City of Norwich Aviation Museum & Norwich Airport, July2022.
Jul 27, 2022 15:11:10 GMT 1
Beemer, Samba, and 10 more like this
Post by viscount on Jul 27, 2022 15:11:10 GMT 1
CITY OF NORWICH AVIATION MUSEUM
This museum, although at an airport, is very hidden away down little country lanes. Since my previous visit some 15 or so years ago, a fast dual carriageway road runs in a shallow cutting between airport and the museum site. The SatNav worked perfectly on the provided post code, without it I would have had difficulty as not all junctions had direction posts. Sunday afternoon, but only a handful of visitors. Very clean cafe and facilities.
Clearly some additions since my previous visit. While all the complete aircraft exhibits are parked outside, there was clearly on-going restoration work on
3 airframes (Sea Harrier, Whirlwind and Mystère IV), although others for example one of the Hunters, are showing their long exposure to the elements.
AIRCRAFT ON DISPLAY (As noted on Sunday 24th July 2022.
G-ASAT MS.880B Rallye Club parts missing - claimed to the oldest MS.880B surviving!
G-ASKK HPR-Dart Herald Air UK scheme
G-AYMO PA-23 Aztec 250D to commence restoration shortly into its former Air UK scheme
G-BCDN F-27 Friendship 200 Air UK, large sections missing eg the whole tail, outer wings, engines & nacelles.
G-BHMY F-27 Friendship 200 Air UK, complete aircraft
G-BTAZ Evans VP.1 dismantled, inside with the under-cover cockpits
G-OVNE Cessna 401A
EI-RJN BAe. RJ-85 all white, no titles
N30NW PA-30 Twin Comanche also noted as N130NW, but no photo!
WK654 Gloster Meteor F.8 245 Sqdn
"XE683" Hawker Hunter F.51 different markings on either side. Formerly E-409, Danish Air Force.
"XG168/10" Hawker Hunter F.6A 79 Sqdn. In reality ex XG172.
XM612 Avro Vulcan B.2 Waddington Wing aircraft
(XP355) WS-55 Whirlwind HAR.10 22 Sqdn, yellow 'Rescue' colours - under restoration and repaint, no serial applied.
"XR768/A" BAC Lightning F.53 74 Sqdn - starboard scheme. On port side its own 53-686 Saudi Arabia colours (at one time G-AWON!)
XV355/55 HS.801 Nimrod MR.2 Kinloss wing scheme
XW368/720 BAe. Sea Harrier T.4 899 Sqd anniversary 1942-1992 markings. Privately owned, under restoration with parts from other a/c
XX109/GH SEPECAT Jaguar GR. 54 Sqdn marking
(No.101) Dassault Mystère IVA under restoration, all markings removed
16718/TR-999 Lockheed T-33A USAF, rather odd assortment of paintwork with 47th BW, an ex French Air Force aircraft.
COCKPIT/FORWARD SECTIONS ONLY
(WH984) EE Canberra B.15 outside
(WJ633) EE Canberra T.17A outside, very pale overall
(WM267) G. Meteor NF.11 outside, recently painted, still very shiny!
(XN967)/233 NA Buccaneer S.1 all white
(XV472) F-4M Phantom FGR.2 56 Sqdn
(XX830) SEPECAT Jaguar T.2 grey RAF scheme (but was formerly an ETPS aircraft)
(XZ375) SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1 "The Avid Guardian Reader"
Supermarine Scimitar cockpit systems trainer
Hawker Hunter cockpit fitted with screens as a flight sim.
OTHER INTERESTING EXHIBITS NOTED:
The Westland Whirlwind cockpit section 'Crikey', constructed by the late Ray Wood's has found its way to the museum, currently exhibited, but access
restricted by a lack of space.
There is also an interesting reconstruction of a Lancaster rear fuselage from the top gunner's turret, back to the rear turret. Painted as ED710/D-HW.
Does not look to be full scale.
A substantial section of wing stored outside (see image). No interpretation board.
Images follow on a new post further down this thread.
NORWICH AIRPORT
Thursday 21/07/22: On apron a Dash 8 in G- or 2- markings. Very clear view through terminal windows from landside! Took a rushed photo of the white aircraft with coloured engine cowlings to examine later - but the image did not record! Also 3 x ERJ aircraft at KLM-UK maintenance (see Monday).
Sunday 23/07/22: Viewed from the Museum noted a Loganair ERJ-145 G-SAJC (arr 1535) and a KLM ERJ-175 (dep 1435), both on schedules. Also a Cherokee (dep), a PC-12 (dep), Citation 680 XLS (dep 1410) and a King Air (arr 1414). Several AW.139 helicopters movements, one white (dep), another in full Bristows scheme
G-CIMU (arr & dep). Also an all white Boeing 737-300 with winglets and registration painted out.
