Not a Cheap Date
⬅ previous ⬆introDay 14 ~ Sunday 15 September ~ Weston-super-Mare and Home
We are visiting the Helicopter Museum! When planning our trip, it seemed somehow appropriate, given that we would be taking the helicopter to Tresco.
We arrive and are told that there is a behind-the-scenes tour about to start in ten minutes or so. That's something we didn't expect and especially as it's not even an extra cost, yes please.
While waiting, we can look around at some of the models on display. I remember having an Airfix kit of the Fairey Rotodyne myself as a kid. It's one of the great "what-ifs" of aviation history, half plane half helicopter. The little bulbs at the tips of the rotor blades are tiny jet engine exhausts, there's no conventional engine for the rotor at all. It was a clever idea but unfortunately too noisy to be acceptable for commercial service.
Outside on the tour, there are various bits in various states of repair. As and when funds permit, the museum would obviously like to restore as many as they can, but in the meantime they sit waiting.
There are a dozen or so of us in the group, and it's clear that most of them are not here by accident like us. There's some serious helicopter-talk going on.
Inside they have quite a collection. This is the helicopter that still holds the world speed record and there's a lot of information about how they tweaked what was an already fast design to get the absolute maximum out of it. I fear that you, my audience, might start to glaze over so I will skip the finer details here.
This isn't actually "Little Nellie", but since that's probably the only autogyro that 99.9% of the world have ever heard of, and this one was deliberately modified by its owner to look similar [machine guns and rockets are not original equipment!] it'll pass.
And this one was used by the Queen. (Liz, not Cammie, you understand.) Her Maj took her first ever helicopter flight in it in 1977 and it was part of The Queen's Flight until 1995.
I have lots of wonderful helicopter pictures, and I'm sure I'm leaving you hungry for more, but we shall move on now.
We are finally home again, and Titania sits on one of our bags to say hello.
So that's Tresco and the South West for now. Farewell, we've had a wonderful time. You weren't cheap but we'd happily go out with you again!
⬅ previous ⬆intro