Bristol Aerospace Museum

The museum is located on the former Filton airfield in Bristol and is dedicated to the history of Bristol, mainly aircraft but includes motor vehicles, aero engines and other technology as well. We were passing on the M4 with a limited amount of free time so stopped in for a quick look around. There area couple of impressive reproduction aircraft in the shape of a Briston Scout and F2b, a couple of helicopters and some aircraft sections amongst other exhibits. The star of the museum is probably Concorde G-BOAF which flew in to Filton 20 years ago and was the last ever Concorde to fly. As we were limited for time we didn't look inside as we have been in other Concordes in the past. The most interesting element of the visit was a guided tour of the restoration hanagr where there is a complete fuselage of a Bristol Freighter, recovered from New Zealand, and a Bristol Bollingbroke. This was the Canadian version of the Bristol Blenheim light bomber of early WWII. It was recovered from a Canadian farm and is gradually being restored and should be on full display in a couple of years time.

Membury Airfield

Membury in Wiltshire opened in 1942 and was initailly handed to the USAAF including fighter groups and troop carrier units.In July 1945 the airfield returned to RAF use with Dakotas of 52 Squadron but it closed the following October. The airfield remained in general use in to the 1960s but the M4 motorway was then built through the middle of the main runway. Never the less a small airfiled remains in use to this day and a memorial is in a motorwat service area built on the old airfield, albeit the plaque appears to have been stolen.

Virginia Beach news

It's a few years now since we visited the Military Aviation Museum at Virginia Beach for their Warbirds Over the Beach airshow. One of the highlights at the time was C46 Tinker bell belonging to the City of Monroe. As of today the aircraft has been acquired by the museum and has flown in to it's new home. Here it is when we saw it

Bristol Blenheim V5851

A poignant memorial to the crew of this Blenheim that crashed near Stow Bedon in 1942

Overhead!

Passing over my campsite a week ago

TFC P40C Warhawk

Practice display at Duxford.

Sally B

Sally B also seemed to be doing some flight testing last week whilst I was at Duxford. after running up the engines for a while she took to the air and returned to do a run across the airfield with gear down before landing, taxiing past and taking to the air once more, this time raisin her landing and departing.

Wildcat mishap

This very recently restored Grumman Wildcat which was tucked away in a Duxford hangar last Friday unfortunately had a landing mishap at Heveningham Hall in Suffolk yesterday afternoon. It seems the plane flipped on landing and ended up upside-down. The pilot is reported to have suffered serious injury and I hope he pulls through OK.

Stearman

This Stearman has been based at Duxford for a couple of years in connection with filiming work and took to the air whilst I was about last Fiday.

Fighter Collection Gladiator

The TFC Gloster Gladiator was airbourne when I arrived at Duxford last Friday but fortunately I was loittering on the flight line when it cam back in.