"M" Shed Museum - Bristol - Flying Flea

The "M" Shed Museum in Bristol city centre is located next to the Harbour beside two old cranes - recently refurbished the museum tells the story of Bristol. Part of the collection deals with local transport and includes Mignet HM.14 Pou Du Ciel ( Flying Flea ) G-AEHM.

 

This tiny French designed biplane aircraft was homebuilt by Henry James Dolman in the Staplehill district of Bristol during the mid 1930's. He gave this aircraft the name "Blue Finch". The aircraft was registered on 30th April 1936 and first flight took place at the old Whitchurch airfield ( now Hengrove Park ).  The "Flying Flea" design became popular with amateur builders but a series of fatal accidents saw the type withdrawn from use by the authorities  - this aircraft was struck off the aircraft register on 4th March 1939.

The aircraft was stored for many years and made a static appearance at an airshow at Hendon, London in 1951. The aircraft passed onto the Science Museum collection and for many years was on display at their reserve collection at Wroughton, Wiltshire before coming to Bristol in 2011.


Steve

Warka, Poland - Preserved Lim-2

Preserved near the town square in the street Ulica Dluga near the centre of Warka is this former Polish Air Force Lim-2. This aircraft was presented to the town of Warka by 1 PLM ( based at Minsk Mazowiecki ) back in August 1969 - now 40 years later it is still "on guard" and looks to be in reasonable condition having spent so long outside in all weathers.

The serial 026 can just about be discerned on the port nose although I do not know the construction number for this aircraft - if you know more about this particular aircraft please let me know, thanks.

The Lim-2 was a licensed built version of the Mig-15 bis built by PZL Mielec. Some sources suggests that as many as 18,000 Mig-15 aircraft were built in the USSR and in licenced overseas production. If you look at the nose of this aircraft you can see the large Nudelman N-37 37 mm cannon and a pair of NR-23 23 mm cannons. This aircraft was probably built in the late 1950s.

The town of Warka is on road 731 approx 25 miles South of Warsaw - the photo was taken in August 2009.

The link below will show you this same aircraft on a picture postcard of the town of Warka probably taken in the 1970s

EXTERNAL LINK TO POSTCARD of "026"

Restaurant Tupolev Tu-134A at Chalpowo, Poland - 11.8.08

Preserved at Chalpowo is the former LOT Polish Airlines Tu-134A SP-LHG. The aircraft is open as a cafe /restaurant and can be found approx 2 miles West of the large town of Wladyslawowo up on the Baltic Sea coast.


SP-LHG was built in 1973 as c/n 3352008 and delivered to the Polish Air Force with serial 102. I saw this aircraft as 102 at London Heathrow LHR on 15.12.76, at the time it was a very rare visitor to the UK.

In September 1978 the aircraft was registered as SP-LHG for LOT Polish Airlines - it became a regular visitor to LHR operating for LOT. LOT retired the aircraft after its final flight on 31.3.94, the registration was cancelled in 12.96.

The aircraft sat WFU at Warsaw Okecie until 10.99 when it was dismantled for the long road journey north up to the Polish seaside at Chalpowo to begin its new career as a tourist restaurant.