Brooklands Museum….review and pics

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  • #15851
    Radar
    Moderator

    I went to Brooklands Museum last weekend and while the focus is on its’ association with pre-war racing cars and aircraft the place also boasts a rich heritage of motorcycle racing and engineering. This a fantastic facility; the home of the worlds first race circuit (1907). Later the location where many famous British aircraft were built or partly built, right from the first fragile Avro biplane, through to the iconic Hurricane and onward to the amazing and still futuristic Concorde. Brooklands show cases the achievements of this countries engineering talent over the last century, something we should all be proud of and strive to maintain…anyway a few pictures to give you a flavour of the museum:

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    Lovely old Norton set in a garage diorama…the smell was to die for, seriously

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    1904 Humber

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    BSA, check out that exhaust!

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    Mind you the one on this Grindley Peerless was even better!

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    What a stunning machine, that front suspension and steering is engineering art…I give you the fabulously titled Grindley Peerless

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    What is it?

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    Brough Superior, the gentleman’s sporting motorcycle of choice…pure class

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    Some highly impressive cars are on show too…this Napier Railton is powered by a W12 aero engine!! This holds the lap record for the circuit at a little over 143mph!

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    A surviving section of the original 1907 track…cars and bikes would thunder around here at speeds in excess of 150mph! Sometimes with all four wheels off the ground…it was not the smoothest surface. It must have been an amazing sight and sound…

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    Many thousands of aircraft were built here, including significant sections of Concorde!

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    Vickers Wellington, built here and it flew on many perilous combat missions before being lost on a training flight. Ditched in Loch Ness in 1940 it was recovered some 45 years later and restored

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    My partners in crime for the day…casually stood in front of the cockpit of a TSR2…a sensational military aircraft that got to the early testing stages in the mid 1960’s before getting cancelled, 10 years before the Tornado even flew…there is a complete example at RAF Cosford

    If you are a petrol head or engineering buff this place is a must visit….it only £11 to get in too

    https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_Wellington

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAC_TSR-2

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier-Railton

    #69458
    HippoDrones
    Participant

    looks an interesting place! :-)

    #69459
    Radar
    Moderator

    looks an interesting place! :-)

    It’s amazing Pete, go if you get a chance

    #69460
    HippoDrones
    Participant

    would love to walk through a Wellington Bomber!

    #69461
    HippoDrones
    Participant

    Did you know, the autopilot on a Vanguard submarine is related to the autopilot on a Lancaster Bomber?

    #69462
    Radar
    Moderator

    Did you know, the autopilot on a Vanguard submarine is related to the autopilot on a Lancaster Bomber?

    I didn’t know that…how so?

    #69463
    HippoDrones
    Participant

    no idea, it is called George though! :-)

    #69464
    HippoDrones
    Participant

    (it might be a Jack myth though…. I never researched it! lol)

    #69465
    Radar
    Moderator

    (it might be a Jack myth though…. I never researched it! lol)

    I am going to have to investigate this now!

    I think that air crew also nicknamed the auto-pilot George, I wonder if that is the link!?

    #69466
    Radar
    Moderator

    Apparently the first “practical” autopilot was invented by a bloke called George DeBeeson – This seems to be the most likely reason for the informal name “George” for the autopilot system on aircraft and on your sub

    #69467
    HippoDrones
    Participant

    ahaha, well done on the research….. Am not surprised at the story being a fake though

    #69468
    imperialdata
    Keymaster

    Nice pics. I have never been there, it sounds well worth a visit.

    #69469
    Radar
    Moderator

    I posted a link to this review on FB and had this interesting reply:

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    #69470
    Radar
    Moderator

    Interesting article on the BBC website

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-39638975

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