Top right: Our Museum guides; read more about them on p.4.

Centre right: Andy and Jamie from AgustaWestland in front of their handy work on XV733. Bottom right: Campbell Cricket arrives at the Museum in early October. Bottom left: One of two Pumas to visit the Museum helipad on a cold December day. Centre Left: Just one of the gruesome costumes showcased at the Halloween fun day. Top Left: Father Christmas arrives by Helicopter!

Chairman of the Trustees: Elfan Ap Rees Where did 2013 go? Or for that matter the best part of the past 40 years that I have been involved collecting helicopters! Recently I have been striving to list all the volunteers who have been involved in helping to develop this great museum of ours.......it's getting to be a long list of names and a sober reminder that what has been achieved has only been possible because of those who have given up their time and skills to join in and help. It's a bit like Father Christmas......he wouldnt have been able to deliver the goods if it wasn't for all the elves beavering away all year. So this is a thanks to everyone who has helped during 2013 in some way or another and looking forward to 2014, our 25th anniversary year when, with your help, we hope to make big strides forward to ensure the future sustainability of the collection. A Happy New Year to you all. Elfan

New Year Brain Training: Lee Mills Museum Manager Lee has come up with some devilishly difficult riddles for you to ponder over the New Year period. Before you think they are easy...A certain Collections Officer got both wrong...and proceeded to throw a hissy fit...Good luck! A bottle of wine to the first volunteer who gets both correct! THE RIVETERS Rod had asked Greg and Martin to rivet the undercarriage of the Mil-8. Each had been assigned a separate side to work on and each side required the exact same amount of rivets. Martin had arrived at the museum on time and had made a start, but had picked the wrong side of the aircraft to work on. Greg arrived later after three rivets had already been put in and Martin then moved back to his own side and started work. At the end of the day Greg had finished first and so to speed the process up he switched over to Martins side and put in six rivets for him. Idly curious as to who had put in the most rivets and by how many they then asked Rod for an answer. What answer should Rod give? ELFANS WINTER FLIGHT

A Very Happy New Year: John Clews I think the title to this little piece says it all really; A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL STAFF MEMBERS, VOLUNTEERS, AND ANYONE INVOLVED WITH THE MUSEUM. It is common at this time of the year to look back over the last 12 months, and what a 12 months it has been! We have successfully hosted bigger and better events than ever before, and most importantly, the management of our organisation have made some big decisions about the future of the Museum. Looking back can be fun, but we should also be eagerly looking forward. This year is the Museums 25th Anniversary, a truly great achievement (especially when you consider that both myself and the Museum were born in the same year!). To mark the occasion Lee and Shaly have arranged a number of events throughout the year which will showcase our collection and open us up to a wider range of people; which can only be good for the Museum. To achieve this we need your input more than ever. Please throw yourself into the events this year and be a part of the fun! On a sunny winters day Elfan decided to take his helicopter out for a flight. Enjoying the scenery he flew to his destination at a leisurely 80 miles per hour. However, on the return journey, desperate for a bacon sandwich and knowing that Cheryl was stopping serving hot food in the cafe at 3.30pm he flew back at a sprightly 120 miles per hour. Upon positioning his Brantly back into the Restoration Hangar he collared Rod and asked him to calculate his average speed for the entire journey. What answer should Rod give? Answers to John Clews via email at: helicollections@btconnect.com Marketing the Museum Dear Volunteers, the 2014 Museum leaflet will be out by late January. If you are visiting a heritage attraction or you know of a dedicated leaflet drop, please ask for some leaflets to take with you. The more diverse and interesting places that we are advertised the better!

Upcoming Events January: 12th Open Cockpit day February: 16th Open Cockpit day and Helicopter Flights If you are able to dedicate your time to this years events then please register your interest with either Lee Mills or Shaly Dee. Any offer of help will be greatly received. Interesting visitors We have had a number of varied groups visit us over the past three months. These include: 81st St. Andrew Cubs Churchfield School Henbury Primary School Sandford & Churchill Cubs Blenheim Scouts 82nd St. Bernadette Cubs

Museum News Halloween Fun Day A new exciting event was added to the calendar last year, and what a success it was. Our hangar was filled with ghastly ghouls besides a plethora of other scary creatures and villains, not least our own staff members and volunteers who, as you can see below, really got into character for the day.

The day was more than just an excuse to dress up though, with many other activities including trips through our very own Hell-icopter and a showing of the classic 'A Nightmare Before Christmas' in our film theatre. The event will be repeated (with a special 25th Anniversary twist) later this year. Christmas Celebrations

Feedback from these groups was excellent, and we must therefore congratulate our guides on a busy but great three months! Dear volunteers Please note that development work is going on in the Museum car park (and what a difference this has made already!) and the painting of our entrance and front end buildings will be commencing shortly. Please be mindful that you may be asked to move your vehicles to specific areas of the car park over the coming weeks to enable the builders to crack on with the much needed work. Anyone interested in helping with the painting should see Shaly for details. New Volunteers Please make the following volunteer welcome and say hello: Tom Hender: otherwise known as Young Tom

This event, which by now has become iconic at the Museum, has proved to also be one of the most popular with our customers; but then can you really be surprised, Father Christmas did fly in by helicopter! We hope that everyone had a great time and a very Merry Christmas.

