
Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight	East Kirkby	Elvington	The Real Aeroplane Co.	Duxford	RAF Hendon
By clicking on these photos you can enter the sections of the other museums’ articles. (Not all in English yet)

The last museum that I paid a visit on my holiday journey 2007 was the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovil. The museum is moreover situated very closely to Stonehenge, which I also passed on my way to the museum, and this famous landmark surely looked very inviting, but the line of cars outside was too long. Therefore I chose to drive past Stonehenge and continue to the mentioned museum that was my goal.

Visiting this museum was definitely one of the most interesting experiences on my holiday. I even spent my time there until closing time. Besides the many exciting displayed aircraft on carriers, old as well as new ones, you could see a very important detail in a wall at the entrance of a helicopter. Inside the helicopter the loudspeaker informed you that you would be flown to an aircraft carrier, whereupon the door was closed behind you. Subsequently, the helicopter began to shake. This should simulate a flight. However, this was much more violent than the flights I have ever joined. After “the landing” the door was opened in the other side, and you were free to enter the deck of an aircraft carrier. Then you were guided to an F4 Phantom aircraft that was ready to take off. You could hear some noise coming from the engines, and the covers behind the aircraft went up vertically. In the back of the engines there was light in order to simulate the afterburner. All of a sudden all light and noise went out, and the disappearance in the distance was displayed on a large screen, which filled up the whole end wall. This was truly realistic and well done.

After the take off of the Phantom aircraft you were guided to the stern, where an aircraft would land shortly. The first approach was unsuccessful, since the helicopter was placed off the ship, but the second approach went very well. The Buccaneer aircraft caught the wire and stopped right in front of us, which scared a couple of children. They ran away screaming. I suppose this was too realistic for them.

After having seen what took place on the deck we travelled through the interior of the ship, where we were also guided automatically. Red and green lamps helped us enter the right rooms. At every stop of the different sections we were fully explained what went on in there. For example we were informed about the work of the cook or the captain. I can truly recommend this museum, but you must not forget to give yourself plenty of time.

Unfortunately, the sections of the museum were too dark meaning that the photo opportunities of my camera were too poor. However, I have shot some photos. You can see a selection of them below. I will add more photos later on.

Poul-Jørgen

This is what you see from the parking place. You get inside using the stairs to the left, and you start on the first floor.

This aircraft is a Seafire. When a Spitfire is to be used on an aircraft carrier, the name is changed to Seafire. Moreover, the wings can be folded, as it is clear from this photo.

This Hawker Sea Fury is a very violent aircraft. The aircraft is allegedly the world’s fastest mass-produced piston engine aircraft.

However, there are examples of other faster aircraft, but these are all modified with the purpose of air racing.

This is the engine of a Hawker Sea Fury.

It is a Bristol Centaurus 18-cylinder radial engine of 53.6 litres and 2520 HP at 2700 rpm. This engine was also one of the biggest piston aircraft engines ever produced.

However, the Americans produced bigger engines up to 71.4 litres and 28 cylinders (4 rows of 7), but they were seemingly not trustworthy enough.

This is the cockpit of a Supermarine Walrus.

Through this helicopter you “fly” to the aircraft carrier (cf. the above article).

This Phantom aircraft is “taking off” on deck (cf. the above article).

This bridge in the background is the one, where you finished the tour of the ship’s interior. This was incredibly well done with all the artificial tubes, cables and real lamps. Walls and doors were to resemble real steel.

This aircraft is a XP841 - Handley Page HP115 and was built in 1960 as a part of the Concorde development programme. It was used for research into delta wing profiles at low speed. The first flight took place on 17 August 1961. The aircraft participated in the Paris air show in 1965. In 1973 the aircraft had completed its test flights and stopped flying after 500 flying hours.

The aircraft is a single-seater, and the engine is a Bristol Siddeley Viper with a thrust of 1900 lbs. The maximum speed is 248 mph, and the cruising range is 40 minutes.

To the top.



		Photos are taken by Poul-Joergen Christensen (©)