Solent Sky Museum
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Solent Sky Museum
Solent Sky is an aviation museum in Southampton, Hampshire, previously known as Southampton Hall of Aviation. It depicts the history of aviation in Southampton, the Solent area and Hampshire. There is special focus on the Supermarine aircraft company, based in Southampton, and its most famous products, the Supermarine S.6 seaplane and the Supermarine Spitfire, designed by R. J. Mitchell. There is also coverage of the Schneider Trophy seaplane races, twice held at Calshot Spit, and the flying boat services which operated from the Solent. In December 2019 the Calshot Spit lightship was relocated next to the museum in order to be converted into part of the museum's cafe. In September 2020, 3 of Southampton's former trams were moved to the museum site where it is planned they will undergo restoration before going on public display.  Construction of the current building began in 1983 and was designed by Barry Eaton, then the City Architect. It opened in 1984. Exhibits Aircra ...
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Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Portsmouth and the towns of Havant, Waterlooville, Eastleigh, Fareham and Gosport. A major port, and close to the New Forest, it lies at the northernmost point of Southampton Water, at the confluence of the River Test and Itchen, with the River Hamble joining to the south. Southampton is classified as a Medium-Port City . Southampton was the departure point for the and home to 500 of the people who perished on board. The Spitfire was built in the city and Southampton has a strong association with the ''Mayflower'', being the departure point before the vessel was forced to return to Plymouth. In the past century, the city was one of Europe's main ports for ocean liners and more recently, Southampton is known as the home port of some of ...
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De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by a single jet propulsion, jet engine. Development of the Vampire as an experimental aircraft began in 1941 during the Second World War, to exploit the revolutionary innovation of jet propulsion. From the company's design studies, it was decided to use a single-engine, twin-boom aircraft, powered by the de Havilland Goblin, Halford H.1 turbojet (later produced as the Goblin). Aside from its propulsion system and twin-boom configuration, it was a relatively conventional aircraft. In May 1944 it was decided to produce the aircraft as an interceptor aircraft, interceptor for the Royal Air Force (RAF). In 1946 the Vampire entered operational service with the RAF, only months after the war had ended. The Vampire quick ...
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Alvis Leonides Major
The Alvis Leonides Major was a British air-cooled 14-cylinder radial aero engine developed by Alvis from the earlier nine-cylinder Leonides. Design and development In 1951 Alvis started development of a 14-cylinder, two row radial of 1,118 cu in (18.3 L) displacement, based on the Leonides. Certification covered the Mk. 702/1 for aeroplanes at and the 751/1 for helicopters at . The only numerous model of the Major was the Mk. 755/1, a medium supercharged, de-rated, obliquely mounted direct-drive and fan cooled engine fitted to the Westland Whirlwind Mks. 5, 6, 7 and 8.Lumsden 2003, pp.60-61. Variants ''Data from:British Piston Engines and their Aircraft.'' ;Leonides Major 702/1 : for aeroplanes, also known as A.LE.M.1-1 in Air Ministry ;Leonides Major 751/1 : for helicopters, also known as A.LE.M.1-2 ;Leonides Major 755/1 : for helicopters in a 35° canted mounting, also known as A.LE.M.1-6 and as Mk.155 in civil aircraft ;Leonides Major 755/2 : for helicopters in a vertic ...
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Wight Quadruplane
The Wight Quadruplane, also referred to as the Wight Type 4, was a British single seat quadruplane fighter aircraft built by J Samuel White & Company Limited (Wight Aircraft) during World War I. Testing revealed design deficiencies and after the only example was involved in a crash, further work on the aircraft was abandoned. Design and development The Quadruplane serial no N546 was a prototype designed by Wight Aircraft general manager and design chief Howard T. Wright in 1916. Inspired by the Sopwith Triplane and other multi-wing aircraft of its time, it had an unusual arrangement in which the fuselage was placed between the middle two wings with upper and lower wings attached by struts. Another remarkable feature was that its wingspan was less than the overall length. The wings were cambered on the leading and trailing edges with a flat middle section. This wing design proved to be very inefficient. Power was provided by a Clerget 9Z nine-cylinder air cooled rotary engin ...
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Supermarine Swift
The Supermarine Swift is a British single-seat jet fighter aircraft that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was developed and manufactured by Supermarine during the 1940s and 1950s. The Swift featured many of the new jet age innovations, such as a swept wing. On 26 September 1953, a Swift F.4 piloted by Commander Mike Lithgow broke the world absolute speed record, reaching a speed of 737.7 mph (1,187 km/h). After a protracted development period, the Swift entered service as an interceptor aircraft with the RAF in 1954. However, due to a spate of accidents incurred by the type, the Swift was grounded for a time, and had a relatively brief service life. The problems with the Swift led to a public scandal surrounding the development and performance of the aircraft, harming the reputations of the British government, the RAF, and the British aircraft industry. Ultimately, the less problematic Hawker Hunter assumed much of the role intended for the Swift and on ...
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Supermarine Seagull (1921)
The Supermarine Seagull was a amphibian biplane flying boat designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. It was developed from the experimental Supermarine Seal II. Development of the Seagull started during 1920; it heavily drew upon the prior Supermarine Commercial Amphibian programme. Flown for the first time on 2 June 1921, it was evaluated for military applications but was initially rejected, thus Supermarine continued development as a private venture. During February 1922, a pilot order for two aircraft was placed by the Air Ministry, with follow-up orders coming in shortly thereafter; production of the Seagull is believed to have been highly influential in Supermarine's survival in an era typified by an industry-wide drought of customers. The Seagull was inducted into the Fleet Air Arm, where it was typically used for gunnery spotting and reconnaissance duties. It was also operated by the Royal Australian Air Force for similar purposes, as w ...