Special thanks to Ken Crane, ambassador to the North Pole, for liaising with Father Christmas on behalf of the Museum prior to the event!

Restoration News: Rod Holloway Queens Flight I am glad to announce that all work on the Queens Flight Wessex has now been completed and she will be moved back to her original position in the New Year. Creep had recently been developing on XV733, which was identified by staff at AgustaWestland as a type of corrosion called filiform corrosion. It is believed that in many cases, the corrosion in question was linked to rivet positions on the aircraft. In agreement with Museum staff, the experts from Agusta Westland recommended a strip, treat and refinish for the affected areas. This consisted of stripping the current paint from the corroded areas, the removal of corrosion using a brush and specified forms of abrasives, all followed by pickling and refinishing.

Tour Guides: Ken Crane I read with interest in the last issue of the number of Interesting Visitors and Scouts that have been obtaining their Air Activity Badges. Yet, there has been no mention of the work all our guides do to encourage and assist these groups in and around the Museum. I thought it would be nice to introduce everyone to our guides so that praise can be directed their way in the future. Lets take Martin Degg who has taken the lead on the programme for the Cubs. He has taken the time to go through their requirements with the Area Leaders to produce a separate programme and with the help of the other guides this initiative has been a great success. Alan Whitfield has had a great deal of experience working with the Wasp, Scout and other aircrafts engines and rotor heads which enables us to go to him for any technical answers. Chris May worked on Concorde for quite a number of years and was also connected with the Bristol Aero Collection. He spends a lot of his time speaking to visitors and answering their questions. Then there's Ray Dunn who is a retired School Teacher. He started in the Museum with a fascination for the Hind and has gained quite a lot of knowledge with this aircraft; he has now moved onto other helicopters so that he can give a complete tour. Richard Street has only been with us for a short time after retiring from the Royal Army Service Corps and finally the Territorial Army. Richard has now been able to pick-up enough knowledge to be able to take adult tours around the Museum. Peter Baylis worked at Westlands for much of his life; he has of course got experience on most of the British aircraft but still has to learn the entire collection. If you ever hear that he is going to give his talk on the first powered hang glider, you must attend. A new edition to the team is Stacey Parker, who by just sitting in the cockpit with the Cubs has impressed Martin and is in the throes of learning about the other aircraft which will enable her to pass out as a Guide. And there's myself, who's responsible for collating the bookings when they come through reception and try to organise the required number of guides for each Tour, Air Activity Badge, Cockpit and Simulator session, or anyother requirements (plus I do cover a few of the tours!) Ed: Thank you for this Ken; it really is interesting how diverse the tour guide team is. I must say a big Thank you! to the team for all their hard work throughout the year. One of the areas where we get lots of really positive feedback is in regard to the quality of our tours which is only made possible by the dedication of our guides.

We must extend a huge thank you to the chaps from AgustaWestland for the great job that they have completed for the Museum. I think the best compliment that we can pay them is by saying that you can really not see that any work has been done at all! This thanks must be extended to the company itself for taking an interest in us and for working with us to protect the heritage of AgustaWestland. (for more of Rods pictures please see p.6)

Archive News As mentioned in the last newsletter, the Archive has been awarded a grant to improve the environmental and pest control aspects of the Museum store. The grant has enabled us to become better educated about the threats posed to us by pests, and perhaps more importantly, how to combat such threats. A large portion of the grant was spent on a Collections Care kit from Helena Jaeschke, who we are also indebted to for advising us on pest prevention protocol.

Two Minutes With... Simon Bell This week Simon Bell takes to the interrogation chair to be quizzed on his thoughts regarding the Museum. Simon works in the cafe and is often the first to get into the spirit for events and dress up. He is certainly well known for his Bane costume which he wears at any opportunity! Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions Simon. How long have you been at the museum? I have been at the Museum for a year and a quarter. What did you do before joining the museum? I was a trainee chef at the Imperial in Weston town centre before starting at the Museum. What has been your best experience at the museum? I think Stars of Time would have to be my best experience at the Museum, the atmosphere amongst the customers and the Museum team was great. What would you like to see happen at the museum in the future? For the future of the Museum, I, like the rest of the team, would like to see the Museum expand so that we can house more aircraft. With the vision of expansion also comes the prospect of bigger infrastructure which means a bigger and better caf. Spotters Landing information about the aircraft that have stopped off at the museum in the last 3 months for all you spotters out there: October Date, Type, Registration, Flown From: 10.10.2013, AS350 B3, G-OLFA, Goodwood 10.10.2013, Enstrom 480B, G-RRAK, Gloucester 21.10.2013, Merlin, V788, R.A.F Benson 21.10.2013, Agusta 109, G-TRAW, Plymouth 21.10.2013, Lynx Mk. 8, ?????, Yeovilton 25.10.2013, 2x Merlin, ?????, R.A.F Benson

