A Mother’s Day treat

6 March 2016

Commamdo felt bad about me missing the Biggin Hill Spitfire flight on Saturday because he forgot to take his keys when he went running. The next day was Mother’s Day and he had a surprise up his sleeve to make it up to me. From the outset I knew he and CJ had something  planned other than the card, chilli chocolate and teddy bears CJ gave me when I got up. What it was though, was a mystery.

When he got back from his half marathon pacer’s training run he didn’t hang around resting like he usually does. In time honoured tradition we set out in the car with me having no idea where we were going and Commando and CJ fizzing with glee. We were heading west so I guessed our destination was either in town or the New Forest. When we turned onto Albert Road South though I really was puzzled for a moment or two. Then I realised and it all made sense. They were taking me to the Solent Sky Museum.

We paused for a minute outside the door to admire the Hawker Hurricane covered with camouflage net and then we went inside. It was like an Aladdin’s Cave for aeroplane nuts. Every inch of space was packed with everything from a hang glider to a huge Sandringham flying boat. The planes are all part of the long aviation history in this area and it was amazing to see the sheer variety of different aircraft built locally.

Of course I am not an aeroplane nut. Let’s face it, I don’t even like flying, but I could appreciate the history spread out in front of me even if I didn’t know what I was looking at for the most part. The museum is the home of the Spitfire, so it was a good idea on Commando’s part. Even though all these planes were built between 1910 and 1960 and a far cry from the ones he builds for a living, he made a good guide.

Not all the exhibits were actually planes. There was a huge anti aircraft gun, like a mobile version of the Bofors gun CJ and I saw on the shore at Hamble and a fire engine that was nothing more than a big fire extinguisher on wheels. The ejector seat dating from 1946 looked like an implement of torture and I was glad it was something I’d never have to use.

Not all the planes were huge monsters towering above us. The little De Havilland Vampire looked like it was smiling to me and I was quite taken with it. While I took photos of its cheeky grin I’m sure Commando was mentally measuring it up and wondering if it would fit in our garden.

A little further on we came to a plane even I recognised. There’s a red version of the Folland Gnat at the entrance to Commando’s factory to celebrate the fact that this was where it was built back when the place was called Follands. That one is red because it was once used by the Red Arrows. This little jet fighter sported the more traditional RAF livery.

Next we came to the star attraction, the Supermarine exhibits. First there was the Supermarine S6A seaplane part of the series designed by RJ Mitchell for the Schneider Trophy competition started in 1913 to promote water borne aircraft. Mitchell’s designs won Jaques Schneider’s coveted trophy for Great Britian four times, the last three in consecutive years meaning he got to keep the trophy. There was a replica of it on display and later we discovered the real thing in a glass case.

Next to the S6 was the plane we’d really come to see, the Supermarine Spitfire, one of the most iconic aircraft of all time. Also designed by RJ Mitchell and his team at the Supermarine factory in Woolston this was what I hadn’t seen flying over Mayflower Park the day before. Today I got a far closer view than I’d have had from the shore plus a chance to see the Rolls Royce Merlin engine up close.

In fact a very kind member of the museum staff ushered us behind the ‘do not cross’ lime and took photos of CJ and I standing right beside the plane. He even urged me to sit on the wing! How cool was that?

Commamdo was especially interested in a display case filled with tools belonging to a Spitfire engineer. Many of them had been hand made, which Commando could relate to as his own toolbox contains a fair few specially made tools. Some things in aircraft manufacture haven’t changed much over the years I guess.

We might have seen the Spitfire but there was still plenty more to keep us amused. For a start there was a tour inside the Sandringham flying boat, built by Short Brothers as a passenger plane. We were all impressed with the leg room back in those days and we got to sit in the cockpit and play at being pilots.

We saw plane wreckage from World War II that had been pulled out of the Solent, including a Merlin Engine and a replica of a space suit used on one of the lunar landings.

Commamdo and CJ learned their legs were far too long for them ever to have been Spitfire pilots when we sat in a Spitfire cockpit. My legs fit just fine but it was surprisingly snug around my rear. The Harrier cockpit had a bit more leg room and there was a lot of pretending to shoot down enemy planes along with sound effects from some of us. CJ even bravely sat in an ejector seat.

There was so much to do and see in the museum and it seems a shame it’s tucked away where lots of people never find it, especially as it isn’t council funded so depends on donations and money from entry fees. Even for non plane buffs like me, it’s well worth a visit. All in all it was a fun Mother’s Day treat for all of us.

Please see my copyright information before you copy or use any of the above words or pictures.