Friends of The Helicopter Museum

Flying Visitors in 2003/04/05/06/07/08

Aerospatiale 365N-2 Dauphin, G-MLTY, flew in to The Museum on 28th June 2008, after dropping off a band at the Glastonbury Festival. After a tour of the exhibits and a good lunch in the café for the pilot, G-MLTY left the helipad en route to Bristol Airport to collect passengers. Click either picture to enlarge.

Sikorsky S-76B, N399BH, c/n 760311, flew over from Dublin to visit The Museum on 24th January 2008. Operated by Barrack Homes Ltd and built in 1985, the 6-seater helicopter left the Helipad three hours later and returned to Dublin via Cardiff Heliport. N399BH was previously registered as N89WC.

A busy day at the Museum helipad on 10th October 2007 as three helicopters performed touches-and-gos within one hour. First came EH-101 Merlin HC.3, ZJ118 (above left) from 28 Squadron at RAF Benson, closely followed by AS350BB Squirrel HT.1, ZJ276 (above centre), from DHFS Shawbury. Minutes later it was the turn of an unidentified RAF WS Puma HC.1, (above right).

Royal Marines Westland Lynx AH.7, XZ205, from No. 847 Squadron at Yeovilton, performed a touch-and- go at the Museum's helipad on 5th September 2007.

On 20th July 2007, a day of heavy rainstorms and varying visibility, Sikorsky S-76C, G-XXEA, landed at The Museum (above left) to fly Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh back to London (above right). They had been visiting several places in North Somerset, including The Helicopter Museum itself where the Duke unveiled a plaque commemorating the opening of the new Engineering and Conservation Hangar. The Visit.

The crew of Swattons Aviation Ltd Bell 206B JetRanger 3, G-BXKL, (above left), flew in from Thruxton, in bright Spring sunshine on 18th April 2007, to visit the Museum for a couple of hours. On 9th June 2007 Robinson R-22 Beta, G-OBIL, (above right), arrived from Peterborough and stayed overnight. The following morning it left for Old Sarum, in Wiltshire.

On 15th April 2007, just as mist and cloud began to roll in from the sea, MD-500N, G-NEEN (G-NOTR until 2005), visited The Helicopter Museum, having flown from Shoreham, in Sussex.

Enstrom 480, G-OZAR, from Gloucestershire Airport, visited The Helicopter Museum on 10th March 2007, so that the crew could view the exhibits and take tea in the restaurant.

Cheqair's Agusta A109A MkII, G-USTH, landing at The Helicopter Museum, into a strong wind, on 2nd December 2006, for a short visit.

Two Westland Lynx AH.7s visited The Museum on 27th September 2006. Army Air Corps XZ193 (left), arriving at 1145, performed a 'touch and go'. Royal Marines XZ641 (right), from No.847 Squadron, Yeovilton, arriving one hour later, stayed for nearly 90 minutes while the crew toured the exhibits and had lunch in the Museum restaurant.

Michael Cuttell's Sud SE 3130 Alouette 2, G-BVSD, still flying in its previous Swiss Air Force livery with serial V-54, visited The Museum on Saturday 12th August 2006, for the crew to see the displays and to have lunch. The helicopter is based in Ullenwood, south of Gloucestershire airport.

Royal Marines Westland Lynx AH.7, XZ182, from No. 847 Squadron, Yeovilton, flew into The Museum on 10th May 2006, for a short visit.

On 22nd April 2006 R.44 Astro, OO-JSY, flew in from Belgium having refueled at Calais and Lydd. The crew looked around The Museum for two hours before departing for Lydd and return to Belgium, by the same route.

McDonnell Douglas MD520N, G-SMAC, approaches the Museum pad on 25th March 2006, having flown in from White Waltham, in Berkshire. The MD520N  uses a NOTAR (No Tail Rotor) system where air is driven into the tail boom, exiting through fixed slots to produce the "Coanda" effect. Photo © Geoff Russell

Lomas Helicopters AS.350B Ecureuil, G-OGOA, based near Bideford in North Devon, visited The Helicopter Museum on 11th March 2006. Photo © Geoff Russell

More Ecureuil pictures

Two Robinsons visited The Museum on 2nd March 2006, R22 Beta, G-BYZP (above left) flew in from Swansea and R44 Raven II, G-GRWW, above (above right) from Eastleigh in Hampshire.

