The Museum’s cockpits in 1/72 scale- DHC Chipmunk WG419, DH Rapide G-AJHO and DH Vampire XD599 made by one of our Trustees who, we think, needs to take more water with it!

HAWKER FURY AT SYWELL AERODROME C.1937

No.6 Elementary Reserve Flying Training School was established at Sywell Aerodrome on 10th June 1935. Run by Brooklands Aviation Ltd under contract to the Air Ministry, this civilian company was responsible for the training of pilots and observer/navigators for the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.

An initial complement of DH Tiger Moths was augmented by the arrival of various Hawker Harts, Hinds and Hind & Hart Trainers and even an Audax or two for more advanced training.

The Hawker Hart first flew in 1928 and was introduced into RAF service in 1930- it’s speed was such that it was faster than the fighter aircraft then in service. The Hawker Fury was the fighter equivalent of the Hart bomber and entered service in 1931. Both were powered by the Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine a forerunner of (amongst others) the famous Merlin.

A bewildering number of derivatives of the ‘Hart/Fury family’ were produced in the 1930s to equip both the RAF and foreign air arms. Some were still on strength during the Second World War and even saw combat use in the Middle East before being retired to second-line duties due to obsolescence.

This photograph shows a group of students and instructors clad in their iconic ‘Sidcot’ all in one fur lined flying suits (invented by SIDney COTon in 1916). The items which look like stethoscopes are in fact ‘Gosport Tubes’. These headphones plugged into a speaking tube system in the aeroplane – there was no radio intercom – to enable both occupants to communicate with each other, given the wind noise and racket of the Kestrel engine you would think this would involve some shouting –however they were surprisingly effective. They were invented by R.R. Smith-Barry in Gosport in 1917.

Sadly, we cannot make out the serial number of the aeroplane in this photograph taken by Brooklands Aviation employee Eric Roberts of a visiting Fury at Sywell around 1937. We wonder how many of these young men survived the war?

SYWELL AVIATION MUSEUM GRAND OPENING EASTER SATURDAY 19TH APRIL 2025 1030-1630HRS

The Sywell Aviation Museum emerges from its winter hibernation for the 2025 season at its traditional Easter Saturday opening - our 24th (!) Grand Opening in fact!

Look out for more information and updates in due course....

Our small, family friendly event has been described as a village fete with Jeeps and we agree with that! The event is in the planning stages but you should expect a good turnout of re-enactors and military vehicles.... and maybe some visiting aeroplanes… watch this space for updates and save the date!

Please note that PARKING IS LIMITED – primary parking will be the hardstanding at the end of the blister hangars - the same as last year. We MAY be able to use the field opposite as overspill parking but it depends on the ‘state’ of the field with waterlogging etc so we will know nearer the time.

We are a SMALL local event and a cracking day out - and it’s free! Donations are very welcome.

We have created an event page here - please like and follow to see updates...

www.facebook.com/events/1237003904058354/?active_tab=discussion

PLEASE READ THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) post in the discussion section and make sure you ‘like’ and ‘follow’ the Museum for the latest updates…

Please note if you'd like to bring your vintage aircraft, military or classic vehicle you MUST please book in in advance PLEASE EMAIL:
sywellaviationmuseum@gmail.com

SYWELL’S ‘POU’ NEW PHOTOS OF FLYING FLEA G-AEGV AT SYWELL IN 1936

Back in 1935, members of the East Midlands Aero Club at Sywell began constructing a Mignet HM.14 Pou du Ciel (Flying Flea) and the aircraft was registered G-AEGV on April 22nd 1936 to East Midlands Aviation Co Ltd/ Sywell (serial EMAC.1). The Club being incorporated in November 1935.

The project cost £120 (‘plus extras’) and was powered by a 750cc Douglas motorcycle engine.

Unlike many Fleas, this one actually flew -several times- the first time being May 24th 1936.

‘GEV also appeared at at the Rockingham Road Pleasure Park, in Kettering on 13th March 1936 and made appearances at several Northampton Carnivals.

These rare images show the Flea at that time including what appears to be the EMAC logo on the fin. Note DH Tiger Moth G-ACDA behind. ( the first DH.82A built she was certificated on 10th March 1933 – impressed into wartime service as BB724 she remains airworthy with an owner n Guildford).

Also attached is a 1936 newspaper clipping showing the intrepid team!

In 1967, members of the newly-formed Midland Aircraft Preservation Society discovered the wings, which had survived for 30 years, and constructed a new fuselage to replace the original that disappeared during the war. In 1981, an exhibition was held in the Alfred East Art Gallery in Kettering, at which the fully restored Flying Flea was put on display.

Lattery, GV has been placed on display at the excellent Midland Air Museum at Baginton airport near Coventry. Strictly speaking, GV should be on display at Sywell Aviation Museum as it has close ties with the aerodrome and was built here– although to be fair – again, strictly speaking, our Hunter WN904 should be at MAM as it was built by Armstrong Whitworth at Baginton! No-one has proposed the swap…… yet!

