Sywell Aviation Museum
Hi folks - just a reminder that from today the Museum is open on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons between 1200-1600hrs (in addition to our weekend and bank holiday opening hours of 1030-1630hrs) until the end of September - hope to see you soon!
Sywell Aviation Museum
New flagpoles at the Museum finally installed today- we think they look really smart and a lot better than the poles on top of the Museum building (also the Museum Secretary was the only person would would go up a ladder to change them and on occasion slid off the curved roof and ended up in the hedge) 🫡 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
Sywell Aviation Museum
Phew it’s hot. Now imagine you’re in spray overalls and a respirator!
Yes the JetsTeam are still cracking on with the props and landing gear sprayed before it got too warm today and the port nav light changed to the correct colour (we were testing you on the last post but no one spotted it should have been red! )
We’ve also started marking up the cockpit panels as some of the writing on the overhead console is a bit faded (ie we didn’t know what some of them did- so at least we know now) as the systems on Jenny come online.
Sywell Aviation Museum
MEMORIES OF FRIENDSHIPS MADE THROUGH WAR
This amazing document was recently acquired by the Museum to add to its collection.
This is the guest book from 68, The Drive, Kingsley, Northampton from 1940-1945. The owners, Mr & Mrs Messenger offered billets to RAF (and other personnel) who trained at RAF Sywell during the War. They came from all over the world and clearly the Messengers gave them a very warm welcome. The deciphered names are as below:
SEPT 1939 – AUG 1940 PETER ? 15/19TH THE KING'S ROYAL HUSSARS
JAN19- 24 1943 TWO WAAF LADIES ( JOYCE & NANCY )
APRIL 23 – MAY 7 1943 F/O JIMMY FISKE RAF
MAY 21 - JUNE 4 1943 P/O MONTY BANKS RAF
JUNE 11 - 18 1943 P/O TED WEBSTER P/O RAF
JUNE 26 – JULY 9 1943 P/O JOHN DICKINSON RAF
JULY 9 - 22 1943 P/O JACK ? P/O RCAF
JANUARY 11 FEB - 14 1944 TED BARRATT [1816888 AJG]
FEB 25 – NOV 17 1944 P/O JOHN A SCHOLEY RCAF
APRIL 1944 P/O DICK ?? RAF
NO DATE F/O BEN EDWARDS RAF
MAY 1944 TO JUNE 1944 F/O JOHN HAROLD JOHNSON RCAF
JUNE 44 TO JULY 44 F/O DAVE DAVIES RAF
3 AUGUST 44 P/O JOHN FRANCIS RAF
5 OCTOBER 1945 JOCK?
This is a lovely reminder that many civilians opened their homes to accept billeting servicemen a long way from their own countries and families during the War. We will be researching the names further in due course.
Sywell Aviation Museum
What a gloriously sunny Sywell Saturday!
Heidi the Hunter is topping up her tan 😎 why not pop along to visit us and say hi to her! 🙂
Sywell Aviation Museum
It’s been a while but the sun’s out so the JetsTeam are back working hard on our 1969 Handley Page Jetstream 200 G-RAVL ‘Jenny’.
Whilst work is ongoing preparing the exterior for priming with a view to top coating her later in the year the team have also begun getting some of her internal systems up and running. This is a fairly lengthy process tracing the wires through the wing where they were cut at the transport joint when we moved her in 2021.
Nonetheless the wingtip navigation lights blinked into life this week joining the fuselage rotating beacon. The master compass and compass computer were also reinstalled.
If you see the team working in the compound on a Wednesday do say hi but on no account attempt to feed them 🙂
Sywell Aviation Museum and Models For Sale Ltd - modelsforsale.com plastic model kits
AUCTION NOW LIVE!! - BID FOR A HASEGAWA 1/8 SCALE SOPWITH CAMEL MODEL KIT ON THIS PAGE!
Dear all, as you may know Models for Sale have very generously donated this very rare model kit to sell to raise funds for the Museum.
We’ve thought long and hard as to how to sell it and rather than put it on ebay – with their 20% fees etc we decided that the best and fairest way is to offer it by way of an auction on our Facebook page. The reason for this is that 15,000 of you support and follow us so it seems only fair that YOU – our supporters and followers - have the chance to bid for this unique model kit.
