"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  The "Flying Flea" design became popular with amateur builders but a series of fatal accidents saw the type withdrawn from use by the authorities  - this aircraft was struck off the aircraft register on 4th March 1939.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

Binisallem airfield Mallorca - Flight Design CT2K

A few miles east of the town of Binisallem ( close to the large town of Inca ) lies the small dirt airfield of Binissalem. I understand that the airfield has only been in operation for about 5 years.

At the time of my visit in August 2010 there were 10 small tin hangers all in one row - although most of them were locked up many of them had plenty of small holes to view the based aircraft - I logged 20 aircraft but I would estimate that maybe another 5 or 6 remained unidentified.

Seen arriving here on 14th August 2010 was Flight Design CT2K EC-XCS - on the passenger seat was a large location beacon and inflatable raft - I suspect this aircraft may have arrived on a visit from mainland Spain. Over 1,400 examples of the CT have been built since 1997.

The official Spanish aircraft register shows EC-XCS was built in 2009 - I would be interested to know the official Flight Design construction number for this aircraft please.


One of the based aircraft was EC-FE5 a Tecnam P92 Echo - this aircraft is used by a local flying school at Binisallem.

EC-FE5 was built by Tecnam in Italy in 2005 and is c/n P92E-029.

Steve

N610AT AT-6 at Farnborough July 2010

The Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 made its first appearance outside of the USA at this years Farnborough Air Show in the UK.

The AT-6 is a development of the T-6 Texan II trainer and is designed to offer close air support and reconnaissance patrols in counterinsurgency war environments. The aircraft has a strengthen airframe and six underwing hardpoints.

The aircraft shown at Farnborough was N610AT c/n AT-1 and it features an L-3 Wescam targetting turret on the under fuselage, plus HOTAS controls ( allows more time for the pilot to keep his eyes outside of the cockpit in combat ).

In April 2010 N610AT completed a two week Joint Expedtitionary Forces Experiment ( JEFX ) demonstration exercise operating out of Nellis AFB in Nevada,USA operating alongside the A-10C.

N610AT will shortly be re-engined with an upgrade P&W PT6A-68D developing 1,600 shp. A second AT-6 prototype N620AT has now joined the program and flew for the first time in April 2010.

The AT-6 will also receive a defensive aids suite before participating in the USAF Light Attack Armed Reconnaissance ( LAAR ) aircraft program that could lead to order from the US military and foreign military sales.

More information on the AT-6 can be found on the link below

http://www.hawkerbeechcraft.com/military_and_special_mission/light_attack.aspx



Steve

Poland - Radom Piastow airfield

The airfield at Radom Piastow ( EPRP ) is approx 6 miles North West of Radom city. This grass airfield is home to the local Aeroklub Radomski operating both aircraft and gliders. In addition there are also some privately owned aircraft too.

There is small elegant clubhouse that includes a cafe open to the public. Permission was granted to walk over to most of the hangers during my visit on 28.8.09.

SP-ZUD PZL M-18 Dromader recently repainted into this bright yellow c/s, this aircraft was built in 1983 and is used for aerial fire fighting.

SP-KMC Cessna 182Q Skylane was built in 1978 and imported into Poland in 2001 from German as D-EVER

SP-FRK PZL Koliber 150 was built in 1984 as SP-ARK a Koliber 110 - it became SP-FRK in 1989 and was converted to 150 standard in 1993

SP-AFM PZL 104 Wilga 35A was built in 1982 and delivered to the Polish Aeroklub. I've seen it active at Radom Piastow in 1997 and 2000 - now it looks in need of some attention

SP-SMWD Ekolot JK-05 Junior a Polish built ultralight being pushed back into a small private hanger

SP-ACM Extra 300L c/n 48 was built in 1997

SP-KGK Cessna 152 dismantled inside the Aeroklub glider hanger - this aircraft was built in 1977 and was imported to Poland from Germany as D-EDLN in 2005

SP-3038 SZD 9Bis Bocian 1E two seat trainer was built in 1976

SP-2503 SZD 30 Pirat was the second Pirat to be built ( in 1966 ) and is now the oldest remaining example of this singe seat design after the prototype ( SP-2502 ) was destroyed in 1966. Based with Aeroklub LOT.

In total I logged 36 aircraft and gliders at Piastow of which 18 were gliders. Two private hangers on the Western side of the club housewere not accessed.

MW Fly In - Warren Farm Charterhouse near Cheddar 2.8.09

The MW Club hold their annual Fly In to Warren Farm near Cheddar in Somerset. The club is for owners, pilots and fans of the designs of Mike Whittaker such as the MW5 Sorcerer and the MW6 Merlin and MW6S Fat Boy Flyer two seaters.

