View Full Version : The Helicopter Museum?
pilot8
15th May 2016, 16:47
So is The Helicopter Museum at Weston Super-Mare worth a visit or not?
Any good or bad points to a visit?
treadigraph
16th May 2016, 07:48
Haven't been there yet, but it looks excellent and I am hoping to combine it with a visit to this year's Bristol Balloon Fiesta.
Two good US museums with a Helicopter theme are the Hiller Museum at San Carlos Airport, San Francisco, and The American Helicopter Museum at Brandywine Airport, Pennsylvanian.
Wander00
16th May 2016, 08:35
I enjoyed a visit last year
happybiker
16th May 2016, 08:47
Went there last year and was pleasantly surprised, lots to see with exhibits going back to the the early days. Also exhibits from the Soviet bloc and USA. A proper museum where you can wander closely among all of the display items rather than some of the themed museums that try to create dynamic displays which do not quite work. The workshop where the exhibits are fettled also has a good viewing area. Would visit again if I was in the area.
teeteringhead
16th May 2016, 09:56
Thanks for the reminder!
Got a family holiday near Weston next week (3 generations - total of 12 of us :eek:) so should be a good "escape day"!
Might even convert some of the Teeterettes or GrandTeeters to real flying.......
Wageslave
16th May 2016, 10:29
Great place, especially if you have an unnatural fondness for the Wobbly 30 because they have so many of the horrible things!
76fan
16th May 2016, 11:39
It is well worth a visit. I would say that the only "bad" points are that they are very limited on space so the exhibits are a bit crammed in and therefore I would not enjoy a visit in a busy period .... and I went in the winter a year ago when it was pretty cold in the hangar.
VictorGolf
16th May 2016, 15:40
Heard good reports about it while chatting to a fellow PPL over the weekend. However I find that helicopters stored without their rotors in place look a bit "unfinished" but I guess that is a question of storage space.
Fareastdriver
18th May 2016, 14:38
Should they be left mounted they would eventually sag. They are designed to be kept straight by centrifugal force.
DaveReidUK
18th May 2016, 14:56
Should they be left mounted they would eventually sag. They are designed to be kept straight by centrifugal force.
But don't blades sag anyway when the helicopter is on the ground with the rotor stationary, in other words most of the time ... ?
dynamics
18th May 2016, 15:07
Certainly worth a visit. It's not the largest of museums but does have an interesting collection of rotary types including record breakers and prototypes.
It's also worth mentioning that Weston's annual Air Festival will be held on the 18-19 of June, if you're in the area then.
https://westonairfestival.wordpress.com/
PAXboy
18th May 2016, 18:30
They do sag but regularly use straightens them out. If left unused, they sag even more. A phenomenon not unknown amongst half the human species ... http://cdn.pprune.org/images/smilies/wink2.gif
DaveReidUK
18th May 2016, 18:59
They do sag but regularly use straightens them out. If left unused, they sag even more.
If that happens, you just turn them over and fit them upside-down. Nobody will notice. :O
Democritus
18th May 2016, 19:26
They do sag but regularly use straightens them out. If left unused, they sag even more. A phenomenon not unknown amongst half the human species ... http://cdn.pprune.org/images/smilies/wink2.gif
35 of us ancient naval aviators/spouses have a pre-arranged group visit to the museum on 8 June after a dinner locally the previous night to mark the 50th anniversary of the decommissioning of our Squadron. I fully expect most of us will be sagging more than a little that morning after the night before...........
pilot8
3rd Jun 2016, 10:20
Cheers for the input, everyone and a visit will be on the cards later in the year.:cool:
ericferret
10th Jun 2016, 22:14
When we took the blades off the Sycamore that used to be gate guardian at Middle Wallop we found that laying them "flat" resulted in an arc that was about 4 foot high.
At this time somebody suggested that it should be got back into the air. That would have been worth seeing with that set of blades.
DaveReidUK
11th Jun 2016, 06:59
When we took the blades off the Sycamore that used to be gate guardian at Middle Wallop we found that laying them "flat" resulted in an arc that was about 4 foot high.
At this time somebody suggested that it should be got back into the air. That would have been worth seeing with that set of blades.
It's ironic that since the dawn of aviation it has made use of wood's ability to bend and stay bent. :O
Check in advance. We showed up on a spur of the moment to discover it was 'dress up like a superhero' day. Not only did the hoards get in free, the very limited space was taken up by kiosks, stands and tables selling superhero crap. Lightsaber battles etc.
I was quite disappointed