Comings and goings at Kemble

The Bristol Aero Collection at Kemble has a new exhibit this spring - a Bristol 4-ton lorry, built in 1920, which comes straight from the Streetcars of Desire event in Bristol. This vehicle is an important addition to the Bristol road transport display, which stretches from an 1895 horse drawn tram, through to buses of the fifties, sixties and seventies. It was exhibited at the 1920 Commercial Motor Show on the Bristol Stand, and is the oldest surviving Bristol commercial vehicle. The lorry has been fully restored by Hanson Aggregates in a style similar to their own lorries of the period, and we are very grateful to Hanson for the loan of the vehicle.

Leaving the hangar is the Collections Beagle 206X prototype, which is going to Shoreham for a reunion of Beagle staff on 11th June 2005. The Beagle 206 was based on a Bristol design, the Type 220, and first flew from Shoreham in 1961. Following the event, the Beagle will undergo a well earned period of restoration, and will return to the Bristol Aero Collection in the future.

posted by Bristol Aero Collection on 26.5.05

Last Skylark Launch

The last ever launch of a Skylark sounding rocket took place on Monday 3rd May 2005, in Sweden. The Bristol Aero Collection contains a complete Skylark rocket, including a 'Raven' booster, built by Bristol Aerojet (BAJ). This final launch was the 441st mission, the first Skylark launch was in Australia in 1957. Over the years it has been used to perform a huge range of experiments in space, allowing several minutes of zero gravity at its apogee, which could be over 600 miles (1000 km) above the Earth, depending on the weight of its payload. Visitors to the Bristol Aero Collection this summer can see a Skylark 12 rocket on display, complete with its Bristol-built motor. Also on display are a Goldfinch first stage motor and heat-damaged fins recovered after a Skylark launch in Sweden.

posted by Bristol Aero Collection on 6.5.05