New Year, New Pursuits

By Richard Bryant

It is that time of year to set a New Year resolution. Get fit, give up chocolate etc. Mine is to make more effort to mix up my aviation pursuit to seek out something different; either an airframe, location or time of day.

There is nothing like cracking on with a goal. The first Friday in January (5th) offered me my first opportunity to go out with my camera. Would I return to Heathrow, a regular haunt, or be tempted to East Anglia and the USAF bases? Not this time. I decided to visit Brooklands Museum. It is almost 10 years since I last visited this museum and I only remember not seeing their Vickers Wellington on that occasion.

There were a couple of exhibits I was keen to see at Brooklands. The new (for me) Brooklands Aircraft Factory with their Vickers Wellington Mk1A on display and their BAC Concorde. I had previously seen some nice edited images posted on COAP of both these exhibits which inspired me.

I was impressed with the museum. Being a Friday there were more visitors than I expected, which was great to see. What also drew my attention was the number of volunteers who were about to show visitors around exhibits and in some cases the cockpits. And all willing to speak to me and enthusiastically explain their exhibit.

A piece of WW2 history. The Vickers Wellington Mk1A at Brooklands Museum. N2980 is the only known surviving Brooklands-built Wellington and the only one to see active service during World War Two. She was recovered, nearly 40 years ago, from Loch Ness in 1985 and then restored at Brooklands. And can be seen in the impressive Brooklands Aircraft Factory hanger.

In an annex to the Brooklands Aircraft Factory hanger are several more fascinating aircraft examples including Hawker Harrier T.Mk.52 G-VTOL. The volunteers were offering sit in the cockpit tours.  I jumped at this chance to sit inside a Hawker Harrier. The volunteers explained the instruments, the airframe and ejection seat. I looked at the clearance my leg had in the ejection seat  and think my leg was just too long to allow me to be a Harrier pilot! This aircraft was the first two-seater trainer and was retained as a demonstration aircraft by Hawker to tour the world, showcasing the Harrier to foreign air forces.

One of the volunteers also spoke about their Hawker Hawk Mk.50, even sharing a photo of himself in the back seat of this aircraft returning from the Paris Airshow. Quite something. All in all a very engaging and informative time.

Outside is their Concorde G-BBDG (Delta Golf). One of the most iconic aircraft ever built. Delta Golf was the first British production Concorde. A must see. I marvel at this aircraft. Ahead of its time. Built for speed. And I wonder whether I will ever see another supersonic passenger airliner fly.

In the spirit of finding something different I explored the museum and came across their Vickers VC.1 Viking. I was drawn to this tail dragger, curious about the type and its history. I knew nothing about the Viking. Built at Brooklands in 1946, I was intrigued to read she was derived from the Wellington bomber with many components used in its construction including geodetic wings, engine nacelles and undercarriages. There were 163 Vikings in total, all built at Brooklands between 1945-47. This Viking is being restored. She wears her BEA livery, named ‘Vagrant’.

As always a very nice day on my #relentlesspursuit