CLUB OPEN DAY - 01 AUGUST

The Silvermere Golf and Leisure charity this year is 'Help For Heros' and the club will donate £250 to this very important fund to help our soldiers, sailors, airmen and their families.

40 members and family gathered at Silvermere for the club annual Open Day on Sunday 1 August.

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'BEST BOAT' WINNER

Members voted for the “Best Boat Trophy” and Richard Chesney's new sailing yacht “ATLANTIS “ won by a large margin.

Well done Richard.

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STEAM

A fine collection of steam powered models were displayed

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SAIL

Sailing craft, including cutters and barges took to the water during the day.

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NAVIGATION

Hans set out a new style navigation course for open day. 

A good number of entrants provided an entertaining event.

Jim Passey proved to be the man to beat. John Woods came in second and Steve Griffiths third.

Thanks to Hans and Steve who loaned a Dinghy for setting up the course.

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RAF LAUNCHES

 RAF launches, including Ron's '156', were put through their paces.

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MODEL MAKING

The modelmakers skill was admired by visiting members of the public.

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TUGS

Tugs displayed included 'Joffre' 'Furie' and 'Scorcher'.

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RNLI SALES

The RNLI sales lady did a roaring trade from both members and the public attending Silvermere for Lunch. Over £160 of goods were sold on the day.

The final sail past took place at 15.00 hrs and a very varied fleet including steam, electric and sail including Dick Birkheads short keel IOM yacht took the salute.

 Grahame

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DUXFORD OUTING - 16 JULY

We had a good day and a good attendance for our visit to Duxford Airfield on Friday 16th July 2010. We arrived at about 1100 after an uneventful journey mainly via M25 of 2½ hours. We potentially had six hours for the visit which should have been adequate time to get round the 8 “hangers” plus time for lunch but not all of us did manage this, the writer only getting round 6 of the available sights, so another visit one day might be in order.

The 8 areas a listed as follows:- 
 1. Air Space, description “The story of British and Commonwealth aviation. Featuring over 30 iconic aircraft (including Concorde and the Spitfire) plus Airborne Assault”. 

2. Flying Aircraft, description “Here some of the privately-owned historic aircraft are restored, maintained and prepared for flight”. 

3. Air and Sea, description “As well as more flying historic aeroplanes, see some of the Museum‟s collection of boats, submarines and maritime aircraft”. 

4. Battle of Britain, description “The story of Britain‟s air defence from the First World War to the Cold War, focusing on Britain‟s „finest hour‟ in 1940. 

5. Conservation in Action, description “See our staff and volunteers actively preserving the nation‟s aviation heritage”. 

6. 1940 Operations Room, description “See the original 1940 Operations Room recreated, from where RAF fighter pilots were directed into combat”. 

7. American Air Museum, description “Follow the story of American Air powere and its effect on the modern world and see the mighty B-52 and Blackbird „spy plane‟”. 

8. Land Warfare, description “Discover how ground combat has changed over the 20th century and find out more about the Royal Anglian Regiment”.

On the introductory Map we were all issued with at the start of our visit, which was very helpful in giving us a good overview of the site, it is also stated under the title Historic Duxford “Take time during you visit to walk around Historic Duxford. It contains some of the best preserved First and Second World War RAF buildings in the country”. This emphasised one thing that I had not known before: that Duxford was an active aerodrome even during the first World War, so the site itself is historically hugely significant. The Map also provided suggested routes for different groups. I originally intended following the route for Adults: 1 → 4 →6 →7 →8 → 5 + 2, but ultimately went for 1 → 6 sequentially which I found was more satisfying and enjoyed immensely, I simply did not have enough time to do more.

The visits to these sites were interspersed with a significant break for lunch at the Mess Restaurant adjacent to the Visitor Centre after spending the initial 2 hours just in “hanger 1”; and a short break in Wing Co. Joe‟s Café just before departing Duxford at 1700 hours.

