Wings and Wheels Society.

Previous Meetings.

Coming Soon

Thursday 12th December 2009

Thursday 10^th December 2009 meeting was very well attended. Speaker Patrick Hassell gave a talk entitled ‘The Halford Jets’ focusing on the development of DeHavilland Goblin and Ghost engines. The illustrated talk began with a look at the history of Major Frank Halford (1894 – 1955). Halford learnt to fly in a Bristol Boxkite in 1913, and subsequently joined the RFC seeing active front line service in WW1. In later years he assisted in the design of the famous De Havilland Gipsy aero piston engine. In the early 1940’s Halford designed a simplified version of the Whittle Jet engine named the Halford H.1, which was eventually purchased by De Havilland in 1944, such derivatives of this newly named ‘Goblin’ jet engine were used in many types of aircraft including Meteor, Vampire and SAAB J29. By 1945 a much more powerful design of jet engine was flight-tested, this engine was named the Ghost. This engine design would eventually be used (in two pairs) to power the first production series of De Havilland Comet, the world’s first commercial jet airliner. The speaker focused on items and areas of aeronautical design that made Halford’s jet engines truly record breaking, and cutting edge technology.  The illustrated show ended with a question and answer session. Mr Kelsey gave the vote of thanks to the speaker.

Thursday 12th November 2009

Thursday 12^th November 2009 meeting was very well attended. However the advertised speaker at very short notice was taken ill, leading to a programme change. Speaker Richard Kelsey stepped in, showing an illustrated review of recent local Steam Railway events. Richard started with the West Somerset Railway 2009 Spring Steam Gala, which featured some great photographic images of the visiting locomotives, which included LNER A4 Pacific 60019 Bittern and LMS 6100 Royal Scot. The speaker then showed pictures of the Pathfinder Severn Coast Express rail tour, which featured the new A1 Pacific 60163 Tornado hauling the train from Gloucester to Bristol via Cardiff, and later in the day onwards to Minehead.  Society members were then treated to a viewing of Richards’s most recent photographs of Tornado, taken at Gloucester and Kemble stations whilst hauling the Thames Tornado rail tour the previous weekend. At the end of the evening Mr David Lamb gave the vote of thanks to the speaker.

Thursday 8th October 2009

Thursday 8^th October 2009 meeting was very well attended. Speakers Martin Sinton & Duncan Willoughby gave a talk titled Space Travel and Astronomy for the Layman. The talk started with an introduction on Astronomy by Martin Sinton, who explained different ways of star gazing, that ranged from the naked eye to very powerful telescopes. Also explained was how to use a Digital SLR to take pictures of the night sky, including the types of software such as ‘Deep Sky Stacker’ that can be used in conjunction with a DSLR body and a powerful telescope. Martin also showed some of his excellent images obtained in this way. These images included shots of the Andromeda Galaxy known as M31 that is 2.2 million light years from earth. Half way through the meeting and with a clear night sky outside Martin then set up a powerful telescope for some real star gazing! This powerful telescope allowed society members to clearly see Jupiter and its 4 moons. After this speaker Duncan Willoughby gave the second illustrated talk of the evening, which started with a look at how NASA will prepare for its next manned  Moon mission, in what appeared to look like a new generation of Saturn Rockets, that will actually be named Ares1. The speaker explained how the same difficulties of the early days of space travel still lay ahead, and how the Chinese unlike there American counterparts are on schedule for a manned lunar mission in the near future. Also covered in detail was the possibility of a manned mission to Mars that would take up to 500 days. If society members are interested in joining a new local Astrology Society please look at www.cotswoldas.org . Mr Kelsey gave the vote of thanks to the speakers.

