NASAM Update as of the 16th May 2024
In This Edition
Summary of Contents
In this edition of the blog “Museum News”, we have photos from Joe of the 40s-Themed events day on Sunday, the 5th of May 2024, plus photos and details of the day from Steve.
Also in the news are photos and videos of the BBMF Hurricane’s flypast the following Sunday. The stills were provided by Joe and Brian provided the videos. These have been merged into one video so as to place it on our YouTube channel. Unfortunately, as you will see below, one of the expected pair went unserviceable on the previous day. The remaining one did us proud though, and provided a spirited flypast.
To round off this section of the blog, we have information from Geoff on the Hurricane LF363 that came, as it appears parts of the original aircraft are being preserved here at Flixton.
From the Teams “Inside and Outside – The Museum“, we have an update from the Paint team, with Barry continuing to update us on the work of the Painters in and around the Museum.
In “Events Information“, this time, we have details on the Guild of Aviation Artists visit on the 19th of May and the Aviation Art and Model Day on the 16th of June. Clicking on the posters there will take you to the Events Information pages.
Pete S
Museum News
General news from the Museum
40s Themed Day
Sunday the 5th May was the museum’s 40s day. The weather graced us with real summer of 1940 weather, so much so that some of the volunteers resorted to shorts.
Luckily this didn’t put too many visitors off and we had almost 400 through the gates on the day.
There were several retired military vehicles present and a lot of visitors took up the theme and were dressed for the decade.
Two vehicle clubs also attended, the Three Rivers Harley Davidson Club and a BMW sports car owners club, had a drive out to join us.
We had record numbers taking a tour of the open cockpits and the guides were kept busy with one tour after another.
We were also joined by the 1940s dancers and Mike Kendal as DJ giving the hangar a party feel with many visitors watching the dancing over a cuppa. Some also joined in and were welcomed by the dancers to the floor.
Steve
(Photos) 40s Themed Day
Pirates Or No Pirates
Sunday the 12th of May should have been the East Coast Pirates day at the museum. Sadly for complex reasons they had to postpone the event. Some of the members decided that a trip out to Flixton on a sunny day was a good scheme anyway so we welcomed five cars. These were parked along the main drive into the museum and they certainly attracted lots of interest. Mike Kendall provided music on the day and several dancers took to the hangar floor.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight had promised a duo of Hurricanes, but sadly one had to cancel due to developing an oil leak the previous day. The one Hurricane performed three spirited flypasts from different directions to the delight of the visitors.
All in all a busy and enjoyable day.
Steve
(Video) Hurricane Flypast
The stills photos were provided by Joe, and the videos were provided by Brian. You can also find this video on our YouTube channel:
LF363 Above and Here
I noticed that the BBMF flypast on Sunday was by Hurricane LF363 which is no stranger to Flixton as original parts from that aircraft have been resident at the museum for the last couple of decades. In 1991 engine failure required LF363 to force land at RAF Wittering. The airframe was severely damaged, not least by the brief fire which readily consumed much of the wooden framework and fabric covering. There was considerable doubt that the aircraft would ever fly again. However, as airworthy Hurricanes back then were so rare, the decision was made to attempt a rebuild. Seven years later, in 1998, LF363 was back in the air suitably marked as a 56 Squadron aircraft (US-C) whose crest is the phoenix rising from the ashes. Parts not included in the rebuild found their way to Flixton and for 20+ years parts of one of the damaged wings were displayed in the main hangar. Following the hangar reorganisation during covid they are now in storage. One large item can still be seen though as LF363’s 9ft long front spar web plate has been incorporated into the rebuild of Hurricane P3708’s fuselage now in the workshop, and gradually growing.
The picture of P3708 in the workshop shows at bottom centre of the photo the remains of LF363’s burnt canopy.
Geoff
Inside and Outside – The Museum
Information from the various teams
Paint Team Updates
07/05/24 – Droning on!
No folks, don’t worry, this isn’t a reference to Mark recalling over lunch; in episodic detail; the TV series ‘Breaking Bad.’ Oh no, there was definitely a droning sound, or a hum coming from the Sea Prince. “And why would that be?” I hear you ask. Well, with the weather set fair the boys broke out the sanders once again and got cracking on the Sea Prince. With 4 sanders running at the same time on some highly resonant panels, there was quite a bit of a racket going on! (Apologies to all in the fairly adjacent Manager’s Committee meeting in the office).
And that wasn’t the only the ‘hum’ going on. The air was definitely a bit ‘fruity’ with the finger of suspicion pointed at the farmer’s fields to the east. That was until Ian advised that he had been without a bathroom for a week, due to some over-running home renovations!
Further chastened after a recent 5-0 thrashing by Chelsea, Ian ‘Hammer’ Walker took up station on the left wing (see pic 16), while Mark concentrated on prepping the areas of the fuselage that had previously been patched (see pic 17), so that Tony could get a clearer picture of the extent of the repairs required.
At 11:00 hrs, Mark then toddled off to the Manager’s Committee meeting. Meanwhile, down the back of the fuselage the Skipper (Cliff) focussed on prepping the port rear quarter (see pic 18). Never wishing to be seen ‘sitting down on the job,’ he lept to his feet just as your correspondent approached with his camera (no, not really).
Over lunch, there was another discussion about potential colour schemes. As ever, Cliff came up with some relevant reference material. It seems that the ‘dayglo’ orange used on some Sea Princes in service varied in colour quite a bit, both in terms of starting colour and the inevitable fading once on the aircraft. The ‘correct’ colour seems to be a sort of orangey-red, or possibly a reddy-orange. If anyone knows the correct colour code or BS paint number, please let me know.
After luncheon, there was another high powered ‘meeting’ that took place on top of the Sea Prince’s wing to discuss the nature of the repairs required along the spine of the Prince (see pic 19).
In other news, Gwen continued with her marathon task of repainting all the portakabins.
By close of play, Ian had pretty much completed the prep of the port wing (see pic 20), while Mark hadn’t got so far on the starboard side (see pic 21) due to the morning’s attention to the central roof areas to be repaired.
Back on terra firma, Barry spent the day cursing how many rivets there were in the construction of the Sea Pain (in the ar..). After a full day’s sanding, he’d managed to complete about another 6 feet of port side fuselage and around the cockpit windows (see pic 22).
Barry
(Photos) Paint TeamUpdate
Event Information
What next at the Museum
May and June
Dates for your Diary
Below is the current list of the one remaining event in May and the event scheduled for June. For more details of the event, click on the appropriate poster below.
Pete S
The Repeat Info
Here we are in 2024 and 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.
Go to the form forEMAIL NOTIFICATIONS
Pete S