Perhaps the biggest outcome of the grant is that the decision has been made to put pest traps upon our shelves and fragile items. This means particularly fragile items, such as the materials pictured above, can be targeted with specialist traps. Ultra-Light Items I am pleased to announce that, owing to the initiative of volunteer John Derrick, we have been able to contribute to a one off interview with Ultra-Light test pilot John Morton. The interview will soon be with us at the Museum, where it will be stored along with copies of important Ultra-Light slides, until the aircraft is fully restored and ready to be displayed. We are incredibly thankful to John for agreeing to do the interview and for his friend Ian for taking care of the arrangements.

Spotters Section Continued November Date, Type, Registration, Flown From: ...I can hardly believe it... I have double checked the log book and apparently there have been no landings at the Museum for the whole of November! Spotters Section Continued December Date, Type, Registration, Flown From: 02.12.2013, A109, ?????, Liskeard 08.12.2013, Bell 206B, G-BEWY, Urchinwood 11.12.2013, Robinson R44, G-PROJ 12.12.2013, Puma Mk.2, ZJ957, R.A.F Benson 12.12.2013, Puma Mk.2, XW231, R.A.F Benson 17.12.2013, Squirrel, ?????, Middle Wallop 18.12.2013, Lynx Mk. 8, ?????, Yeovilton 29.12.2013, Robinson R44, G-CDWK, Gloucester

Chairman: The two Puma HC. Mk2s mark the first visit of this upgraded version to the Museum. Powered by more powerful Turbomeca Makila engines and with a glass cockpit, these are currently carrying out pilot training sorties before the type is declared operational later this year. Visitor Feedback

Very good, well worth a visit Tops! Really good, enjoyed it Really fun and educational, overall very interesting Best Museum I have seen for ages Yay! Super fun time! Keep up the good work

Hire The Museum!

Do you have a Birthday or Anniversary coming up? Have you thought about hiring your village hall for a party? The Helicopter Museum is available for public hire and is not as expensive as you might think. We already have several private events booked in for 2014 with groups ranging from 50-500 people. If you are interested in aviation, the Museum can provide a unique backdrop for your special day. Please contact Lee Mills or Shaly Dee for details.

Other Ways You Can Help?

There are many ways in which you can volunteer at The Helicopter Museum. Many of us have our own set duties in our own little section of the museum; but there are many times throughout the year when volunteers can branch out and get involved in a number of ways, raising funds being one of the main ones. If volunteers would like to play their part and help the Museum raise funds and secure its future, please have a chat with either Lee or Shaly. The museum is always desperate for volunteers to help out at its events and you can play your part in many ways. When was the last time you took some Museum leaflets to your local pub, club or school? Have you ever pinned up a Museum event flyer on your local village notice board? Could you give up an hour or so to help prepare for an event? Have you given unwanted items to a charity shop recently, could they have been given to the Museum to sell on their bric-a-brac stalls? Please don't just leave it for other people to do, play your part and support the Museum you volunteer at.

Your Museum Needs You! Encourage your friends and family to visit, every admission helps!

How to contact us?

Tel: 01934-635227, Email: helimuseum@btconnect.com Website: www.helicoptermuseum.co.uk

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Whilst it is easy to forget, The Helicopter Museum is indeed a charity. Aircraft do not preserve themselves and a big part of what the museum does is conservation and restoration based. The acquisition, preservation and restoration of aircraft, some of which are the only existing examples left in the world, takes place on a daily basis at the museum so that our aircraft can be enjoyed for generations to come. If you would like to help us in our task by contributing to the restoration budget, then please fill in the form below and send it off to us.

Your Donation
I would like to support the Helicopter Museum in their efforts to conserve and restore aircraft and educate the public about vertical flight history and technology with a gift of: 10 Name: Phone Number: Email Address: Home Address: Postcode: I enclose a cheque made payable to The Helicopter Museum Help us further by using gift aid Thanks to the gift aid scheme we can reclaim money on your donation from the government. For every pound you give us, we can claim an extra 25p. For example, a donation of 15 becomes 18.75 with gift aid at no extra cost to you. I am a UK taxpayer and would like The Helicopter Museum to treat all future donations from today as gift aid donations. I understand that in the relevant tax year I must pay an amount of income tax and/or capital gains tax at least equal to the tax that the charity reclaims on my donation. Signature: Please return this form in an envelope to: The Helicopter Museum, Locking Moor Road, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS24 8PP 20 30 50 100 Other