Brooklands
 

Drove through today on the way to a meeting in West Molesey. Noted that there are contractors clearing moss off the Byfleet banking opposite TESCOs, and there's a sign outside the old control tower(actually I believe it was known as the clubhouse) next to Curry's/Argos saying there's office space available to rent there.

I keep meaning to go there. I pass occasionally on trains and almost every year it seems even further squeezed by remorseless bureaucratic and commercial expansion. Modern England: "They've paved paradise and put up a huge block of ugly modern glass offices completely out of proportion to the surrounding area" does not scan quite as well as the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi.

The Brooklands clubhouse is on the Museum site over the river. It has been restored after flooding some years ago. When Mercedes Benz World was built they improved the drainage of the site which prevented serious flooding this Winter.
The building used as offices was I believe used as the watch office and Barnes Wallis had his office there too.
mmitch.

That's the motor racing clubhouse; I believe the one on the west side was also called the clubhouse (think I saw it in a plan published in 'Aeroplane Monthly years ago) for the flying club and it contains what looks like a control tower on top. I think Vickers built another tower on the east side also, the remnants are near the Concorde in the museum.
I did a school visit to Vickers (as it was then) back in about '66 and we were shown Barnes Wallis' office which he was still using (wasn't in when we visited though).

I have been there a couple of times over the past decade. The difference could not be more extreme: Mercedes Benz World is sleek, polished, efficient, with some interesting gizmos, but essentially nothing there of absorbing interest.

The Brooklands Museum is rambling, decayed, and ramshackle, with items of absorbing interest stuffed wherever they will fit, and more outside in odd dark corners. It's utterly fascinating: you could lose yourself there for days. The difference could not be more marked.

Now they've got the London Bus Museum too: well, Nirvana is not strong enough a word.....

btw the VC10 they have there is the aircraft that featured in the film "Born Free": Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers were filmed descending to the tarmac at Nairobi following their leave in the UK.

It is one of my favourite places and fortunately close to my UK base, so I spend a lot of time there. It is a wonderful place and I enjoy the contrast which gruntie pointed out. It's a great place for big boys, small boys, and even the fairer sex enjoy it.

MBW has the upstairs Gull Wing restaurant, very good and great views, and the snack bar on ground level which is simple but excellent. I quite often go for brunch there on weekends.

I've been to a couple of events at The Club House at Brooklands Museum, it's redolent with history and very enjoyable.

What about a Pprune reunion there?

It sounds like my kind of place, will have to go there soon!

Quote from gruntie:
"btw the VC10 they have there is the aircraft that featured in the film "Born Free": Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers were filmed descending to the tarmac at Nairobi following their leave in the UK."

That would have been about 1966. Many will remember her in those BUA days as G-ASIX, the second of three 1103s for the airline, and delivered in 1965. About 6 years later, by which time BUA had become BCAL, she was nearly lost in a jet-upset near Mendoza, in the lee of the Andes, en-route from Ezeiza to Santiago. It was suggested that a B707 might not have survived such turbulence. That may be so, but the "bullet", on which the tailplane is mounted, required extensive repair, as did the wing torsion box.

In 1974, after the fuel crisis, BCAL sold its VC10s, and she went to the Sultan of Oman as his personal transport. Many years later, he kindly donated her to Brooklands Museum.

If you haven't already visited a VC10 cockpit, give yourself a treat. Definitely the best 3-crew cockpit (4-crew, if you include the Nav's station) of its era.

An absolute must!
 

I can thoroughly recommend Brooklands as a great day out & even if your can only spare a couple of hours it's definitely worth the trip, I was lucky enough to be treated to a session in the original BA Concorde simulator they have there -I am still grinning now!
For me it's the atmosphere that most does it, I feel it coming out of the woodwork, do try to go this year & have a great time ;-)

Muzzey

It's a crying shame that the circuit is no longer complete. I've driven it in the Napier Railton and wish it was real not on a stimulator.:(

Yes I crashed.

SGC

Ahem - I have actually driven the Napier-Railton at Brooklands, and got my shoe caught between its throttle pedal and the underside of the brake. Since the Members' Banking river bridge over the Wey was demolished many years ago, and I was bounding towards the gap over the crumbling concrete of the banking, that was most decidedly a mind-concentrating moment (which we got away with)...

I hugely recommend the Brooklands Museum to children of all ages, whether the core interest is cars, motor-cycles, aeroplanes or just the period (1907-1939). I took my grandchildren there recently at half-term and - aged 2-7 - they just adored it. Sitting at the captain's controls on the VC10, or in the pilot's seat of the P1127, or experiencing the interior of a Wellington fuselage mock-up, or sitting in an Ayrton Senna-model Formula 1 McLaren could each be a life-deciding experience. The Concorde Experience, for £4 a ticket, is fantastic - highly recommended. With a flight video, audio effects AND seat vibration pads to heighten the experience my much-travelled infant grand-daughter was so convinced we'd taken off that she burst into tears when she was told that the usual nice lady with the grub and drinkypoos wasn't coming round...