Thursday 14th May  2009

Thursday 14^th May  2009 meeting was very well attended. Speaker Ryan Green gave an illustrated talk titled ‘Airbus A380 from Concept to Service’. The talk started with an introduction about Ryan’s job as a project lead on the A380 wing section at Filton. A look at how all the aircrafts parts are manufactured across Europe, showed how the logistical problems in bringing them together to its final completion are solved. This involves specially made aircraft, ships and road transport. The centre hub of the A380 final construction is Toulouse in France. Many excellent images, diagrams and time lapse movies showed how Airbus technical innovations overcome the problems with designing such a massive aircraft, that has a maximum take off weight of 596 tonnes. The A380 first test flight was in April 2005, since then over 196 orders have been placed world wide from 17 countries. On a long haul flight the aircraft can carry up to 250 tonnes of fuel. At present 60 aircraft have been built with fuselage internals that range from double beds to bars and gymnasiums! This excellent talk by Ryan brought the 6^th season of Wings and Wheels to a close. Mr Kelsey gave the vote of thanks to the speaker.

Thursday 9thApril 2009

Thursday 9^th April 2009 meeting was very well attended. Speaker Mike Marsden gave an illustrated talk titled ‘Concorde Design and Development’. The show held on the exact 40^th anniversary day of Concorde’s first British flight from  Filton to Fairford,  with aircraft prototype number 002G was well timed. The talk started with a lecture on the progression from transonic to supersonic flight. Early prototype test bed aircraft such as the Handley Page 115, and Fairy Delta 1 and 2 record breaking jets were discussed in detail. Design and efficiency of the Rolls Royce Olympus jet engine was also covered in depth. A final look at other rival supersonic jet airliners some of which did not get past the design concept, and a brief discussion on the Russian Tupolev Tu-144 Charger, brought the show to an end. Mr Kelsey gave the vote of thanks to the speaker.

Thursday March 12th 2009.

Thursday 12^th March 2009 meeting was very well attended. Speakers Gilroy Kerr and Ian Thomas gave an illustrated talk titled ‘The Last days of Steam on British Rail’. The show started with Gilroy showing high quality transparency and black and white photographs that he took whilst following the demise of steam. As a long time rail enthusiast, and working as a signal man at Coaley Junction in his youth Gilroy started taking railway photos in the 1950’s. Also covered in his show was the British Rail steam finale rail tour on the 11^th August 1968. Ian Thomas then showed an impressive collection of ‘Colour Rail’ slides. Ian as usual giving a fascinating detailed description of each photograph, that ranged from A4 Pacific’s hauling trains through freezing landscapes, along with some excellent night time shots. Ian ended the evening with a collection of slides taken locally, that included the last days of steam hauled services in the Stroud valley, Coaley Junction and the Dursley branch line. At the end of the evening Mr Kelsey gave the vote of thanks to the speaker. Wings and Wheels next meet on Thursday 9^th April 20.00hrs at Dursley Community Centre, when speaker Mike Marsden will be giving an illustrated talk titled ‘Concorde Design & Development’ for more information please contact Rich on 01453 544489, or visit wingsandwheelssociety.org.uk

Thursday February 12th 2009.

Thursday 12^th February 2009 meeting was very well attended. Speaker Ken Duffey gave an illustrated talk titled ‘Red Star - A Russian Aviation Extravaganza’. The show started with a visit to the Russian Sea Plane show held at Gelendzhik near the Black Sea in 2008, which featured the Russian Knights and Swifts display teams that fly Mig 29 and Sukhoi Su27s respectively.  This event is also a show case for Beriev Sea Planes, Ken and his party were  very lucky and managed to secure a flight in a  Be-200 water bomber.  The talk then moved on to the Moscow area with visits to many aviation and war memorials. Kens excellent photography highlighted the rare types of aircraft on show especially at the Monino Soviet Air Force Museum,  which is still, to this day, not known to many Russians. Mr Duffey is also known internationally for his articles in model aviation magazines, and delighted the audience by displaying his beautifully built scale model of a Tu160 Blackjack bomber. Kens visits to Russia and his Modelling articles can be viewed on his web site at www.flankers.co.uk at the end of the evening Mr Kelsey gave the vote of thanks to the speaker. Wings and Wheels next meet on Thursday 12^th March 20.00hrs at Dursley Community Centre when speakers Ian Thomas and Gilroy Kerr will be giving an illustrated talk titled ‘The Last Days of Steam on British Rail and Beyond’ 1968 to 2008. For more information please contact Rich on 01453 544489.

