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Michael E. Fader |
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Michael E. Fader |
Brooklands
Museum
Brooklands Drive, Weybridge,
Surrey, KT13 0SL
Daily 10.00 - 17.00 h (summer)
Admission £25.30
info@brooklandsmuseum.com
www.brooklandsmuseum.com
Tel. 1932 857381 ext 221
The author became aware of the museum in Brooklands when he drew the profiles of the Vickers Vanguard, an airliner from the 1960s. The only completely preserved Vanguard is on display here at Brooklands. The fact that the aircraft is right here is due to the fact that the former Vickers aircraft factory was based here.
Brooklands is not just an aircraft museum, however, but also includes other exhibition themes. The museum is open daily and displays a wide range of automotive and aviation exhibits, ranging from huge racing cars such as the 24-litre Napier Railton, motorbikes and bicycles to a unique collection of Hawker and Vickers and BAC (British Aircraft Corporation) aircraft including the BAC Concorde. Last but not least, you can also visit former parts of the Vickers factories such as the Barnes Wallis Stratosphere Chamber.
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Aircraft
The museum has a replica of the Vickers Vimy, which was built in America in 1994 to recreate the aircraft's three record-breaking long-haul flights from 1919-20. In 2016, it was relocated to a purpose-built Vimy pavilion. The museum's other exhibits include airworthy replicas of the Bleriot XI and the Sopwith Camel, built by Mike Beach and Viv Bellamy respectively. The Sopwith Camel is kept in "airworthy" condition and regularly performs engine demonstrations at museum events throughout the year.
At the beginning of 2011, the museum received (on loan) the historic fuselage of the Supermarine Swift F.4 prototype WK198, which was flown by test pilot Mike Lithgow in Libya on 26 September 1953 and held the absolute world speed record.
Sopwith Tabloid replica (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Bleriot XI replica (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
White Sports Monoplane replica (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Sopwith Camel F.1 replica(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Vimy replica (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Vimy replica (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Hawker Fury replica (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Hawker Hurricane IIA (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Hawker Hurricane IIA (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Supermarine Swift fuselage (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Valiant B(K).1 Cockpit Section (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Viscount Cocpit Section (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
BAC TSR.2 Cockpit Section (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Hawker Hawk T.50 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Hawker P.1127 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Hawker Hunter F-51 Danish Air Force (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Hawker Harrier GR.1 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Hawker Harrier T.52 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Hawker Harrier T.52 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Wellington Mk.1A
A rather interesting topic that is well presented in Brooklands is the geodesic structure developed by the English engineer and inventor Sir Barnes Neville Wallis CBE FRS RDI FRAeS for airframes in the 1930s. It had previously been used by Prof Schütte for the Schütte-Lanz SL-1 airship in 1909. The geodesic structure utilises a space frame consisting of a spirally intersecting basketwork of load-bearing elements. The principle is that two geodesic arches can be drawn so that they intersect on a curved surface (the fuselage) in such a way that the torsional load of one cancels that of the other.
Barnes Wallis developed the R100 airship design, inspired by his previous experience with light metal structures and the use of a geodesic structure to distribute the lifting loads of the gas bags.
The system was later used by Vickers-Armstrongs in a series of bombers, the Wellesley, Wellington, Warwick and Windsor. In these aircraft, the fuselage and wing were constructed from duralumin beams formed into a large frame. Wooden slats were screwed onto the metal, to which the aircraft's doped canvas skin was attached.
In addition to the N2980, which is the only known remaining Wellington built in Brooklands that was actively used during the Second World War. There is also a walk-in version where you can study the geodetic structure.
The N2980 was first flown on 16. November 1939 by Vickers' chief test pilot ‘Mutt’ Summers. The aircraft was initially delivered to No. 149 Squadron at RAF Mildenhall. On 31. December 1940, during a training flight over Scotland with the 20 Operational Training Unit of RAF Lossiemouth, N2980 suffered engine failure in a snowstorm and landed in Loch Ness. In 1976, the Wellington was located in the Loch by a team of American Loch Ness Monster Hunters and was successfully recovered on 21. September 1985 with the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Airliners
The museum is located on 12 hectares of the original 1907 race track and includes four listed buildings: the 1907 Brooklands Automobile Racing Club clubhouse, the Members' Hill restaurant and a 1940 Bellman aircraft hangar. The entire Brooklands site was designated a nature reserve in 1989.
Various airliners are parked in this large area, in addition to the aforementioned Vickers Vanguard and BAC Concorde, a Vichers VC-10, Vickers Viscount, Vickers Viking, Vickers Varsity and a BAC One-Eleven. Many of the airliners are accessible and you can see the interiors and analogue cockpits of the time.
Airliners (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers VC-10 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers VC-10 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
BAC One-eleven (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(BAC One-eleven (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
BAC One-eleven (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Vanguard (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Vanguard (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Vanguard (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Vanguard (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
BAC Concorde (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers 498 Viking 1A (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers 498 Viking 1A (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Varsity T.1 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Vickers Varsity T.1 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Cars
Another theme at Brookland is cars and motorbikes. The Brooklands racetrack was designed by Hugh Fortescue Locke-King and was the first purpose-built racetrack in the world. The requirements for speed and visibility for spectators meant that the Brooklands circuit was built as a 30 metre wide, 4.453 km long oval with banks. The embankment was almost 9.1 metres high in places. In addition to the oval, a "Finishing Straight" was built. The track was opened on 17. June 1907 with a lunch attended by most of the British car manufacturers. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the races and its use as a race track were discontinued.
The many racing cars and motorbikes from this period bear witness to the great activity of this race track.
Barnato-Hassan Bentley 1935(Picture courtesy Urs Schnyder)
Hillman Aero-Minix Streamliner 1934 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Cooper T.72 F3 1964 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Peugeot Type 26 1930 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
McLAren MP4/6 F1 1991 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Lagonda M-24 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Clinkard Special 1955 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Morgan JAP 3-weeler 1929 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Bentley Le Mans 4.5 Litre 1929 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Leyland-Thaomas Special1922 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Noton LPD1 with Sidecar 1927 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Brough Superior 1150 with Sodecar 1933 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Norton International 350cc 1933 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
Dreadnought 1903 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)
