On a blustery June day four cars from the Automotive Group left Mickleton for the a trip north to the Solway Aviation Museum at Carlisle Airport. Following a morale boosting brunch at the Nook Farm Shop & Cafe just south of Slaggyford, we drove west along the winding road to Brampton and then on to the museum.
The museum houses various exhibits and artefacts including displays about the Blue Streak missile developed at nearby RAF Spadeadam. One of our members had prepared line drawings for the project. Although subsequently decommissioned Blue Streak remains an example of fine British design and engineering.
We climbed aboard the mighty Avro Vulcan XJ823, a huge Cold War bomber later converted to use as a maritime surveillance aircraft. In its prime this aircraft type could reach a speed of Mach 0.98 and an altitude of 65,000 ft.
The volunteers at the museum were largely ex-forces and highly knowledgeable. They invited us to a private backlot tour of what might be mistaken for a boneyard. In fact they are painstakingly restoring a Blackburn Beverley transport aircraft that had been dismantled and lain in a farmer’s field for several decades. This restoration is being undertaken with barely any documentation. They simply seem to know how to construct what might be the largest ever aeroplane kit. The engines are seized so it will not fly again. Nor will the Vulcan although in the strong winds it was felt like it was straining to be let free.
As ever it was a pleasure to welcome a member of the Photography group to whom credit for these marvellous photos belongs.