I have no formal connection with the Museum, nor am I one of its volunteers - just a lifelong enthusiast and 68-year-old child who hadn't visited for years...but am now a confirmed fan. Do pay a visit...it offers fantastic value.

... and to add to all the good parts: the Stratosphere chamber has now been reopened after a major refurbishment!

Is the Railton at Brooklands? That would certainly be an impressive sight. Sound too I reckon! Yup, time to plan a visit.

The Railton is usually on display, but sometimes has an away day. It is displayed next to 'Babs' the restored Parry Thomas car.
mmitch.

Brooklands
 

For something special, visit Brooklands on an event day when the Railton is running. I once had the pleasure of helping to start the beast. Three guys heaving to get two tons or so moving and then that Napier rumbles into life with the exhausts right next to you.... Magic ;-)

Jh


Agreed re the Napier.


The chief executive of the Museum is Alan Wynn, former editor of Flight. He commutes to work in his vintage Bentley - so you can tell the interests of both aircraft and car nuts are well catered for!

Brooklands
 

Our "Boss" is Allan WINN.....

Brooklands
 

Aka the 'Clerk of the Course' ;-)

With thanks to Andy Lambert, here's some footage of the refurbished Strat chamber and Sir Barnes Wallis' daughter opening the new exhibit.

I have just spent a very enjoyable day at Brooklands. It represents an important part of the world's aviation Heritage - not just UK - and although it's already excellent, there are plans for improvement. They have 'events' every couple of months, today was a 'roaring forties' and many people made a huge effort not just to turn up in cars of the era but also in period dress.

The volunteers who work there are a cheery and enthusiastic bunch of people, many of them ex-aviators with a wealth of knowledge.

For £85 a year you can get full annual family membership which gives free entry and also use of the excellent clubhouse facilities.
Brooklands Trust Members - Brooklands Museum
I have no connection with Brooklands other than as someone who thoroughly enjoys going there, and I would like to see it better publicised.

I apologise if these photos are of no interest, but I am putting them here in the hope that they will invoke some enthusiasm for people to visit the exhibitions or join the BTM.



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Thanks for the photos, must visit. The VC 10 looks like it needs re-painting!

Don't forget their latest aviation acquistion - VC10 K.3 ZA150 Dunsfold. '150 was formerly Super VC10 5H-MOG of East African Airways and was the last aircraft to built and flown out of the Brooklands site.

The aim is to keep her in a taxiable condition for events such as Wings & Wheels.

"The VC 10 looks like it needs re-painting!"

Yes, and I know which livery I'd go for - but not sure the museum and the previous owner would agree. Tricky decision, that. And then there's the funding...

All those a/c need to be hangared, of course, if our grandchildren are going to be able to show them to their kids. Hey-ho.

Didn't one of the other ex BCAL VC10s got to RAE Bedford? When I asked a Bedford controller about it, he said it was no longer flyable as it it a 'bent' fuselage, but didn't know how it happened. It was clearly visible from Santa Pod (Podington airfield) in the 80s; wonder what happened to it when RAE Bedford closed.

Other Operators

Was at RAF Cosford yesterday and was told that a number of approaches were flown and successful short landings made at another airfield [ with longer runway than Cosford] and a number of pilots would have flown the VC-10 [allocated to Cosford] - no problems but some RAF top brass said no. Had he ever looked at the Brooklands VC 10 landing and the actual runway length used?

Arriving by road in bits is so undignified for such an elegant aircraft!

Onwards and upwards......

I have searched on You Tube for film of the VC 10 landing at Brooklands but cannot find any. Do you know if there is one or are you possibly thinking of the Vickers Vanguard landing film?

One of the plans for Brooklands is some kind of 'dome' to cover the aircraft which are currently exposed to the elements. I am amazed that they have managed to keep the interiors clean and dry, the Viscount for example is in pristine condition.

I don't think that this footage is on Youtube, it used to be included in the 'Brooklands Aviation' VHS/DVD sold at the museum.

The Vanguard landing is indeed on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmakSwlYLs0

In addition to Phileas Fogg's post, photos here: C/n 825 - G-ATDJ - XX914

Google "VC-10 landing Brooklands" and pages of interesting stuff appears.

Brooklands had apparently 2550 feet available. A number of VC-10 landings were made over

time and some used 70+% of the runway. The residing Sultan's braking system was the older,

less efficient Maxaret? system so why Cosford with its 3,800ft+ runway was denied a final

VC-10 landing can only be red tape/Health and Safety/Top Brass lack of cojones IMHO.

