Vintage Aircraft at the Shuttleworth Collection:
Holiday May 2017 - page 3
Full of nostalgia, the Shuttleworth Collection is an
aeronautical museum with some 58 vintage aircraft, including five
Edwardian aeroplanes, contained within six hangers at Old Warden
Aerodrome near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. This fascinating
museum also houses historic road vehicles, motorcycles and the
Engineering Workshop. In our visit we tried out the Shuttleworth
Discovery app and were impressed how it brought to life some of the
collection's exhibits. So come and join us on our tour of the
Shuttleworth Collection...
This is page three of three.
Bletchley
Park | Buzz Railway &
Buckinghamshire walks | Shuttleworth
Collection
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We arrived bright and early (well, early perhaps - it was a far from
bright day) at the Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire. First
port of call was Shuttleworth's excellent restaurant for a coffee...
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...after our drive through the torrential rain, then on into the first
of six hangers housing the vintage aircraft which date from 1909 to the
1950s. Hanger 1 at the Shuttleworth Collection exhibits...
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...aircraft from the early years of aviation. There are various
display cases within the hanger; one containing many model aircraft
that reminded Mike of his childhood - assembling Airfix kits and...
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...inadvertently gluing his fingers to the little plastic plane
parts! The museum also has a few replica aircraft in its
collection such as this Sopwith Triplane which flys at Old Warden
airshows. We next...
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...tried out the Shuttleworth Discovery app; pointing the smartphone
camera at the board triggered the app and played out this period
dressed pilot describing in vivid detail his...
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...experiences of flying the aircraft, in this case the Hawker Sea
Hurricane 1b. This Augmented Reality app worked well; currently
only four exhibits are Shuttleworth Discovery app enabled but...
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...no doubt more will be added. And here is a Hawker Sea
Hurricane 1b from WW2, a splendid example of the preserved aircraft in
the Shuttleworth Collection. Moving through the hangers then, and
an...
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...Edwardian era 1909 Blériot XI, the world's oldest aeroplane still in
flying condition. This early aircraft looked remarkably flimsy,
right down to the bicycle type wheels. Apart from the vintage
aircraft...
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...Shuttleworth also displays a fabulous collection of vintage road
vehicles such as this parade of buses in Hanger 3, headed by a
Wellingborough Leyland ST from 1913. Behind the buses is a mock
barn with agricultural artefacts and horse-drawn carriages...
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...and of course there are vintage cars and classic motorcycles from
1930s - 40s, all lined up here in Hanger 4. At the far end was
Warden Park Garage, a mock-up of a motor workshop from an earlier
era. More oil anyone? Back to the...
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...aeronautical theme and more aeroplanes in Hangers 5 and 6; that's a
1936 Blackburn B2, and behind, a B.E.A Dragon Rapide from the
pioneering early days of civil aviation. And just look at...
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...this fine example of an Avro C19 Anson aeroplane used commercially
during the fifties. The Shuttleworth Collection aims to keep
their vintage aircraft in flying condition so our final...
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...destination was a peek in at Shuttleworth's Engineering Workshop
where we observed the aircraft engineers figuring out the tail fin
mechanics of a 1950 Hunting (Percival) Piston Provost T.1.
The link to Shuttleworth and other interesting stuff of
an aeronautical nature is in our tourist
resources.
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 Well, it sure was a fascinating day out at the
Shuttleworth Collection which at the time of our 2017 visit cost £15
adult entry. This prestigious aeronautical and automotive museum
is located just a few miles west of the A1 near Biggleswade in
Bedfordshire. So, just the gift shop to go then - anyone fancy
assembling one of those Airfix kits?
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Bletchley
Park | Buzz Railway &
Buckinghamshire walks | Shuttleworth
Collection
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