This years event took place over the weekend of 2nd & 3rd August - the weather was bad on the 2nd but a bit better on Sunday 3rd. Seen mid afternoon on 3rd were


G-MMGV - this is the original prototype MW5 Series A c/n 001 first flown in July 1984 here at Warren Farm. Built by Microknight Aviation and registered as G-MMGV on 2.12.1983. By 31.12.08 this aircraft had flown 140 hours. The top photo shows the aircrafts Fuji-Robin EC-34 engine.




G-MWEK MW5 Sorcerer - this example was home built in the Exeter area in the early 1990s and has PFA c/n 163-11284. Officially registered on 20.2.90 the first flight took place in 1994 ( ? ) - by 31.12.07 this aircraft had flown over 208 hours. This aircraft has a Rotax 447 engine.



Visiting the MW fly In was Skyranger G-CCMX - powered by a Rotax 912 engine this Skyranger first flew in 2004 and is based in Gloucestershire.


LINK to MW Club web site

G-APIZ Turbulent

It was good to see Turbulent G-APIZ looking in excellent condition at RAF Shawbury on 19.3.09.

This small but elegant French designed Druine D.31 Turbulent aircraft was built by Rollason Aircraft and Engines Ltd ( RAE ) at the old Croydon airfield back in 1957. Altogether Rollason built approx 30 Turbulents. Note that Stark Flugzeugbau of Germany also built a version of this aircraft in the late 1950s.

I believe this is the oldest Turbulent still airworthy today in the UK. The aircraft has the PFA c/n PFA 478.

It is powered by a Volkswagen 1600 engine and has flown approx 225 hours by December 2007.

This aircraft was involved in a major accident in 1963 at West Clandon and was subsequently cancelled from the CAA register in 1965. It was restored to the register in 1987 after rebuild and was based at White Waltham during the 1990s.

Great to see this aircraft in such good shape.

RAF Fairford - Exercise Crown Condor

RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England awoke from its usual sleepy state to become home to an active Deployed Operating Base ( DOB ) in October 2008.

At the end of September 2008 the first members of 140 Expeditionary Air Wing ( EAW) arrived at RAF Fairford from their home base at RAF Lossiemouth in Morayshire to take part in Exercise Crown Condor. The Tornados from Lossie were joined by Gripens from Sweden keen to participate in such an exercise.

140 EAW lead by Wing Commander Torben Harris will have the duty to bring “fast jet power” to bear once they complete this years training of which Exercise Crown Condor is the final part of their working up period. As from 1st January 209 140 EAW will be on a 12 month period of alert duty to provide the fast jet EAW response should it be needed, ready to deploy overseas at short notice.

For the purpose of this exercise 140 EAW deployed to the normally vacate southern dispersals at RAF Fairford away from the main hangers and comfortable infrastructure across the runway.

This area was to represent a disused bare base and the job of 140 EAW was to turn this austere environment into a fully functioning fast jet operating base. It took the team 12 days to set up from scratch a secure tented city with four large temporary dispersal hangars up and erected before the first jets arrived.

Everything had to be put in place ranging from the basics such as securing a supply of fresh water through to providing catering and accommodation for almost 1,000 deployed personnel ( including approx 100 from Sweden ) to ensuring the safe and secure operation of fast jets with secure tactical communications, portable control tower, fuel and weapon stores plus a field hospital.

Once the Deployed Operating Base ( DOB ) had been built and was operational the air component of Exercise Crown Condor arrived. This involved deploying 12 ( Bomber ) Sqn with eight Tornado GR4 aircraft down from RAF Lossiemouth.

To help represent the fact that multi national operations are now often the norm overseas the Swedish Air Force ( Flygvapnet ) were invited to participate and deployed with seven JAS 39 Gripen aircraft from 171 Sqn at Ronneby airbase in southern Sweden. These first jets arrived at RAF Fairford on 2^nd October 2008 with the exercise itself running from 6^th – 16^th October 2008.

Deployed Tornado GR4/GR4A aircraft at Exercise Crown Condor table

ZA473 no Code 12 Sqn

ZA543 Code "FF" 12 Sqn - Special 12 Sqn tail markings 1915-2005

ZA556 Code "047" - no Sqn markings

ZD843 Code "106" 15 Sqn

ZD847 Code "108" - no Sqn markings

ZD850 Code "111" - no Sqn markings

ZG727 Code "126" and "AJ-J" 617 Sqn markings - Note GR4A

ZG729 Code "127" 13 Sqn markings - Note GR4A

The Swedish deployment was led by Lt Col Anders Segerby wing commander of F17 Wing based at Ronneby. Among his flight crews were pilots who had recently returned from the JAS 39 Gripen deployment to Red Flag at Nellis AFB USA in August 2008.

