Blip meeting at the Jet Age Museum near Gloucester

I decided to not go to the workshop I attend every couple of months as I felt I needed a break. I had arranged to meet up with Helena yesterday but needed to put it off until today.  Late last night I realised that a proposed Blip meet had been arranged quite close to us, and could now after all join in with it.  I called Helena and she wanted to come as well, so we set off at 9-30am today to discover the Jet Age Museum at Staverton Airport, between Gloucester and Cheltenham.

I had recently heard about it from an acquaintance who is flying to the Isle of Man from there next month, quite cheaply, in a twelve seater plane. Getting there was easy and when we arrived there was a bunch of Blippers already congregated in the museum's cafe and more followed.  In all there were eleven people from as far as near Eastbourne in Sussex, the Birmingham area, Leicestershire and a village near Bath.  Dave who organised it lives in Gloucester and knew of the museum as he is a volunteer at this charity which runs it.

It was good fun to meet new people although we didn't have too long as Helena needed to return to Woodchester by lunchtime. So we quickly walked around the main hangar, in which several planes are housed in various states of repair, and then went outside to the perimeter of the airfield where the plane I have blipped is standing awaiting restoration.  It is a Gloster Meteor T7, which were the first jet fighters.

I also was amazed to be able to go inside the cockpit of an Avro Vulcan B2 bomber, which has been loaned to the museum, and sits outside close by this Meteor.  I have added a shot from behind the pilots' seats to the 'Extra photos' .The very last Vulcan bomber had its final flight last summer and I have watched with amazement as they flew near here in years gone by.  Approximately one hundred and eighty of these planes were the delivery vehicles for the nuclear deterrent before the nuclear submarine fleet replaced them.

Before we left all the blippers gathered together for a group shot, which you can see as an 'Extra photo' on organiser Dave Rose's blip today. I have added another shot of three blippers setting up their cameras as well which amused me.  If I'd had time I would have added my own!

Thanks to all the blippers who came and sorry I couldn't say goodbye to everyone as we had to rush off.  Hope to see you again some time.

From the Jet Age Museum's website:
The jet engine was designed by British engineering genius Sir Frank Whittle (1907–1996). Britain’s first jet plane, the Gloster E28/39, which was powered by Whittle’s revolutionary invention, first left the ground on 8 April 1941 at this Gloster factory-airfield. Its official first flight was at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, on 15 May 1941. The original aeroplane can be seen in London’s Science Museum.