The
annual outing this year, on September 20, was to the
RAF Museum at Hendon.
Some seventeen Members found their way there where Barry Pegram had
arranged for guided tours of the Graham White Factory hangar, the
Milestones of Flight display and the Department of Research and
Information Services.
The first
houses an
outstanding collection of Warld War I aircraft, either originals or
true replicas, and engines. Sopwith types studied were a
One-and-a-Half Strutter, a Triplane, a Pup and a Tabloid.
In the second we saw a Camel, the ex-Dunsfold Hart, a Tempest V and a
Harrier GRMk3 whose pilot was the first to report white flags over
Stanley as the Argentines surrendered.
Guides David Keen and Vernon Creek tailored the tour to suit Hawker
interests and clearly enjoyed discussing detailed points with an
enthusiastic party.
Royal Air
Force Museum Visit
We
then moved on to the Dept. of Research where Senior Keeper Peter
Elliott had laid out several interesting artefacts for our pleasure.
Again, much enthusiasm was displayed in conversations with Peter.
Perhaps the most fascinating was the little notebook used by
Alcock and
Brown to communicate in the noisy, open cockpit of the transatlantic
Vimy. Also of great interest was the beautifully hand-written Sopwith
Board Meeting Minutes book and a ledger listing Sopwith employees. A
more modern item was a P.1129 brochure, Hawker's TSR.2 proposal.
Afterwards members dispersed to view the rest of the
exhibits which
include a Typhoon, a Hart Trainer, a Tempest II and a Hurricane. The
visit was undoubtedly a great success.