The primary mission of 171 Sqn is reconnaissance and air to surface operations. The unit converted from the JA 37 Viggen in 2002 when they received their first JAS 39A / B Gripens – these were replaced with the more advanced JAS 39C / D aircraft in 2004.

Deployed JAS 39C / D Gripen aircraft at Exercise Crown Condor table

39209 JAS39C code "209" 2 missile markings under cockpit

39210 JAS39C code "210" PRI tail marking - Priority use re flight hours

39221 JAS39C code "221" Small “Red Flag” badge on tail

39229 JAS39C code "229"

39230 JAS39C code "230" PRI tail marking - Priority use re flight hours

39267 JAS39C code "267"

39823 JAS39D code "823"

The aircraft and crews from 171 Sqn are part of the Swedish Air Force Rapid Reaction Unit ( SWAFRAP ) and are earmarked as part of the EU Nordic Battle Group formed to support European Union-mandated military action if required and kept at short deployment notice.

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.

Berlin Tegel airport - 1st June 2008

Berlin Tegel Airport

At the end of May 2008 I went to Berlin to visit the ILA aviation tradeshow at Schonefeld. My hotel was near Zoo station and gave a direct S Bahn link to Schonefeld. Zoo station also has a direct "express" bus service to Tegel airport so I went there on Sunday 1st June.

Tegel is located in the NW suburbs of Berlin -the airport is due to close in a few years, once the major re-development of Schonefeld is complete. Tegel is a good airport for aviatino enthusiasts and photographers as it has a good roof top viewing area that allows you a good view with no obstructing fence or glass. Note that there are no facilities or weather protection up on this roof so bring a drink with you. You are allowed to bring small bags up here but not suitcases. The rooftop viewing area closes at 6pm even in summer.

Tegel is home to Air Berlin with its fleet of FK100 and 737 airliners. All the photos were taken mid to late afternoon.

D-AGPB Fokker 100 of Air Berlin in the old c/s


D-ABAS Boeing 737-800 of Air Berlin in the old c/s

D-AGEL Boeing 737-700 shows the interim Air Berlin c/s without the new tail logo

Air Berlin also operate helicopters - these were busy running shuttle flights to and from the ILA trade show at Schonefeld

D-HCOR AS 355 Twin Squrrel of Air Berlin


A big surprise for me was the arrival of the two JASDF Boeing 747 aircraft bringing the Prime Minister of Japan to Berlin on a state visit


20-1101 Boeing 747-400 of the Japanese Self Defence Force - JASDF

I only saw one Germania aircraft D-AGET - I'd seen this aircraft in 2005 wearing Hapag Lloyd Express c/s


D-AGET Boeing 737-700 of Germania


A good visitor for me was Carpatair FK100 YR-FKB from Romania


Italian airline Air One stretched CRJ-900 EI-DVT

With SAS withdrawing their Dash 8 fleet they now operate this old Bae 146 D-AMGL c/n 2055 - back in 2005 this was operating in Iberia c/s as D-AMGL

SAS BAe 146-200 D-AMGL

This Hapag Fly 737-800 arrived wearing a yellow engine intake cowling that looks like it has been borrowed from a TUIFly aircraft

D-AHFV Boeing 737-800 of Hapag

D-AHXC Boeing 737-700 of TUIFly with winglets

Other aircraft seen included one LTU Airbus A330 D-ALPA operating a flight to Bangkok plus airliners from Meridiana, BA, Air France, Thy, Transavia, Air Europa, Transaero, Air Ukraine and many Lufthansa.

Seen but to far away to photograph were a pair of LGW Dornier Do 228.

Deutsches Technik-Museum - Berlin Germany - June 2008

General view of the Aviation section

A trip to Berlin to attend the bi-annual ILA airshow gave me the opportunity to visit this excellent museum.

The Deutsches Technik-Museum is located close to the U-Bahn station at Mockernbrucke on Line U1 and the aviation section was opened in 2005.

Suspended from the roof over a balcony is C-47 45-0951 in a silver USAAF c/s.

The exhibits in the museum are in excellent condition, some are hanging from the ceiling - the aviation section is tightly packed with aircraft and artefacts - take your time and enjoy the visit.


The rare Arado 96 B-1 was an advanced tandem trainer with retractable gear - this example is a composite rebuild of three airframes recovered from Sweden and is coded "U + CF".



The Etrich Taube was a widely used monoplane by the Luftwaffe in World War 1 - this aircraft was part of the original Technik-Museum collection of airframes pre WW2 - many of these exhibits were destroyed during - others were dispersed to storage in Poland during the War. Today many of those original exhibits can be seen at the excellent aviation museum in Krakow, Poland. This Taube is displayed as serial A-180 / 14 but is thought to be really serial A-118 /13.




