Aviation history preserved
April 19, 2012, 10:06 am
The new aviation museum at Sywell recently opened and was greeted by hundreds of guests and a flypast by a Spitfire aircraft. The Sywell Aviation Museum at the Sywell Aerodome took two years to complete, and is housed in a former wartime Nissen hut.
The museum displays historical aviation artifacts depicting the history of the RAF and the American Army Air Force that fought in World War II, as well as German aircrafts that flew at the same time, Northampton Chronicle reported.
The museum was originally opened in 2001 and the first extension of its offerings occurred in 2010. All the equipment in the museum was donated or loaned out by members of the public, and the museum is very grateful for the generosity of the donors, the Chronicle reported.
Haydn Salter, a museum trustee, helped build the museum and worked to attract war veterans and active aircrafts to be present at the launch in honor of the new exhibits.
"It is important people should remember what happened in World War II," Salten told the Chronicle. "It is probably the best the museum has ever looked."
The launch event also featured displays depicting the various roles of the RAF, American and German air forces during the war, as well as artifacts from infamous crash sites in England. On display are bullets, pieces of aircrafts from all over the world, wheels and a pedal from the cockpit to illustrate the technology being used during the war. The museum also houses a German deactivated bomb, the same weapon dropped in Wellingborough during the war, the Chronicle reported.
In South Florida, aviation experts and enthusiasts are also celebrating the history of flight by taking a trip in a historic 1929 plane. The Miami Herald reported a few lucky passengers were able to take a flight in a plane from 1929 landing at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport as part of a trip into the past experience, the Herald reported.
The NC8407 plane was the first plane used for commercial passenger flight and was first purchased by an aviation company in Philadelphia that evolved into Eastern Airlines over time.
"It is considered the granddaddy of Eastern Airlines but it's always been workhorse,": Larry Harmacinski, a pilot flying the plane, told the Herald.
In 1930 the plane was leased to Cuban Airlines for service between Havana and Santiago de Cuba. Then a few years later the Dominican Republic Government started to use the plane, before Miami snatched it back in 1949, the Herald reported.
Pilots interested in flying a piece of history should get pilot insurance first as a precaution.
Are you covered? Are you overpaying? Find out! Get a Quote Now!
| 