For more on the Pou du Ciel see our earlier post here:

www.facebook.com/SywellAviationMuseum/posts/2048390878623089

With thanks to John Berkeley, former MAPS Chairman.

SYWELL AVIATION MUSEUM'S BRASS MONKEY BOOK & MODEL SALE IS BACK! 30TH MARCH 2025 1000-1400HRS

Thanks to our kind supporters and donors the Brass Monkey Book and Model Sale returns to the Museum on Sunday, 30th March 2025 between 1000-1400hrs - entry and parking free!

The Museum book and model stall will be selling model kits, accessories, memorabilia, aviation books and more by fair donation and several traders will also be attending.

Confirmed already are Models For Sale Ltd - modelsforsale.com plastic model kits and Falcon Models - keep watching for more updates!

If you have any model kits or aviation books you would like to donate please contact us via email to sywellaviationmuseum@gmail.com or call 07968061708 or send a Facebook Message!

Many thanks to everyone who has kindly donated items to help raise funds! 🙂

For more info please see the event page:

www.facebook.com/events/3470677036574772/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22attachment%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22newsfeed%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D

Morning all! Just a quick reminder that the first of the Museum's winter talks is THIS SUNDAY - by the splendid Debbie Land! Details below - we look forward to seeing you there 🙂

SYWELL AVIATION MUSEUM REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2024!

Well its nearly time to see in 2025 and as is traditional we now take the opportunity to look back at what happened at the Museum in 2024!

The start of 2024 began with the first of our popular winter talks when Rod Dean entertained us with tales of flying the glorious Hawker Hunter (and other things!) – this was so popular we’ve asked him back for 2025 see below…

Then Dave McIntyre returned in February with a fascinating talk on his family history of flying at Sywell over the past 80 years- Dave is another repeat speaker and will no doubt be back soon too 😊

The Museum was involved in two crash commemorations this year, one at Stanwick Lakes to commemorate a mid-air collision of B-17s in 1944 and also at Rothersthorpe where a Wellington crashed the same year.

We will remember them.

10th March saw the Museum’s popular Book and Model Sale take place at the Museum which raised a goodly sum in truly appalling weather thanks to kind donors of model kits and aviation books. This in turn helped to fund progress with the Jetstream this year. The sale will return in 2025 so if you have some models and books you would like to donate please get in touch.

Many new exhibits arrived this year, in March we collected the first, a rare Hawker Siddeley Red Top air to air missile for our ordnance collection from our friends at Sleap which was quickly restored and placed on display.

30th March saw the 23rd Sywell Aviation Museum Grand Opening which saw tweaks to the layout and better, non boggy, parking on the airfield – something we have learnt from. Whilst fewer people can attend there is generally less traffic chaos. Huge thanks as ever to our supporters, traders and visiting pilots which as ever included our good mate Pete with his wonderful RuskiSpit!

April saw one of our occasional auctions where thanks to Models for Sale we put a rare 1/48 Short Sunderland model kit up for bids on our page, thanks Vince!

Our popular Young Aviator Tours started again and this year we didn’t quite reach the grand 19,000 total of youngsters taken around in the last 2 decades but we will hit that milestone next year!

Later in the month our largest new exhibit arrived, a fabulous replica cockpit from a de Havilland Rapide kindly donated by Mike Davey. This too was subject to swift restoration by Trustee Roger Batten and it will be on display and available for kids to try out in 2025.

June saw the return of the Sywell Airshow when, blessed by glorious weather, probably the best warbird show in Europe took place on our doorstep over 21/22nd June – what a wonderful weekend with lots of new visitors from all over the globe.

We won two awards this year – first the TripAdvisor Travellers’ choice award for 2024 and also a National Transport Trust Award for our Jetstream restoration – a huge feather in our cap.

Speaking of which Jenny has had a lot of work done to her this year. Her flaps reinstated, raised on to bespoke stands, repaint started and thanks to former RACAL employee Alun Cross – a huge amount of kit from her and kept by him in the 80s was kindly donated to refit her interior. We have even got some of her internal systems working.

Work with our friends at Arctic Decals in Finland has meant that modelmakers can now finally build examples of Brooklands Aviation Machines – Tiger Moth and Rapide – and the decals are for sale in our shop.

We closed at weekends at the end of September, then weekday afternoons at the end of October. Sadly on 15th October we lost our friend and neighbour Richard Grace, still a shock, and our condolences remain with his family and friends.

So as the year comes to a close it remains for us to thank you our visitors and followers for your kind support through 2024 – in particular to those who have so generously donated model kits, diecast models, aviation books and more to help raise funds to keep us going.

Remember we are still on the lookout for such donations and plan to have another Book and Model Sale in March – watch this space! If you can help please contact us sywellaviationmuseum@gmail.com or call 07968061708

Meantimes please put the following dates in your new shiny 2025 diaries!

12th January 2025 – ‘The Night Witches – Stalin’s Female Pilots’ – talk by Debbie Land

9th February 2025 – ‘The Air Tanker War – Victor Ops in the South Atlantic’ talk by Gary Weightman

March TBC - Sywell Aviation Museum Book & Model Sale

9th March 2025 – ‘Flying & Displaying Vintage Piston Aircraft’ talk by Rod Dean

19th April 2025 – Sywell Aviation Museum Grand Opening 2025

If you fancy joining the SAM team – why not get in touch and consider volunteering with us?