WAH-64 Apache AH1, ZJ204, belonging to 656 Squadron/9 Regiment of the British Army Air  Corps, flew in from Dishforth, N.Yorkshire, on 8th February 2006, after re-fuelling at Lyneham. It left one hour later, heading for Wattisham via Middle Wallop and the London 'Heli lanes'. More Pictures.

Visiting the Museum on 28th January 2006, was Shaun Griffin's MD-500D (Hughes 369HS), N2742Y, which had flown from Launceston, in Cornwall, with one stop to refuel en route.

Sikorsky S-76B, N89WC, c/n 760311, owned by Shannon Helicopters Inc., visited The Museum on Sunday 8th January 2006, having flown from Dublin in poor weather conditions. It left two hours later and remained at Cardiff Rhoose over night, before returning to Dublin. Photo © Rod Holloway. enlarge.

Having made a return visit to The Museum, Agusta A.109E, G-SCOI (above left), from Chorley, takes off as rain threatens on 26th October 2005. A few weeks earlier, on 24th September, Robinson R.44 Raven, G-CBOT (above right), visited from Bournemouth-Hurn. Click either picture to enlarge. Robinson photo © Chris Donald.

Robinson R.44 Raven II, G-STUY, s/n 10508, visited the Museum, from Redhill, on 1st October 2005, stayed overnight and returned to Redhill the next day. Photograph © Geoff Russell. enlarge

Bell 206B JetRanger 3, G-TGRZ, flew from Shobdon to The Museum on 6th August 2005. It is one of ten helicopters operated by Tiger Helicopters Ltd and is based at Shobdon, Herefordshire. click to enlarge

Royal Navy Westland Lynx HAS3S, XZ232, from No.815 Sqn, HQ Flight, Yeovilton, flew in for a short visit on 13th July 2005. enlarge

Army Air Corps WS Gazelle AH.1, XZ337, leaves the Museum pad after a short visit by the crew on 29th June 2005. They flew in from Wattisham and returned via Middle Wallop. Photo © Chris Donald. Click to enlarge.

Robinson R-22B, G-CBXN, s/n 3385, flew in to the Museum, from Bristol airport, on Saturday 2nd April 2005, returning later that afternoon. Privately owned, it was built in 2002. enlarge

Westland Scout AH.1, XV137 / G-CRUM, visited the Museum on Friday 18th March 2005, having flown from Draycott Farm. Built for the Army Air Corps in 1967, it is now owned by David Sears. Thanks to John Phillips for the photograph. Click to enlarge

Trustair's Agusta A109E Power, G-SCOI, c/n 11051, having flown from Exeter, visited The Museum on 9th February, before continuing to Blackpool. click to enlarge   More A109E Pictures

On 26th January 2005 a Boeing Chinook HC2, flying from RAF Odiham, touched down at The Museum's pad and took off again seconds later (above left). The weather was sunny with a light wind, contrasting with a gloomy Thursday of the previous week when Chinook HC2, ZA720/BR, from 27 Squadron, had to land on the adjacent airfield (above right) because of strong winds.
Click either Chinook to enlarge.		Click for more pictures of ZA720

On 15th September 2004 Robinson R-22B,    G-OASH flew from Gloucestershire, in bright sunshine, for it's crew to visit The Helicopter Museum for the first time. Click to enlarge.

German Army Air Corps Sikorsky CH-53G, 84+36, touched down at The Museum early on 13th July 2004, to allow the crew to tour the exhibits and have coffee. The heavy transport helicopter, assigned to MTHR-25 at Laupheim, flew in from nearby Yeovilton. It was heading for RAF Leuchars, with a re-fuelling stop at Shawbury, to take part in exercises in Scotland. Click to enlarge.

Click for a few more CH-53G pictures

Visiting The Museum on 4th July 2004 was Bell 47G-5, G-SOLH, which had flown from Elstree, with a refueling stop at Compton Abbas. Click to enlarge. Also from Elstree were three more helicopters, one R-44, G-CHUM with two R-22B-2s, G-LIDS and G-RSVP. Photo © Chris Donald

Westland WAS-64 Apache AH-1, ZJ211, from  the Army Air Corps No.673 Squadron at Middle Wallop, visited The Museum in the afternoon of 11th June 2004. Click to enlarge. Thanks to Fred Tooke for the photograph.