I found the visit most informative and learnt a lot about various different aspects of flight history apart from so much about both World Wars Air and Naval history. For instance,

in “Hanger 1” I discovered that the Wright Brothers‟ first recognized powered flight in Flyer 1 took place in 1903 in USA, of course, and their first demonstration in Europe occurred in France in 1907. But did you know that their first commercial construction enterprise was developed in 1909 in N Ireland with no lesser partnership than the Short Brothers? This was a very significant revelation to me! Also in “Hanger 1” was a remnant of the cotton fabric used for the double wings on Flyer 1 presented by the Wright family to the Museum in 2007. I was also impressed to learn that Flyer 1 was propelled by twin contra-rotating propellers of 8 foot diameter driven by what looked like bicycle chains, quite an achievement for 1903! However, the history of flight goes back almost a hundred years earlier to a Yorkshire man named Carey who made an intricate study of bird flight and determined the essentials of wing construction including the use of ailerons and flaps. Also in “Hanger 1” was one of the prototypes of Concorde which was the only aircraft one could actually go aboard and which initially had no passenger seats but was fitted out to monitor all sorts of operating systems. For display purposes a certain number of passenger seats had subsequently been fitted to give an idea of what it was like to travel in this super aircraft, and it did seem a bit cramped but if you can do the transatlantic journey in well less than half the time of a conventional aircraft it may have been compromise worth having! What did greatly surprise me, however, was that on this particular aircraft there were two emergency escape hatches with instructions for their use; the testing crew were obliged to wear parachutes at all times so that they could escape in an instant if necessary, - but the mind boggles at trying to eject oneself at the speed of, say, Mach 2!! Concorde started life in 1969 and ended in 2003 when the fleet was finally grounded. However there have even been rumours circulating recently about a possible revival of Concorde flights, so the full story may not be over yet after all. It is, though, interesting to note that a complete century has elapsed since the Wright Brothers first flew Flyer 1 and the (possibly interim) demise of Concorde. What an adventure has been experienced in between! I did get to view some other aircraft in “Hanger 1” but did not delay there much more.

Next, after a lunch interlude, I went on to “Hanger 2” for a somewhat briefer visit since there was not so much going on that really took my interest. However, “Hanger 3” was more appealing: being a mariner the boats especially were of interest. I was fascinated by the First World War Coastal Motor Boats (CMB‟s) which were obviously the forerunners of the later Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB‟s). They were of lightweight wooden construction but super fast with a regular speed of 30 + knots. Unusually they were designed to have the torpedo fired astern which meant they had to take time to realign themselves 180º before letting them go. The single example on display had provision for only one torpedo, but from photos it was clear that some had twin launching ramps, though still aftward-facing. They evidently proved themselves to be a useful addition to the naval armoury giving a good account of themselves in the Baltic and Black Seas. One notable CMB commander even one the VC for his exploits in the N Russian theatre, and survived. For comparison we also saw the more conventional MTB with its twin3 forward-facing deck tubes, which was clearly more practicable. There was also an example of a 5-man Midget Submarine plus the remains of a 2-man X-Craft used in the Turpitz attack in Norway, - neither of these two vessels particularly appealed to me since I always like to be able to see where I‟m going!

Next on to “Hanger 4” which really effectively did manage to convey the spirit of The Battle of Britain with the constant drone of aircraft being played through loudspeakers, - this constant but varying buzz did impose the sense of urgency which would have been apparent at the time. The Hurricanes and Spitfires on display were impressive but seemed somewhat small for the enormous task they were called upon to undertake. I was surprised to learn that overall the Hurricanes shot down more enemy aircraft than the Spitfires, but they were more numerous. I was especially interested to see one land vehicle displayed: the National Fire Service (NFS) fire appliance. This helped me appreciate something of what my father had been through during the Second World War since he had been a conscientious objector and was stationed with the NFS throughout the war in Kent, - we very rarely saw him during that time and he never talked about it to me later. But I‟ve no doubt it was an equally important job which could only be done by suitably fit young men.

Then briefly on to “Hanger 5” to see various interesting-looking aircraft being restored with some extremely painstaking attention to detail and the whole hanger enveloped in the wonderfully evocative aroma of restorative „spirit‟. And finally to “Hut 6”, the 1940 Operations Room. This seemed surprisingly small for the vital function it had to perform with space for only 4 operators at the map table to push the aircraft indicators around. My tour ended with a mug of NAAFI tea and a light bite before leaving just enough time to purchase The Concorde Story at the shop prior to departure. I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed the visit, I know I did, and several even suggested a return sometime in the future.1

Rodney

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Phoenix v Selsey Victoria Yacht Race Day - Wednesday 21 July 2010.