Where have I been?

[pyro-manic]

Can anyone guess? Has anyone else been here?


Snort! by pyro-manic, on Flickr

[crudebuteffective]

SOLENT SKY MUSEUM??

[Captain Canada]

Dunno....but let's see some more !

[Gondor]

Looks like the intake to the Shorts flyingboat fighter

Gondor

[pyro-manic]

Well done, crudebuteffective! A cracking little museum, if one rather in need of a refurbishment. It's a bit tired and could do with redecorating (the museum opened in 1984). I'd highly recommend a visit if you ever find yourself anywhere near Southampton with a couple of hours to spare.

Gondor is correct: that ugly schnozz is the nose of the Saro SR.A/1 flying boat fighter, a hulking great whale of a machine that's very hard to photograph in the confines of the museum. Of course, being a museum it's very dark, so I, having neglected to bring a tripod or a super-fast wide-angle lens, was stuck using painfully high ISO settings and trying to shoot hand-held at appallingly low shutter speeds. Hence these pictures are all a bit, well, rubbish.

Here's a better look at the beast:


SR.A/1 by pyro-manic, on Flickr

An overview of one "half" of the hall. Short Sandringham wing, Sea Vixen beneath, and the SR.A/1 over in the corner. Bits of a Vampire and Gnat visible bottom left. Of course, the Sandringham acutally fills the building - the fuselage splits the hall in two, and the wings overhang the exhibits on each side. Of course, this makes it virtually impossible to photograph without an enormously wide lens. Anyway, it's a Sunderland with all the shooty bits ripped out and some very plush-looking seats installed.


Solent Sky by pyro-manic, on Flickr

The wonderful Supermarine S6:


Supermarine S6 by pyro-manic, on Flickr

The last of the line of Spitfire:


Ultimate Spitfire by pyro-manic, on Flickr

The only remaining parts of the Saro Princess (otherwise known as "the plane with my name on it"), found in a scrapyard in the 1970s:


All that remains by pyro-manic, on Flickr

[Rheged]

SOLENT SKY MUSEUM??

I  think so too,  as does my older son,  who is a  volunteer   there.

Later.......ooops!  posted just after the answer and some lovely pix had been put up here!   Must get my reply in quicker next time.

[pyro-manic]

I was there on Friday. Really good little place.

[PR19_Kit]

Wasn't, or isn't, there a plan to build a new hall for the Museum elsewhere in the Southampton area?

The S6 was displayed at the Calshot site last summer as part of a Schneider Trophy anniversay celebration and the guys from the Solent Sky museum who were there at the time were talking about '.....soon being in a new building....'

[Rheged]

Wasn't, or isn't, there a plan to build a new hall for the Museum elsewhere in the Southampton area?

The S6 was displayed at the Calshot site last summer as part of a Schneider Trophy anniversay celebration and the guys from the Solent Sky museum who were there at the time were talking about '.....soon being in a new building....'

Yes,  there is a plan to build or obtain a bigger and better building  "in the not too distant future"...........but we might be talking on a geological timescale.      I hope they do get a bigger building, they have a lot of good stuff and good blokes too!    But I'm biassed 'cos my older son is a volunteer there!

[rickshaw]

Isn't the Sandringham an ex-Australian Ansett airlines one?

[Rheged]

Isn't the Sandringham an ex-Australian Ansett airlines one?

Yes,  you are of course correct!

Initially,  it was owned by  Tasman Empire Airways Ltd. (TEAL) of New Zealand. JM715 was purchased from the Air Ministry for conversion.  In May 1950 ZK-AMH, was sold to Barrier Reef Airlines of Australia where it was renamed Beachcomber. Barrier Reef Airlines were subsequently taken over by  Ansett and became Ansett Flying Boat Services.

In 1981 the aircraft was purchased for the National Aeronautical Collection  The next year arrangements were made to house it in the  R J Mitchell Memorial Museum. When the building was finished Beachcomber  was reassembled in time for the museum opening in June 1983.

This exhibit is on loan from the National Aeronautical Collection of the Science Museum

[PR19_Kit]

If it's a slow day there and you're friendly to the staff they sometimes let you up into the cockpit of 'Beachcomber' (the Sandrinhgam...) to sit in the Captain's seat. 

It's a LONG way up there!

[Mossie]

My guess was Tracy Island!