space, but Adam Jones, the museum’s
marketing manager, explained: “We haven’t
cut the rotor blades in half. We still have the
full set of complete rotor blades in store. The
blades on display on the 173 were handmade
from wood by our skilled team of volunteers,
specifically for the exhibition.
“We decided to add this ‘half’ set of blades
due to the space allocated in the gallery,
and the fact that the full set of blades would
impact on the display area for other exhibits.”
Coming more up to date, a Sea Harrier
FA.2, ZD610, is displayed wearing 800 Naval
Air Squadron’s tail markings on the port side
and those of 801 NAS on the starboard. This
aircraft is privately owned and on loan from
Gary Spoors, arriving from Bruntingthorpe,
Leicestershire, in 2015. The Harrier was
powered by a Bristol Siddeley (later Rolls-
Royce) Pegasus jet engine built at Filton.
There are cabinets of Bristol-related
models and interesting artefacts interspersed
with the aircraft.SUPERSONIC STAR
Components for Concorde were manufactured
at several locations in the UK and France.
There were two assembly lines: one at Filton
and the other at Toulouse. Ten Concordes
were built at the Bristol site and ten in France.
The museum’s Concorde, G-BOAF, is in
a separate building entirely devoted to the
aircraft with an historical display of artefacts
and test models. A visual display of archive
film and slides is projected onto Concorde’s
nose, which enhances the exhibit and tells
the aircraft’s story. Another projection is
placed over a nacelle to give an insight into
the workings of Concorde’s Olympus engine.
Lloyd Burnell, Executive Director of
Aerospace Bristol, said: “Aerospace Bristol
offers something for everyone: Concorde, as
always, has the power to amaze and looks
just stunning in her new home.
“We have created a first-class exhibition
to tell the story of Bristol’s aerospace
achievements from 1910 to the modern day,
and there are great fun interactives to keep
all members of the family interested and
entertained.
“We hope that all those who saw
Concorde on her final flight into Filton that
historic day will want to come and pay tribute
to this very special design and engineering
icon and learn about the Bristol people Wwho
worked here over the years”.http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 35Right: A replica of the Bristol Babe biplane
produced just after World War One.
Below right: The cut-down blades of the Bristol
173 were tailor-made because the full rotors
were too big for the space. The originals are
safely stored.Above right: A cutaway section of the World
War Two Bristol Beaufighter.
Right: Newly arrived at the museum (though
not on show) and awaiting restoration is a
former Royal New Zealand Air Force Bristol
170 freighter.32-35_bristolDC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 35 01/03/2018 18:57