Debated at length here: http://www.pprune.org/aviation-histo...ting-vc10.html

Who remembers the RAF VC10 loaned to RR for the RB211 trials ?. It ended up with a twisted airframe and sat at Kemble for a long time until finally broken up.

I do ...

I joined the mob in 1976 and became stationed at Lyneham (in the tower) from where we would often observe the Red Arrows practicing at Kemble and on one of many a pub crawl we might pass a fleet of SC5 Belfast's and one bent VC10 parked up at Kemble along with a Red Arrows display.

I think I recall seeing film of the RB 211 VC10 in the Flight Gallery at the Science Museum. Looking at VC10.net it says that the RB211 produced slightly less thrust than 2 Conways. Does anyone know why this plane got bent, like did the RB have different torque characteristics, or was it mishap?

Although I love the look and sound of the 4 Conways, it is a shame that they could not use the RB211s and extend the VC10's commercial life, as the airframes were probably good for years more service.

It wasn't the forward thrust of the RB211 that was the problem.

It was the forward thrust of two Conways on one side combined with inadvertent deployment of the RB211 thrust reverser on the other side - that would probably have been enough to bend any airframe.

Brooklands
 

... And you're also looking at more drag from the RB211 installation and perhaps more weight on that side as well. Those influences were present on all the flights and then there was the thrust reverser incident indeed which certainly won't have improved the rigging.

After a couple of visits to Brooklands spaced over a few years it was noticeable that the Aircraft stored outdoors had all deteriorated to quite a degree; especially the Vanguard and the VC-10. Even the Concorde showed signs of peeling paint in places.

Only the Viscount seems to be fairing better in these conditions, perhaps being smaller it is easier to keep clean and polished.

I was disappointed, that more care seems to be taken with the Bus Museum in a nice new soft topped hangar like construction; that was new to me on my last visit.

Are there any plans to house the aircraft in a similar manner for the future before they rot away?

It would be nice if they can all be undercover and restored to a good condition and perhaps be rolled outside in good weather.

Thanks for the answers, that certainly explains it!

Type 1103 Landing Performance
 

Re the challenge involved in getting A40-AB into Brooklands on 6/7/87, that was an interesting discussion I missed on PPRuNe in 2012, as Dave Reid UK points out:
Sultan of Oman VC10 at Weybridge/Brooklands [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums

I gather that the full length of the runway was still available, unlike the later situation for the Vanguard. R for Robert's LDA figures for the northerly Rwy direction (3750 ft, plus a 400-foot overrun) seem to be unchallenged, but we don't have a slope figure.

A40-AB (formerly BUA/BCAL's G-ASIX, as Jhieminga notes) is a Type 1103 with "Dunlop Maxaret Anti-skid" brakes. In airline service, the dry operating weight (with, say, 120 seats fitted) was about 70 tonnes, so I think Jhieminga's estimate of about 70T for the landing is good. IAW standard practice, the Landing Distance graph makes no allowance for reverse thrust on a dry runway, and with only the outers available it isn't brilliant anyway. Landing distances (LD) are from a height of 50 ft over the threshold, of course, assuming main wheel touchdown at the 1000-foot point.

Sea-level/still-air/zero-slope LD at 70T is given as 5050 ft for a destination airfield, but the alternate figure (no, I never understood the difference) is 4750 ft, so let's use the latter. (Subtract 350 ft per 10-kt of headwind.) There may be some "fat" in the figure, but that implies a landing roll of about 3750 ft.

The main wheels are well behind and below the pilot's eye, and planting them on the deck within a couple of hundred feet of the threshold (the proverbial piano keys), rather than the normally-recommended 1000 ft, would be tricky, particularly if you're not in the habit. Airline pilots shouldn't be. I gather some kind of indicator may have been provided by the runway to assist? In any case, Saint-Ex and his fellow Vickers/BAC pilots had done it often enough!

G-ASIX may have been back to Brooklands before, for the repairs needed after the Andes incident in 1971? I can't remember.

Indeed:
http://www.vc10.net/Memories/Images/..._the_lines.jpg

The story from the Captain's point of view is here: The 1st and last VC10 flight

Trubshaw was able to get pretty close, this is him landing G-ARVK back at Brooklands:
http://www.vc10.net/Airframes/Images...Brooklands.jpg
I don't have proof that G-ASIX visited Brooklands after the Andes incident but I'd love to know if anyone can verify this statement. At this point we're certain that G-ARTA, G-ARVK, G-ASGB, G-ASGD and G-ASIX (in September 1965) have been flown back to Brooklands. Trubshaw of course mentioned in his autobiography: "The return of both VC10s and BAC 1-11s into Brooklands became a regular event". Proof of any other VC10s visiting Brooklands after their first flight is very welcome!