the starboard side, Barry finished off the remaining quarter of the starboard underwing, before moving on to the forward starboard fuselage areas. Good progress was made during the day and by the close of play about two-thirds of the belly and port underwing had been finished. That probably leaves about another 2 weeks of prep before some paint can be applied.

Down in the front paddock, our bling baby (Gwen) spent the day ‘doing the yellow bits’ on the Mystere starboard side (see pic). This aircraft really needs a complete repaint, but so do many others. As a stopgap, Gwen is going to refresh all the Mystere markings for us.

The day concluded with a quick progress chat with Hunter owner, Ian H. All present agreed that the Hunter is/was a most elegant aircraft and ably fits the maxim that ‘if it looks right, it’ll fly right.’ It is certainly true that the Hunter served with many different air forces around the world, across 50 years, including the Dutch Air Force over in Haaland (it’s Holland, not Haaland, anyway he’s Norwegian – Ed.). Over the ensuing cuppa and various oohs and aahs, stiff backs, stiff necks and pains in de Bruyne were compared. Various remedies were then discussed, with Mark enquiring whether they “…still make Radox?” Time for an early bath methinks!

09/05/23 – Welcome to Barry Island!

The team arrived in damp and dreary conditions. Given the size of the puddles, there had clearly been a fair bit of overnight rain in Flixton. Discussions then ensued as to what the team could achieve in such conditions.

Agent Jackson was dispatched to the Bric-a-Brac store to help Ash sort things out in Chrissie’s absence. Sometime later our trolley dolly emerged with fresh stock for the Main Hangar (see pic).

Private Walker was sent down to Chippieland to repaint a recently repaired Toy Aircraft. Royal Air Force blue was the desired colour, which required Ian to perform some alchemy with some turquoise and grey paint pots.

The Skipper (Cliff) spent the day creating an inventory of all the exhibits in the 446^th. With so much ‘stuff’ in there, quite a few more ‘inventory’ days will be required methinks!

Back in front of the Main Hangar, Mark and Barry surveyed the scene underneath the Hunter. Despite the grumpy-looking sky, no further rain fell during the day and the boys were eventually able to make a start on the Hunter prep. Barry initially went for the wet weather option of wire-wheeling the port undercarriage leg. Mark still had the inner third of the port wing underside to complete. Neither were relishing running electric cables through the puddles beneath the Hunter, so a small platform (very quickly dubbed ‘Barry Island’) was constructed from some scaffold planks (see pic). With the ‘island’ in place, the boys cracked on and by the close of play the port wing and port undercarriage leg were complete, plus most of the fuselage on the left side of the cockpit.

Barry

(Photos) Painters 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:

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