Solent Sky Aviation Museum – social event.

There is a group of Cody members and some Cody friends who enjoy museum visits. On this occasion there were eight of us in total. One of the nice things about this is the level of expertise and background knowledge that people bring to our understanding of the exbibits. As someone said on this visit, “Oh, you would need a degree in fluid mechanics to understand how that engine worked. Oh, I have just remembered, I got one of those forty years ago!” Fun times. Solent Sky is a gem, tucked away near to the docks and Ocean Village. The old Calshot light vessel is in the grounds and I remember sailing past that in the Solent many years ago. 

The most stunning exhibit is a civilian version of the Sunderland flying boat which is a huge aircraft that fills the museum hall. It was put into the museum building as it was being built and then it was finished off around this aircraft. It is possible to go inside and we all did that. Airline travel by sea plane was slow and luxurious and the routes flown read like a roll call of old Empire ports and territories. The wings of this aeroplane are enormous and the whole things is very beautiful. 

Similarly beautiful is a Spitfire exhibit that fits beneath the wings of the flying boat. 

Some of the exhibits are unique, for example, a jet powered fighter sea plane which had an altitude ceiling of 48,000 feet which is far above airliner cruising heights today. There is much to see and I was getting tired towards the end of the day and sitting down waiting for some of the others. 

They had waited for the children to leave and were sitting in the cockpit exhibits of various fighter aircraft only to discover that the Museum had got confused about its Harrier fighter jet cockpit exhibit. There are basically two Harrier types, a land one and a sea one and the Museum had misidentified its one. Cody expertise to the rescue! Solent Sky celebrates Southampton’s aviation history which is an important one. The Museum claims that the Solent was the centre of world aviation from 1910 to 1960 and its exhibits tell this story. There are many significant events and records that occurred in the Solent and it is a rich history. This was a very interesting day out in the usual stimulating Cody company. Our next museum visit may be to look at steam railway engines. All welcome! 

Stephen