BRITANNIA AIRCRAFT PRESERVATION TRUST

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Kemble events for 2004

The dates for events on Kemble airfield are now being confirmed. Britannia XM496 will be open at all events, subject to volunteers to man her. G-ALRX and G-ANCF will be on display inside the Bristol Aero Collection as usual - open Sundays, Mondays, bank holidays, and event days, from Good Friday to the end of October. Volunteers are needed to be on hand for XM496, please get in touch if you think you can help out.

22nd May	Sat	XM496 open for Britannia Association reunion
20 June	Sun	Kemble Air Day
26 & 27 June	Sat/Sun	Military Vehicle Trust National Show
9th - 11th July	Fri/Sat/Sun	Popular Flying Association Rally
7th/8th August	Sat/Sun	Gloucestershire Steam and Vintage Extravaganza
12th September	Sun	Kemble Open Day

Winter 2003 issue of Whisper out now

The latest issue of Whisper, the journal of the Bristol Britannia Preservation Society, is out now. The newsletter contains progress reports on three Britannias and what is in store for the future, plus a feature on some of the working members at Kemble. The newsletter is sent to members of the BBPS - annual subscriptions now run from January to December, so now is a great time to join.

Aeroplane Monthly website feature

David Siddall, webmaster for the Aeroplane Monthly website, recently visited Kemble to see the Britannia team in action. He has written an article for the website - you can read it at http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com.

Website update - new photos in the gallery

A selection of Britannia photos from the past have been added to the Gallery. The photos have been supplied by Martin Fenner, who is in the process of building a Britannia photo archive on the internet at www.b175.com.

October 2003

The forward fuselage of Britannia G-ALRX has been receiving a lot of attention this summer, both inside and out. Visitors to the Bristol Aero Collections hangar will now see her restored to the BOAC colours she carried during her brief career as the second Britannia prototype. The work has been a joint project between the BAPT and the Bristol Aero Collection, with the former stripping off the pseudo-RAF colours, and BAC team members applying the new colour scheme. A new door is due to be fitted to the rear of the fuselage section, in time for RX's 50th birthday, on 23rd December 2003. Photographs will be on the website soon.

Summer Barbecue at Kemble

To celebrate the 43rd birthday of our live Britannia, XM496, we will be having a Barbecue at Kemble from midday on Sunday 24th August. Bring your own booze and food, along with one other dish or sweet, and we will provide the BBQ equipment. All are invited!

XM496 first flew from Belfast on 24th August 1960.

Progress - Summer 2003

August 2003 - Progress has continued on all three Britannias. It was hoped that it would be possible for XM496 to perform taxi runs at some of the events at Kemble this year, but unfortunately this was not to be. The brake units were returned from Brize Norton, but with some parts requiring replacement, and a lack of spares, it was impossible to complete the overhaul. It may be that the only way to get '496 mobile again will be to have the items manufactured, an expensive process. Repairs have taken place to the cabin ceiling, damaged by condensation during the winter.

Visitors to the Bristol Aero Collection in August will have noticed the new paint job on Romeo X-ray, the cockpit section of the second prototype. She has been repainted in an authentic BOAC scheme, like the colours she carried during her brief flying career in 1953/54. The restoration and repaint should be complete by December 23rd, her 50th birthday.

Events at Kemble in 2003

December 2002 - several events at Kemble for the 2003 season have been announced, and it is hoped that Britannia XM496 will be open to visitors at most of them.

If you attend any of these events, please take the time to visit our live Britannia, talk to the volunteers, any make a much needed donation to keep her going!

The Britannia cockpit (G-ALRX) and restoration project (G-ANCF) will be available for inspection as usual, in the Bristol Aero Collections hangar at Kemble. The Collection will be open on Sundays, Mondays and Kemble event days from Easter 2003 to the end October, and by arrangement at other times. Keep up to date with planned events at Kemble Airfield at http://www.kemble.com

Britannia Footage on the Internet

Pathe News have recently made available their entire catalogue of new reels and unused footage on the internet. The Britannia features in several news items, including Farnborough 1952, 1953, and 1958, the emergency landing on the Severn mudflats and the Downend crash, sales tours and a production focus. Low-resolution clips are free and take a few minutes to download, and high-resolution clips, intended for presentations, are available with a licence fee.

XM496 progress

Autumn 2002 - Under the leadership of Project Co-ordinator Jim Cox, work on the aircraft has been making steady progress within our limited manpower resources. Early in the year it was decided not to remove No.2 engine for rectification of the parking brake problem. Instead it was decided to put the engine on care and maintenance and reassess the situation later in the year, as there were other priorities. Work has centred on checking our systems and making modifications to enable engine runs to be carried out again on a regular basis. The first engine runs should take place in the near future, once the VHF radios and ground to flight deck wander lead have been installed. We now have an obligation to out landlords to adopt a more professional approach to the way in which we do things. This will become even more critical when Kemble Airfield becomes a fully licenced aerodrome towards the end of the year. We are therefore adopting new operating procedures in co-operation with the airfield management, which should allow us to taxi the aircraft on a regular basis next year.

Four of the main wheel brake units have been removed and are in the process of being overhauled by our friends at Brize Norton. However they are in poor condition, and there is a distinct lack of spares available. This leaves us with the option of having replacement parts manufactured, which could prove expensive, or investigating the possibility of using an alternative type of brake unit. One thing for sure is that the brakes must be in full working order before we can taxy the aircraft.

The main passenger door runners have given us a lot of problems as the doors and runners have become worn. The problem has been resolved by using the runners from Charlie Fox - although we are having new runners manufactured. We are also hoping to get the overhauled rear passenger door back from Northbrook College in the near future. This will then allow the forward door to be sent away for overhaul.

The overhauled nose wheels were fitted to the aircraft in early summer. John Densem has finished the replica main galley, although it still lacks some equipment such as boilers and catering canisters. With some help from Ron King and Derek Smith, John has now started rebuilding the signallers station and re-installing some of the navigators station instrumentation. John Fairbairne has been continuing with the task of replacing the cabin lighting, and Topper and Tony Reynolds are gradually getting the cabin looking more presentable.

The aircraft had a wash in mid-September thanks to an agreement with Serco at Brize Norton, arranged by Topper Brown. The aircraft's fin will now be repainted along with as much of the fuselage as time allows. The apron on the starboard side of the aircraft will be enlarged to allow the aircraft to be move more easily. Funds permitting, the port side will be enlarged at a later date.