The Bucker Bu 181 G2 Bestmann basic trainer with side by side seating was used by the Luftwaffe during WW2. This example is shown carrying Panzerfaust anti tank weapons, a last ditch attempt to halt the advancing Soviet armies in Spring 1945 by adding unguided weapons to this slow basic trainer. This example is serialled 501659 coded "RM + HE"



Swedish Air Force Fieseler Fi 156 Trop Storch serial 3810 code "20" of unit F3. This airframe is an ex Luftwaffe example. The Storch had an exceptional short take off and landing roll and was used for observation, artillery spotting and ad-hoc transport into remote locations.



The Polish Air Force Lim-2 is a Polish licenced built Mig-15 fighter jet from the 1950s and was widely used by Warsaw Pact nations during the Cold War. This example serial 1323 has c/n 1B-01323.



The F-86 Sabre was a direct adversary to the above Mig 15. The F-86 served with many NATO countries in the 1950s and 1960s. The type underwent a lot of development resulting in the F-86K . This example is an F-86K licenced built by Fiat in Italy and originally delivered to the Dutch Air Force as serial Q-256. In 1963 the aircraft was passed onto the the Italian Air Force, serialed 41256 and is preserved today coded "51-50".



Perhaps one of the most striking exhibits is this wrecked Junkers Ju-87 R2. This aircraft serial 5856 crashed into a fjord in Norway in July 1942. The deep dark cold water held onto this Stuka until it was recovered in 1995. The R2 version was used for anti shipping missions and had internal wing fuel tanks to increase range, but this reduced the weapon load to just one bomb. There are very few Ju-87s in existence today and this wonderful example is a very welcome addition.


Another exhibit recovered in recent years is this Messerschmitt BF 110 F-2 - serial 5052 this aircraft landed on a frozen lake in Northern Russia in January 1943 - it was abandoned and sank. The F-2 version was a long range hunter often used against allied bomber aircraft armed with 4 machine guns in the nose plus two cannons below. It was recovered from the lake in 1991 and underwent a long re-build with the Technik Museum into this fantastic condition. This aircraft is coded "LN + NR "


Take a look at the Technik Museums own aviation web pages here

Poland - Warsaw - Muzeum Techniki

Located at the base of the landmark Palace of Culture & Science is the Muzeum Techniki - Technical Museum.

This museum houses a very varied collection ranging from iron and steel production, through washing machines, early computers, telephones, vintage cars and the space age - plus a few aviation exhibits.

Pictured below is the fuselage of a Polish AF TS-9 Junak 3 trainer belived to be c/n 94-036. The Junak 3 was a fixed tricycle undercarriage re-design of the earlier LWD Junak 2 - the design was created by Tadeusz Soltyk ( of TS-8 Bies and TS-11 Iskra fame ).




The type first flew in August 1953, and 146 aircraft were built at the Okecie factory in Warsaw between 1953 and 1956. The type was withdrawn from the Polish AF during 1961 being replaced by the far more modern and powerful TS-8 Bies design.

There are very few examples of the Junak 3 remaining today - I am aware of two other examples, one being on the gate at Deblin airbase but this is is very poor condition. The excellent aviation museum at Krakow has an example in very good condition.

Next to the Junak 3 at the Muzeum Techniki is a silver Bensen autogyro ( quoted as c/n 5 ) - can anyone tell me when and how this came to Poland ?

Also hanging from the ceiling is a Demoiselle replica built by Pawel Zolotov - I'm not sure if this ever flew or is only a static replica - if you know more please let me know - thanks.

Nearby is a Soviet built Mig 15 "Link trainer" type - it is a training simulator from the 1950s and is painted silver - it does have an external build plate showing a 4 digit serial number but I failed to write this down.

Many thanks go to Tony Morris ( Polish aviation historian ) and the Bob Ogden aviation museum guide books for some of this information.

Yeovilton Show Sunday Departures 8.7.07

Yeovilton Show Departures - Sunday 8.7.07

The day after Yeovilton airshow is a chance to see some of the visitors depart. This year the French Navy contingent took the opportunity to escape across the Channel in time to be home for Sunday lunch.

Best for me was the old SA 319B Alouette 3 serial 347 c/n 2347 - what a great navy scheme too, Alouette 3s are getting to be a rarity these days.

This year the French Navy also sent a pair of Super Etendards - serial 8 was carrying an inert air launched AM 39 Exocet training round under its starboard wing.

Soon after the Little and Large pair came out - the mighty Super Frelon with his buddy the Lynx alongside, great to them alongside each other.