Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 18, 2009 18:14:05 GMT 12
I visited the Museum of Transport and Technology on Sunday with James Kightly (JDK) and we were lucky to have a guided tour of the restoration hangar tahnsk to one of the volunteers there, Kenneth.
The best news of all for me was to see the Hudson not only inside at last, but undergoing a complete makeover. This includes the rust areas that I complained about after my last visit being properly dealt with - an aircraft engineer is doing some superb skin work on the wing centre-section and cowls and giving the poor old Huddy a very welcome tidy up.
Secondly, after what must surely be 35 years (?) there is fresh paint on the airframe. The fairly large job of repainting the Hudson has begun with sections having been resprayed. It is staying in the green and brown colours as before, but when I noticed that the green that has been applied to the tail was once again not quite right (as before on that aircraft) I was pleased to hear Kenneth tell me that "They sent us the wrong green and we're waiting for the right one to redo it." That is great, true care and dedication that used to be lacking. Well done MOTAT.
And the third thing is the most impressive of all. They are preparing to attach the wings. The wings are alongside on trestles and awaiting fitment when the fuselage's centre-section work is complete. This will be a major milestone in this aircraft's history as I believe it has not had wings attached since they were cut off by the RNZAF when sold in the 1940's. Wonderful news.
Also in the hangar for some serious attention, in the form of a repaint and tidy up, is the Hurricane replica that normally sits on the pole. The paint had faded and worn in the Auckland weather so it's great to see it getting some attention.
Alongside the Mosquito's long restoration continues, particularly around the rear fuselage where water damage from its years in a paddock is now being addressed. It's apparently now not too far off being repainted into a proper RNZAF scheme which will be great. Ken said they are looking for exhausts for the Merlins, if anyone can point some in their direction. I had a look inside and though it is not completely fitted out, it's pretty tidy. This restoration is a real credit to the team who've worked on it over the years.
The Avenger continues to slowly be restored by one member of the team too.
Other aircraft remain outside for the time being including the Ventura which is now at the most accessible for photography that I've ever seen. Ken said the plan is to bring the Ventura into the hangar for a repaint too before the aircraft all shuffle round in the new hangar development.
Something he mentioned which I hadn't thought about before is that the Solent is to be pulled out from under cover for a while when the reshuffle takes place and then the hangar built round it. That will provide some good opportunities for photography I guess.
We picked a great day as they were running a steam train, had military vehicles driving round, and army re-enactors, etc, plus amazingly we were even invited along with the rest of the public to hop into the Solent cockpit for a look around, a real thrill as I'd not been inside it before. I think that was a thrill for James too as he's a bigtime flying boat fan, having written books about such types.
I have never seen so many people at MOTAT, at both ends, before in my life. The carpark was full, the trams were packed to the gunnels, the hangar was chocka, it's so great to see the families getting out and using their local museum.
I took some photos if anyone's interested.
The best news of all for me was to see the Hudson not only inside at last, but undergoing a complete makeover. This includes the rust areas that I complained about after my last visit being properly dealt with - an aircraft engineer is doing some superb skin work on the wing centre-section and cowls and giving the poor old Huddy a very welcome tidy up.
Secondly, after what must surely be 35 years (?) there is fresh paint on the airframe. The fairly large job of repainting the Hudson has begun with sections having been resprayed. It is staying in the green and brown colours as before, but when I noticed that the green that has been applied to the tail was once again not quite right (as before on that aircraft) I was pleased to hear Kenneth tell me that "They sent us the wrong green and we're waiting for the right one to redo it." That is great, true care and dedication that used to be lacking. Well done MOTAT.
And the third thing is the most impressive of all. They are preparing to attach the wings. The wings are alongside on trestles and awaiting fitment when the fuselage's centre-section work is complete. This will be a major milestone in this aircraft's history as I believe it has not had wings attached since they were cut off by the RNZAF when sold in the 1940's. Wonderful news.
Also in the hangar for some serious attention, in the form of a repaint and tidy up, is the Hurricane replica that normally sits on the pole. The paint had faded and worn in the Auckland weather so it's great to see it getting some attention.
Alongside the Mosquito's long restoration continues, particularly around the rear fuselage where water damage from its years in a paddock is now being addressed. It's apparently now not too far off being repainted into a proper RNZAF scheme which will be great. Ken said they are looking for exhausts for the Merlins, if anyone can point some in their direction. I had a look inside and though it is not completely fitted out, it's pretty tidy. This restoration is a real credit to the team who've worked on it over the years.
The Avenger continues to slowly be restored by one member of the team too.
Other aircraft remain outside for the time being including the Ventura which is now at the most accessible for photography that I've ever seen. Ken said the plan is to bring the Ventura into the hangar for a repaint too before the aircraft all shuffle round in the new hangar development.
Something he mentioned which I hadn't thought about before is that the Solent is to be pulled out from under cover for a while when the reshuffle takes place and then the hangar built round it. That will provide some good opportunities for photography I guess.
We picked a great day as they were running a steam train, had military vehicles driving round, and army re-enactors, etc, plus amazingly we were even invited along with the rest of the public to hop into the Solent cockpit for a look around, a real thrill as I'd not been inside it before. I think that was a thrill for James too as he's a bigtime flying boat fan, having written books about such types.
I have never seen so many people at MOTAT, at both ends, before in my life. The carpark was full, the trams were packed to the gunnels, the hangar was chocka, it's so great to see the families getting out and using their local museum.
I took some photos if anyone's interested.