As ever, this page will continue to provide you with local history stories, photos, Museum news and more – and much like the Museum itself its all free – many of you have been ‘invited’ to follow us but haven’t clicked the button to ‘accept’ so please do follow us for more!

All good wishes to you and yours for 2025 from all at Sywell Aviation Museum.

AN ANNUAL XMAS TREAT FROM SYWELL AVIATION MUSEUM

We have something of a tradition at Sywell Aviation Museum. Each year just before Christmas we share this superb half-hour audio retelling of Frederick Forsyth's classic 'The Shepherd'. First published in 1975 it has been broadcast every Xmas Eve by CBC since 1979. So sit back, relax and enjoy...CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW...Merry Xmas from all at SAM....

......The year is 1957. An RAF pilot is heading home from Germany for Christmas. Fog sets in and all radio communication is lost....

www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-shepherd-edition-2017-1.4455219/fireside-al-maitland-reads-frederick-forsyth-s-the-shepherd-1.4458378?fbclid=IwY2xjawHWDahleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQZ424APAXvgapaX8Ien6yrtISNcvEwVjquOi6wqC7zCgI9jt_mtpJAY1g_aem_bk4S17BhjOtXiVBfaENZhw

MONDAY’S CHILD- AN ARGUS AT SYWELL c.1970

The Fairchild Model 24, also called the Argus and UC-61 Forwarder, was a four-seat, single-engine monoplane light transport aircraft designed by the Fairchild Aviation Corporation in the 1930s.

It was a development of the open cockpit F.22 model as a side-by-side two place enclosed cabin aircraft using as much design data and tooling from the F.22 as possible. The prototype F.24 was test flown at Hagerstown, Maryland late 1931. The original two seat F.24 gave way to a three place version and then to a four place model. Most of the F.24 aircraft produced were powered with 145hp Warner and later 165hp, Warner Super Scarab radial engines.

The Model 24 was powered in 1935 with the in line 6 cylinder
Ranger 150hp engine. In 1938, the F.24K and J models saw a revised rudder and vertical stabiliser and a 165hp Ranger engine fitted, later with new brakes and tail assembly.

A popular civil executive aircraft, the F.24 was ordered by the US Navy as the GK-1, then Coast Guard as the J2K-1. The Civil Air Patrol used them on anti U Boat patrols and some aircraft were fitted with two 100lb bombs.

In 1941 the USAAF ordered 163 as the UC-61 Forwarder. Many however went to the UK (mainly Warner Scarab variants) under Lend-Lease for use by the RAF and Air Transport Auxiliary known as the Argus.

In all over 2,232 variants were built by the time production stopped in 1948.

This photograph shows Fairchild F.24W Argus II G-AJPI undergoing maintenance in the Brooklands hangar at Sywell in 1970. Formerly Scarab-powered with serial number HB614 in RAF service, she was re-engined with a Ranger and remains airworthy with an owner in the Netherlands.

Many Argus (Argi? Arguses?) are preserved in static or airworthy status worldwide. In the UK in addition to ‘JPI another 5 remain airworthy on the UK register.

Static wise in the UK examples can be found at the Yorkshire Air Museum, York, RAF Museum Cosford, NASAM Flixton, The Ulster Aviation Society, Long Kesh, and a replica at Thorpe Camp, Lincs.

Photo courtesy of Gordon Riley.

*’Monday’s CHILD is FAIR of face….

A VICKERS WELLESLEY AT SYWELL C.1937-38

The Vickers Wellesley was developed by Vickers-Armstrong at Brooklands, Surrey as a medium bomber. In fact it was one of two named after Arthur Wellesley – the second adopted his Dukedom as the Wellington.

It first flew in 1935 and was not, as is commonly stated, designed by Barnes Wallis ( it was designed by Rex Pierson) though it incorporated the former’s geodetic method of construction.

A high-profile demonstration of the aircraft's capabilities was conducted during early November 1938 via a flight of three Wellesleys that flew non-stop for two days from Ismailia, Egypt to Darwin, Australia, a distance of 7,162 miles setting a world distance record in the process. While the type was considered to be obsolete by the start of the Second World War and thus unsuited to the European air war, the Wellesley was operated overseas in the desert theatres of East Africa, Egypt and the Middle East.

The final Wellesley-equipped unit, 47 Squadron, ended its use of the type as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft, during September 1942.

Some 177 were built. Sadly none survive today.

This lovely photograph shows a Wellesley visiting Sywell around 1937-38 and was taken by Brooklands Aviation employee Eric Roberts. Sadly we cannot make out its serial number, it has never been published before. The items on pylons under the wings are not, as is often thought, fuel tanks but are in fact streamlined bomb carriers.

The Wellesley had a crew of 3 but four people wearing Sidcot suits can be seen. Either they squeezed another person in for a ‘jolly’ or one of the resident Sywell pilots has come over for a ‘shufti’!