Thursday January  8th 2009.

Thursday 8^th January 2009 meeting was very well attended. Speaker Peter Davey gave an illustrated talk titled the ‘Clifton Rocks Railway’ A journey through historic Victorian engineering in the heart of Bristol. The talk started with how and why the railway was conceived, construction finally started when a contracted Canadian  mining company began blasting the tunnel in 1891. The railway (and tunnel) length was 500ft, and was angled at approximately 45 degrees, giving a steady climb from Hotwells to Clifton, this being a maximum height of 240ft.  The railway opened in March 1893, linking Hotwells station to the Clifton area with its specially built ‘water reservoir lift operated’ tram cars. The line sadly closed in October 1934. However the outbreak of World War Two seen a different use for the tunnel, the top part at Clifton became an air raid shelter, and the lower Hotwells section became BBC broadcasting studios. The Tunnel now preserved along with some of its original contents survives to this day. Peter also noted that similar tram cars are still operating (although electrically) on the Bridgenorth lift railway. Mr Kelsey gave the vote of thanks to the speaker.

Thursday December 11th 2008.

Thursday 11^th December meeting was very well attended. Speaker Patrick Hassell gave an illustrated talk titled the ‘Bristol Aero Company before Rolls Royce’ from 1917 to 1966. The talk started with the history and foundation of the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1910 when Sir George White opened his factory at Filton were the highly successful  Bristol Boxkite was originally designed and built. Also covered in detail was the engineering partnership of Sir Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Patrick discussed in technical detail why some of the early Bristol Engines were some of the most successful types ever built, these engines ranged from the Jupiter to Pegasus series of piston engines that helped aircraft reach record breaking altitudes of up to 54,000 feet. Finally the talk ended with details of much more modern engine types, such as the Olympus jet engines that powered Concorde Vulcan and TSR2 aircraft. Mr Kelsey gave the vote of thanks to the speaker.

Thursday November 13th 2008.

Thursday 13^th November meeting was very well attended. Speaker Neil Lover gave an illustrated talk titled ‘Tales of the Tidily Dyke’ that  focused on the Midland & South Western Junction Railway, Cheltenham St James to Andover section. The talk started with the lines birth in 1873 when the idea to build the cross country route was first investigated. Neil’s knowledge and stories about the line, backed up with historic railway images of the route, showed his passion for the subject along with aerial photographs, some of which were taken by the Luftwaffe in the early 1940s. The talk also focused on the lines demise and the two special trains that ran on the last day of service on 10^th September 1961. Sadly the only working remains of the Tidily Dyke that exist today are the Andover to Lugershall branch, and the Cricklade to Swindon  preserved section. At the end of the evening Mr Kelsey gave a vote of thanks to the speaker. Also two charity cash donations from the Wings and Wheels Society funds were handed over to local charities the RAFA Dursley Branch, and the Community Centre Association.

Thursday October 8th 2008.

Thursday 9^th October meeting was well attended. Speaker Derek James gave an illustrated talk titled ‘The Schneider Trophy’ of which is a fascinating and important part of aviation history. The talk started with the reasons for the air race and its early beginnings in Monaco in April 1913, with a French pilot winning first race. The Trophy carried on after WW1 and was soon seeing competition planes reach speeds in excess of 200mph. The British flying S5 and S6 Supermarine float planes dominated the later years of this prestigious event. These aircraft reached speeds in excess of 340mph with powerful 1300hp Merlin engines, this design lead the way for the prototype Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft. By 1931 the last air race for the Trophy took place over the Solent and was totally dominated by the British pilots with their S6 seaplanes. At the end of the evening Mr Kelsey gave a vote of thanks to the speaker. Wings and Wheels would like to note that the speaker now in his 86^th year actually took place in the WW2 D Day landings as an aircraft observer, employed by the Royal Navy.