Monday 24/07/22: There before dawn to depart on KLM ERJ-175 PH-EXT at 06:15. Also noted 3 x ERJ-170/195s outside KLM Engineering. Two in SAS colours,
one identifiable as G-FBEF and an all white one as EI-HDZ. The white Boeing 737 (W&R 28 gives this as G-CELS) was noted again and possibly a further 2 or 3 aircraft beyond (BAe.146s??)
SO WHY WAS I AT NORWICH AIRPORT ? - A cautionary true travellers tale of cancellations, changes, queues and woeful assumptions.
Good question, what was I doing at Norwich Airport? Well the initial scheme was a double weekend, so a 10 day holiday in the UK, commencing with 2 days at IAT, then to Scotland to visit close family, breaking the return from Edinburgh to Malaga to incorporate the Bray, Dublin seafront air show. Before booking, that show was cancelled (although later reinstated and did happen), so plans changed to incorporate a visit to Duxford (and Lakenheath/Mildenhall) - Duxford being the only decent air show in the UK that weekend. Flying EDI-NWI by Loganair ERJ-145, then onwards to Malaga via Amsterdam a few days later to experience an ERJ-175 seemed like a very good idea too. However since booking in March, Loganair cancelled their EDI-NWI service completely in April and in late June KLM cancelled the flight I was booked on, transferring me to a very silly o'clock departure. Having already booked a car at Norwich Airport, solved the getting there problem by flying EDI-STN with EasyJet (for less than my refund from Loganair), then a direct stopper train from beneath Stansted Terminal to Norwich and bus to the airport to collect the car - an arrangement which worked well.
However, there was to be a considerable knock-on effect on my departing the B&B at 3am, so without a full nights sleep, to catch the retimed KLM at 06:05. My onward flight to Malaga from Amsterdam was at 16:20. Spent the morning at the end of Pier E, as the advice was that if I went land-side to use the terrace on a through boarding pass, I could face considerable difficulties getting back through security as a transit passenger. At around 13:00 moved to Pier C (via a 1 hour wait for EU inbound passport control). Tired and with only 'snack' food established myself at the correct gate C9 two hours before departure .... and must have dozed off despite watching aircraft. Re-entered the world as PH-DSI a Transavia Boeing 737 was parking on gate C9, the 'Peter Pan' bill-board scheme aircraft, which was the aircraft anticipated for my flight by FR24 the evening before. All seemed good - at the right gate with the expected aircraft outside and a growing number of passengers waiting. The aircraft unloaded slowly, perhaps a slight departure delay, but no concern as I was in the right place, until at around 16:40 when the passengers were called .... for a flight to Faro!!! Panic!! Found my flight had been transferred to gate C5, where PH-HSJ was already on push-back. Total and utter disaster!
Directed backwards and forwards by CSAs between Transavia and KLM airside, although one usefully pointed out I must collect my off-loaded luggage before leaving the baggage hall, which I did as it was still going around on the belt. Eventually got all the help I required with KLM ticketing once landside. All KLM AMS-AGP flights the next day were fully booked. However I was provided with a standby ticket for the following morning's KLM flight, departing 09:40. Located an airport hotel with both a vacant room and shuttle-bus on Booking.com. So a night in an Ibis (nice room, food extremely disappointing). I was back at 06:45 the next morning for a further hour plus in security screening queues (I had left time for passport control queues, given the time taken the day before, but not required), with instructions to report to gate at 09:00 - I was leaving nothing to chance this time! As loading completed, there was a seat, so I was last to load on PH-BCD for the flight to Malaga. A large guy next to me was quite unpleasant as his partner should have been travelling beside him, did not travel, so he knew he would be able to spread over a double seat as they had purchased non-refundable tickets so it was now his - only to find me plonked in it at the very last moment! Cabin crew swiftly and gently handled (in Dutch) what could have easily escalated into a 'rage' incident, indeed few passengers would have even noticed the exchange. So I landed at Malaga at 12:35, rather than at 19:20 the evening before. Well, I did get home safe and sound but with a systems shock of going from mild rain in Amsterdam to 40º plus at Malaga Airport!
Who in their right mind would ever travel??? Mind you I'm already looking forward to a weekend break already booked in the UK for the Autumn and planning a weekend flying trip to Madrid too! Don't I ever learn?
The every so slightly to blame, PH-HSI 'Peter Pan' the aircraft shown by FR24 as the one I would be on, at the gate that the screen had stated I would depart from!!
Reports for 11 airports (flew in or out of 7)/airfields/bases and 7 museums to follow in the next few
