May 27, 201610 yr My wife and I were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary by going back the where we honeymooned (Newton Stewart). In deciding to re-visit the area we went somewhere new, namely the above museum. It's a small site, based around the control tower at the former RAF Dumfries. However, there's so much memorabilia in the three floors of the control tower, not to mention the outdoor exhibits themselves, you should probably plan to spend a day or most of a day there. It's not free to get in, but £4.50 per adult is worth it IMHO. The aircraft are indeed very tired and need some restoration, but like any museum, they are constantly trying to do that. Right, here's some photos! A REAL aeroplane: English Electric Lightning (no arguments please!) The pointy bit of a Trident you can walk around in. I believe the cockpit was once open so you could sit in it, but things go missing, sad to say, so it's gated off. Note the orange display in the centre of the panel for the moving map - decades before your multicolour satnav screen! Excuse, me. Stewardess!! Notice the Ram Air Turbine at the back of the cabin section. More about that later! Either side of the RAT were display cabinets with model airliners of assorted scales in them. A CF-6 from a DC-10 JT9D from a 747-100 A Fairey Gannet - they're quite big when you get up close! SAAB Draken Hang on, Dragons usually breathe fire from their front end not the rear..... A Mystere Wessex helicopter A T33, Jet Provost and F-100 Super Sabre. Behind, you can see the control tower. The ground floor hosts quite a collection of aero engines, the first and second floors host most of the memorabilia. View from the top floor of the tower. I took this to show the remains of one of the runways :( F-100 ...complete with afterburning plant pot!! New construction to house some exhibits - there's going to be 4 of these big nissen huts I believe. Note the F-111 escape capsule in front of the Mystere's nose. Canberra cockpit I managed to get in both seats. Navigator: Here's the pilot's instrument panel Really, really dilapidated with a rat's nest of wiring, sadly. Speaking of rats; more about the RAT in the Trident! I spotted it and said to my wife, excitedly "Look a RAT!", but didn't realise the ramifications..... Now, she not being as much of an aeroplane buff, didn't think Ram Air Turbine, but good old furry rattus rattus. She screamed "WHERE?" and was ready to bolt out of the fuselage, replacement knee or not! Oh, how I laughed! :wub: I'm going to dine out on this little gem for some time! Anyway, I'm not much of a David Bailey when it comes to photos, but I hope you enjoy this thread. CHEERS! Mark Robinson Part-time Ferroequinologist Author of FLIGHT: A near-future short story (ebook available on amazon) I made the baby cry - A2A Simulations L-049 Constellation Sky Simulations MD-11 V2.2 Pilot. The best "lite" MD-11 money can buy (well, it's not freeware!)
May 28, 201610 yr Moderator Thanks for sharing your 25th anniversary trip, and best wishes for the next 25 years! Fr. Bill AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556 Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator
May 28, 201610 yr Author Thank you, sir! We did say to the hotel staff that we'd try not to leave it another 25 years before returning :wink: Mark Robinson Part-time Ferroequinologist Author of FLIGHT: A near-future short story (ebook available on amazon) I made the baby cry - A2A Simulations L-049 Constellation Sky Simulations MD-11 V2.2 Pilot. The best "lite" MD-11 money can buy (well, it's not freeware!)
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