Thursday May 8th 2008.

Thursday 8^th May meeting was well attended, Speaker Derek Taylor gave an illustrated talk titled ‘The History of the Diesel Hydraulic Locomotive’ also accompanied by two of his 5 inch gauge hydraulic models. The show mainly focused on the hydraulic locomotive design and how it would replace steam traction on British Rail. Derek covered in detail how the hydraulic Warship class locomotive design originated from the German V200 type. The talk also covered The Hymek and Western class locomotives, with a final question and answer session. At the end of the evening Mr Kelsey gave a vote of thanks to the speaker.

Thursday April 10th 2008.

Thursday 10^th April meeting was well attended, Speaker Paul Barnett gave an illustrated talk titled ‘Fore and Aft’ a history of the Purton Hulks. The talk started with a look at the origins of the 81 vessels, which have been strategically placed on the Purton riverbank to prevent further erosion from the River Severn. The Hulks mainly consist of Ferrous Concrete Barge’s, Stroud Canal Barge’s and 5 English Schooners. Some of the vessels when in service have carried grain and ore from Spain and even further a field. The talk also focused on Paul’s work on campaigning to protect the Purton site. At the end of the evening Mr Kelsey gave a vote of thanks to the speaker, along with a Society donation to Paul’s campaign fund.

Thursday March 13th 2008.

Thursday 13^th March meeting was very well attended. Speaker Elfan Ap-Rees gave an illustrated talk on the history of the Weston Helicopter Museum. The talk started with a look at the origins of the collection, which now numbers more than 70 aircraft from all over the world. The museum also houses much history on development of the worlds first Helicopters. Some types of helicopters on display such as Dragonfly Lynx Sycamore and ‘Mi-24 Hind’ were discussed in detail, along with how they actually were transported to the Museum. The Helicopter Museum is also researching the possibility of owning a ‘Mi-6 Hook’ probably the largest helicopter ever built in the world! At the end of the evening Mr Lamb gave a vote of thanks to the speaker, along with a Society donation to the museum funds.

Thursday February 14th 2008.

Thursday 14^th February meeting was very well attended. Speaker Peter Berry gave an illustrated talk titled Zimbabwe Steam Safari. The talk started with a look at the hub of Zimbabwe’s railway network Bulawayo. This is the main locomotive depot and workshops for the Zimbabwe Rail network fleet of ageing steam locomotives. Some of the locomotives still in use to this day include Class 15 and 16 Beyer Garratts, and even Class 7 locos built in 1888. For this illustrated show Peter toured the country in a special steam hauled train, with every photographic opportunity taken care of. Breathtaking shots of the famous rail bridge over Victoria Falls showed that Zimbabwe is certainly a country worth visiting. Also Peter included photos of the people and wildlife that made the show a very interesting insight into this part of Africa. At the end of the evening Mr Kelsey gave a vote of thanks to the speaker.

Thursday January 10th 2008.

Thursday 10^th January meeting was very well attended. Speaker Ian Thomas gave an illustrated talk titled The Rise & Fall of the Severn Railway Bridge. This fascinating local history show started with a look at Victorian photographs taken when the bridge was under construction in the mid 1870’s. The bridge when completed in 1879 cost £280,000. The total bridge length was 4,161 ft, and was the 3^rd longest railway bridge in the country. The 1960 disaster and downfall of the bridge were covered in detail, including a very recent visit to the Arkendale and Wasdale tanker wrecks in the Severn estuary at low tide. After the show Mr Dave Lamb on behalf of the Society gave a vote of thanks. Wings and Wheels

Thursday December 13th 2007.