THE KIT
The model , made by Japanese manufacturer Hasegawa is quite superb and is part of their ‘Museum Series’. It is a multimedia kit containing metal, plastic, photoetch and wooden parts to create an amazing replica of the famous WW1 biplane.
The finished model is about 42″ (107cm) wide, 28″ (71cm) long and 14″ (36cm) high. It weighs about 2.2lbs (1kg).
The kit is complete and unstarted with decals, instructions etc and is ready to build. It is recommended for experienced modellers only.
Rare and out of production, the kits sell for over £400 on ebay!
Have a look here at this build video which gives you a good impression of the kit
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M2UMEKqehI
HOW TO BID
Bidders need to ‘like and follow’ Sywell Aviation Museum’s Facebook page.
In the comments section below – please add your bid – hopefully this will run sequentially – ie if the post before you bids £150, you will bid £160 etc. Payment is in GBP £.
PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OTHER THAN BIDS ON THIS THREAD AS IT WILL BECOME CONFUSING – THEY WILL BE DELETED!
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO AN EXISTING COMMENT TO BID - POST A NEW ONE!
The duration of the auction will be FROM TODAY MONDAY 20TH APRIL and it expires at 2100 ON SUNDAY 26TH APRIL 2026
Bids after that time (according to Facebook time!) will NOT count. Fairly obviously the highest bid at the end of the auction wins! 😊
WE WILL ANNOUCE THE WINNER THE FOLLOWING DAY – due to FB messing things up last time we tried to do this!!
We will contact the winning bidder after the auction ends to confirm their winning bid and discuss payment/delivery/collection etc.
PAYMENT
Payment can be made via Paypal to the Museum Paypal account within 48 hours of the end of the auction – sywellaviationmuseum@gmail.com BY 'Goods and Services' for your protection.
Alternatively cash on collection is possible or local (ie Northants delivery). In the case of non contact/payment by the winning bidder, after 48hrs the next lowest bidder will be contacted and the kit offered to them for their bid price.
If you require the kit to be shipped within the UK we will obtain a quotation for that which can be paid in advance. Shipping will be insured and tracked. This auction is UK ONLY PLEASE. There are NO RETURNS.
Please DO NOT bid unless you’re serious about paying for the kit as it will just waste everyones’ time! YOUR BID IS BINDING WHEN YOU MAKE IT ! 😊
Please note that this is UK ONLY.
THERE IS A RESERVE – If the auction fails to reach the reserve (we will post ‘reserve off’ when its reached!) then the item will fail to sell and we reserve the right to sell it elsewhere.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL THE MONIES RAISED WILL HELP TO SUPPORT SYWELL AVIATION MUSEUM SO NOT ONLY ARE YOU BIDDING ON A VERY RARE MODEL KIT YOU’RE ALSO HELPING A CHARITABLE ASSOCIATION KEEP GOING
With sincere thanks to Models for Sale. Thanks Vince you're the man!
www.modelsforsale.com/
ENJOY BIDDING
Sywell Aviation Museum
74 years at Sywell! Our resident Miles Messenger G-AKIN has been based at the Aerodrome constantly since 1952.
We think, after Richard Shuttleworth’s DH60 Moth G-EBWD which has been based at Old Warden since 1932, she has the record for second longest continuous resident in the U.K.
Happy anniversary India November ❤️
Sywell Aviation Museum
Huge thanks to all those who attended the Sywell Aviation Museum Silver Jubilee Grand Opening today… 25 years! Where has that gone!?
Special thanks to the amazing May Blossom, DJ Kelv for keeping the tunes coming, The Bods, Lilham Aviation and the Suffolk Spitfire teams, Tony and Pam with the cockpits… all traders, exhibitors, vehicle owners, re-enactors and friends for making it happen. Remember it was all free and people very kindly gave up their time (and paid some hefty fuel bills) to support us…..what a huge variety of kit from a cool Foden DROPS which was huge to - for the first time ever- a simply wonderful Steam Lorry! Ahh the smell… thanks so much to you all….
Also to our volunteers who worked so hard leading up to the event and during it- we have a great team !
Above all thanks to you the visitors- we are now open for 2026 each weekend and bank holiday between 1030-1630hrs until the end of September.
We hope you had a good time!
Have a very Happy Easter 🐣
Sywell Aviation Museum
All systems go for the Grand Opening! These two lovely ladies are joining us from our friends at Lilham Aviation and the Suffolk Spitfire!❤️