Westland Gazelle AH.1, XZ314, from Army Air Corps No.8 Flight, Credenhill, arrived at The Museum early on 30th May 2004, for a short visit. XZ314 served with No.656 Squadron, in the Falklands campaign, in 1982. Click to enlarge.  Photo © Chris Donald.

Robinson R44 Raven, G-RFUN, with c/n 1239, brought four visitors from Bristol Airport to The Museum on 24th April 2004, flying via Burnham-on-Sea. G-RFUN was built in 2002 and is owned by Clifton Helicopter Hire, of Bristol. Click to enlarge.

Charterstyle's Twin Squirrel AS355N, G-OLCP, c/n 5580, brought the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, from Gatcombe Park to The Museum Heliport in Weston-super-Mare on 20th February 2004, to fulfil a commitment in the town. Click to enlarge. Before leaving The Museum the princess delighted visitors and staff by asking to see two former Royal Flight helicopters in which she had flown in past years. The Museum collection includes the 1964 Whirlwind, XR486, and the 1969 Wessex, XV733, which served the Queen's Flight until 1998.

Using the Museum helipad in the morning of 11th February 2004 was Twin Squirrel HCC1, AS355F-1, ZJ139, on VIP ferrying duty from the RAF's No.32 (The Royal) Squadron, based at Northolt. Click to enlarge

Robinson R-44 Raven, G-CRIB, c/n 0980, operated by Cribarth Helicopters, visited the Museum for 90 minutes, early on Saturday afternoon 6th December 2003, before returning to Shobdon. Click to enlarge.

Two Aérospatiale/Westland SA330E Puma HC1 tactical support helicopters from 33 Squadron, RAF Benson, preparing to "touch and go" at The Museum in the grey afternoon of 19th November 2003. Click either picture to enlarge.

On 30th August 2003 three Robinson R-22Bs arrived (top left), in formation, for their crews to have lunch in the café and visit The Museum. They were G-DERB, s/n 1005 (bottom right),   G-BRWD, s/n 1231 (top right) and G-FLYH, s/n 1932 (flying, bottom left). They had flown, together, from Manston, in Kent, via Gloucestershire for re-fuelling and, after departure (bottom left and right) from The Museum, planned to return to Manston by heading south to the English Channel and then east along the English south coast. Click any picture to enlarge.

Visiting The Museum at lunchtime on 20th August 2003 was an Enstrom F-28F, G-BYKF, s/n 725, from Popham, in Hampshire, piloted by Ian Casselden. Powered by a single Lycoming 225hp, HIO-360-F1AD engine the helicopter is owned by Battle Helicopters Ltd. Click to enlarge .

McDonnell Douglas MD600N, N600RN, c/n RN-015, takes off after a two hour visit to The Museum on Saturday 2nd August 2003. It has 7/8 seats in three rows, with NOTAR and is powered by one 808shp Allison 250-C47M turboshaft driving a six-blade main rotor.

click to enlarge

Bell 206B Jet Ranger 2, G-UEST, c/n 1484, used by local independent radio station Fox FM for traffic reports in the Oxfordshire area, visited The Museum on 23rd July 2003. It is powered by a single Allison 250-C20 and was built in 1974. click picture to enlarge

Westland Gazelle AH.1, ZA776, from 'A' Flight of 847 Royal Naval Air Squadron, based at RNAS Yeovilton, landed at The Museum pad (above left) in the cloudy afternoon of 18th June 2003, for a short visit.  The Squadron's Gazelles, now overseen by Joint Helicopter Command, provide reconnaissance and artillery control support for the Royal Marines of 3 Commando Brigade. ZA776 served in the Falklands campaign in 1982. On 28th June 2003 AS355F-1, Twin Squirrel, G-OTSP (above right), belonging to Aeromega and operated by British Transport Police and Network Rail from Cardiff Heliport, landed at The Museum for its crew of three to have a meal break in the cafeteria and a walk round the displayed aircraft.
Click either picture to enlarge.

Veritair's MBB Bö105DB-4, G-BTKL, leased to Railtrack/Network Rail, visited The Museum on Saturday 7th December 2002 and again on 15th February 2003. Based at Cardiff Tremorfa Heliport, G-BKTL was being used to operate anti-trespass and anti-vandalism patrols of railway lines in the South Wales & South-West of England areas. The helicopter was equipped with powerful searchlight and surveillance equipment. Click to enlarge.