Bournemouth Aviation Museum visit 4/4/18

[graham]

As I was working in the area, I decided to call in as I had never visited before. The museum sits across the road from the airfield perimeter and is well signposted. Parking is free but it is just grass and a bit of gravel so it was like a swamp yesterday. Entrance is £6 per adult, there's a friendly lady on the till who tells you what you need to know and gives you a leaflet with the layout of the site. Everything is outside, there are a couple of portacabins with model collections but all the main exhibits are outside. Fortunately, it had stopped raining so I was able to spend about 45 mins here without getting soaked. There are a couple of viewing platforms which give a good view across the airfield too.

Here's a list of the main exhibits...

ZD620 - BAe125 fuselage
XT257 - Wessex intact
XR346 - Shelduck intact
XL164 - Victor front fuselage
G-BEYF - Herald front fuselage
ZE432 - BAC 1-11 front fuselage
XE856 - Vampire intact (G-DUSK)
KF388 - Harvard intact
G-TLET - PA28 intact
WW421 - Provost intact (G-BZRE)
G-BWGS - Jet Provost intact (XW310)
XX763 - Jaguar intact
XG160 - Hunter intact
WS776 - Meteor intact
G-BKRL - Leopard intact
XM404 - Jet Provost cockpit
XH537 - Vulcan front fuselage
XT431 - Wasp intact
G-OPAS - Viscount front fuselage
ZF582 - Lightning front fuelage
G-CEAH - B732 front fuselage
WT532 - Canberra front fuselage
G-BFZR - AA-5B ( marked as "GO-CSE")
G-BTHI - R22 tail boom on fence behind G-OPAS

I needed 13 of these plus made a further seven on the field so a very worthwhile visit.

[rh226]

The Provost is an interesting one in that, despite what is on G-INFO, it is not WW421 - only the wings are.  It is really WW450 but fitted with the wings only of WW421.  This occurred at 4SoTT St. Athan in 1960 and the rest of WW421 was scrapped at St. Athan in 1975. The museum were the ones who (re-)discovered that it was really a composite.

I first saw it in the museum (!) at Tattershall in 1982.

The registration G-BZRE was de-registered in 2005.

www.m.aerialvisuals.ca/AirframeDossier.php?Serial=69517

Also in 1982, I saw the Meteor WS776 on the gate at RAF North Luffenham.  Hunter XG160 was seen in store at RAF Kemble in 1980.

[zz]

I’m glad you gave it a good review Graham!

My Dad is one of the trustees there- if you’d gone on a Monday he would have been in the shop.

[graham]

Thanks ZZ, it was a good three quarters of an hour, had the place to myself virtually. I didn't note the registration of the double decker bus though so apologies to any of our public transport aficionados.