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SUMPAC
The Southampton University Man Powered Aircraft (or SUMPAC) on 9 November 1961 became the first human-powered aeroplane to make an officially authenticated take-off and flight. It was designed and built by Southampton university students between 1960 and 1961 for an attempt at the Kremer prize, but it was never able to complete the 'figure-of-eight' course specified to claim the prize money.Guttery 1969, p. 70. Design and development The aircraft was designed and built by a team of post-graduate students from Southampton University. Intended to compete for the £50,000 Kremer Prize (requiring successful completion of a one-mile (1.6 km) 'figure of eight' course) the project was funded by the Royal Aeronautical Society. The aircraft is of conventional configuration, with the exception of a pylon mounted pusher propeller, and is constructed from balsa, plywood and aluminium alloy. Originally covered with silver-doped Nylon the aircraft now sports a transparent plastic skin ...
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Slingsby Tandem Tutor
The T.31 Tandem Tutor is a British military training glider, designed and built by Slingsby and used in large numbers by the Air Training Corps between 1951 and 1986. Design and development The T.31 was a tandem two-seat development of the T.8 Tutor (RAF Cadet TX.2). The fuselage was based on that of the T.29 Motor Tutor, increased in length and widened slightly; the wings and tail were unchanged. A single T.31A prototype was flown in 1949, followed by the production T.31B, with spoilers and a small additional wing bracing strut. Operational history Chief customer for the T.31B was the Royal Air Force for Air Cadet training; its aircraft were designated as Cadet TX Mark 3. As it was so similar to their existing single-seaters, it allowed easy conversion to solo. The RAF took delivery of 126 TX.3s between 1951 and 1959. It also found a market with civilian clubs in the UK, although most of these were built from kits and spares, using existing Tutor wings. T.31s were exported ...
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Slingsby Grasshopper
The Slingsby T.38 Grasshopper is a British primary training glider built by Slingsby Sailplanes for the Royal Air Force.Hardy 1982, p. 115. Development The design is based on the pre-World War II German SG 38 Schulgleiter, modified to use the wing design of the Slingsby T.7 Kirby Cadet glider. The design was cheap to manufacture and was designed to be stored dismantled. The type was used by Air Training Corps Squadrons between 1952 and the late 1980s. The RAF designated the glider the Grasshopper TX.1, and the first order was for 65 aircraft, which were delivered in 1952 and 1953. It was later followed by two further orders for an additional 50 aircraft; the final delivery was made in 1963. Launch is achieved through the use of a V-shaped bungee or elastic rope pulled by a team of helpers. The glider can also be mounted on a pivoting tripod pointed into wind for the demonstration of controls. The Grasshopper is virtually identical to the EoN Eton. Operators ; *Royal ...
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Short Sandringham
The Short S.25 Sandringham is a British civilian flying boat designed and originally produced by Short Brothers. They were produced as conversions of the prolific Short Sunderland, a military flying boat that was commonly used as a maritime patrol aircraft. Prior to the Sandringham, numerous Sunderlands which had been built for the Royal Air Force (RAF) had been converted to a civilian configuration as early as 1942 to fulfil a requirement of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) for additional long range airliners. This need led to the development of the Short Hythe, which was a somewhat austere conversion due to its development taking place amid the Second World War. Around the conclusion to the conflict, Shorts was keen to produce a more refined and capable conversion of the Sunderland; the first prototype of which, which performed its maiden flight during November 1945, became known as the ''Sandringham I''. The BOAC quickly sought to procure the Sandringham for i ...
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Saunders-Roe SR
Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a controlling interest in the aircraft and boat-builders S. E. Saunders. Prior to this (excepting for the Sopwith/Saunders Bat Boat) the products were Saunders, the A4 Medina for example dating from 1926. Sam Saunders the founder developed the Consuta material used in marine and aviation craft. The Saunders-Roe interest in aviation didn’t prevent the firm from continuing with the boatbuilding activities associated with S. E. Saunders Ltd Saunders Roe concentrated on producing flying-boats, but none were produced in very large quantities – the longest run being 31 Londons. They also produced hulls for the Blackburn Bluebird. During the Second World War Saro manufactured Supermarine Walrus and Supermarine Sea Otters. Their works at ...
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Saro Skeeter
The Saunders-Roe Skeeter was a two-seat training and scout helicopter that was developed and produced by British manufacturer Saunders-Roe ("Saro") of Cowes and Southampton, in the United Kingdom. Work on what would become the Skeeter had been commenced by the Cierva Autogiro Company as the Cierva W.14. Following Saunders-Roe's takeover of Cierva's helicopter development contracts, it was decided to continue its projects, including the Skeeter. Despite an initial preference for the rival Fairey Ultra-light Helicopter, which had already been ordered, there was a reversal of fortune with interest from the Bundeswehr in the potential procurement of a large number of Skeeters. This led to the British order for the Ultra-light Helicopter being cancelled and the Skeeter effectively taking its place, which also served to guarantee an export order from Germany. During the late 1950s, the Skeeter entered service with the British Army Air Corps, the German Navy, and the German Army. It ...
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