Tag Archives: Middle Wallop

Updated AAC Apaches

The British Army bought a bunch of Apaches which were locally assembled by Westland and were fitted with Rolls Royce Turbomeca engines to bolster the local content.  Since that acquisition, the Apache has gone through a bunch of upgrades and the current AH-64E Apache Guardian is the latest and greatest.  The British Army decided to acquire these and, this time, there is none of the local content to worry about.  Their airframes have been rotated back to Boeing and AH-64E airframes get delivered.  Some might have originally been British but others are not.

Middle Wallop is not the busy airfield it once was but there is still some Army flying underway and that includes operation of these new Apaches.  While I was visiting, there were some airframes flying around the local countryside and also doing some pattern work.  They pattern is a bit distant from the museum area but I was still able to catch some shots of them.  Hopefully I will see them in more detail at some point but this was my first encounter with the updated fleet.

Preserved Defender

My visit to the Army Flying Museum made reference to some of the exhibits having their own posts and this is one such post.  As part of the recent refurbishment, they added a Britten Norman Defender to the collection.  This was recently retired from service and was refurbished for display.  Having grown up on the Isle of Wight, the Britten Norman Islander is a plane that I have a soft spot for.  The Defender is the militarized version of the Islander and it has served in numerous roles around the world from the basic transport role to surveillance of those that don’t want to be seen.

This one is mounted in a dynamic pose which rather dominates the first display hangar.  Things are rather tight in the space and definitely dark so trying to get some shots of it that I wanted was a little challenging.  I did shot some panos to try and get more of it in than my lens would normally allow.  There is a balcony around the upper level of the hangar and that provides a good vantage point on the Defender too.  I was happy to get as much as I could of the airframe since I have had very few encounters with them while they were in service.

A Middle Wallop Gazelle Is Worth A Wait

I was ready to leave Middle Wallop when a look at ADSB told me that a Gazelle was operating in the vicinity.  The Gazelles are becoming a rarity these days so this seemed worth waiting for.  After a while, it vanished from ADSB and I was beginning to think it had landed elsewhere.  Fortunately, it popped up again, very close this time.  I was coming straight for me.  Unfortunately, it turned south and skirted around the airfield.  I could just see it in the distance.

Then it climbed up to the east before turning and conducting an autorotation to the field.  It landed away from me and beyond a ridge so out of sight.  I moved back to the balcony to see if I could see anything and was rewarded with it taxiing across the field in the distance.  It wasn’t long before it was behind the fencing heading to its ramp.  Still, while not a close encounter, it might be the last time I see one in UK service.

A Juno Interrupts My Lunch

Middle Wallop has a café upstairs in the museum and Paul and I retreated there for a little sustenance and some idle banter.  On the visitor ramp across from the museum, a Juno helicopter from the training fleet was sitting awaiting its next flight.  As we ate, we saw the crew step to the helicopter.  For those of you that have followed military aviation, you will know that there was no need to interrupt our food.  Unless there is an alert, military aviation happens at a deliberate pace.

After a while, with engines running and rotors turning, we did finally head out to the balcony alongside the taxiway that they would be using.  Even this was slightly premature as it was a little longer before the rotors finally generated lift and the Juno got airborne.  It then taxied towards us and through the gate to the airfield before turning across the grass and pulling up to depart.  A brief addition to the day but a good one.  My first Juno!

Army Flying Museum

Our vacation in the UK wasn’t about aviation exploits but, if an opportunity presents itself, it would be churlish not to follow up.  I had made arrangements to visit my friend Paul while I was in Hampshire and, halfway between us is Middle Wallop, home of Army aviation in the UK and also a museum.  I guess that would be a good place to meet up.

The museum isn’t large but it has recently gone through some refurbishment and it is definitely a good place to spend a couple of hours.  Army aviation has a strong rotary element to it but there has also been plenty of fixed wing activity.  The collection is a good reflection of both.  I will save one exhibit for a separate post but there are plenty of others.  The Lynx was a big part of the Army’s fleet for many years and the example that they have in the first hangar is actually a development airframe that has been restored.  The three windows on the cabin door are the most conspicuous identification item.  There is another operational Lynx in the second hangar too.

A selection of Austers are included in the displays.  There is also a Scout (with a second one on the grass by the parking lot).  An Agusta 109 is tucked away too.  This example was in service with Argentina in the Falklands and was co-opted by the UK forces when they took control.  It was used for support to the SAS along with a second example.  They ended up buying two more so I guess they worked well.  The Beaver was also used extensively with one sitting outside too.  The Alouette had a career with the Army but was not as widely used.  It is still displayed, though.  There are some old types reflecting the early days or military aviation too.

The only thing that confused me was the name.  I have seen it called the Army Flying Museum (on the wall) and the Museum of Army Aviation.  I wonder which it really is!