Thursday 13^th December meeting was well attended. Speaker Richard Kelsey (who had partially lost his voice so had to use powered amplification!) gave an illustrated talk entitled ‘Wings & Wheels 5^th Year Celebration’ the show featured the societies summer visits to Delta Jets at Kemble, Tiger Airways at Staverton and RAF Lyneham. Pictures of local steam rail and road tours including a recent trip to Sharpness (first steam loco in 43 years), and the Dursley rail 150 celebrations made up the second half of the show and brought back many happy memories, the audience was given a brief look at what the society has achieved so far, including donations to local charities such as the Community Centre Trust, and the local RAFA Wings Appeal. After the show Mr Dave Lamb gave a vote of thanks on behalf of the Society.

Thursday November 8th 2007.

The meeting on Thursday 8^th November was well attended. Speaker Derek James gave an illustrated talk entitled ‘Westlands Weird Wonders’ the talk covered the history of Aircraft & Helicopters manufactured by Westland’s from 1917 to present day.  Derek gave a fascinating in-depth history of the first prototype and production aircraft, including diversification of production lines in the post war years that lead to manufacturing of Pianos and Milk Churns! World War Two saw the production of the famous Lysander, Whirlwind and Welkin high altitude aircraft. Derek finished the talk with a look at Westland helicopter types such as Sea King and Lynx.

Thursday October 11th 2007.

The October 11^th meeting was very well attended. Speaker Bruce Hall MBE

gave an illustrated talk titled ‘Between Two Rivers’ a history of the Thames and Severn Canal. The talk covered the history of what is now known as the Cotswold Canal, which opened in 1779. After initial commercial success and decline the first section to close was the Lechlade to Brimscombe port section in 1933. The Stroud section onwards to Saul Junction finally closed in 1954. However Bruce concentrated on the preservation work of the Cotswold Canal Trust. The future of the canal was covered in great detail, including how the trust with lottery grants will navigate under the current M5 and A38 bridge sections with new locks and the River Frome. A donation was given to the Canal Trust at the end of the evening, including a vote of thanks to Mr Hall. The next meeting is on Thursday 8^th November 20.00 at Dursley Community Centre, when Speaker Derek James will give an illustrated talk titled ‘Westlands Weird Wonders’ the talk will cover the history of Aircraft & Helicopters manufactured by Westland’s from 1917 to present day, for more information please contact Rich on 01453 544489, or visit wingsandwheelssociety.org.uk

Thursday June 7th 2007.

The annual summer evening visit to an aviation base on June 7^th 2007 was well attended. The visit was to the Delta Jets facility at Kemble Airfield. The 30 strong group assembled outside Aircraft Hanger C2, where Delta Jets Chief Engineer Phil Rozee began the guided tour of the facility. The hanger contained many types of aircraft including Canberra’s and a Gnat. The main aircraft maintained and operated from the facility are Hawker Hunters, 8 complete examples of different marks could be seen on this visit. Delta Jets engineers discussed with society members the operational and technical difficulties that are encountered with keeping such aircraft flying. The evening’s visit finished with a group seminar photograph in front of a preserved non-serviceable Hunter. Mr Kelsey thanked Phil Rozee and the Delta jets engineers for making this fascinating visit possible.

Thursday May 10th 2007.

The May 10^th meeting was very well attended. Professional Artist Eric Bottomley gave an illustrated talk entitled ‘Transport in Art’. Eric has been member of the Guild of Railway Artists since 1979, and has produced many fine quality paintings depicting the halcyon days of steam and vintage transport. His often-humorous stories of how he gained commissions and set up his own studio in 1976 proved to be very interesting. A detailed insight into his more recent painting of the Cornishman Express train leaving Gloucester, and Meteor jet fighters over the old Severn Railway Bridge showed that a huge amount of research is required before the artist painted these pictures. The evening ended with a vote of thanks from Mr Kelsey. Members are also reminded that the Kemble Delta Jets summer trip is confirmed.

Thursday April 12th 2007.

The April 12^th   meeting was very well attended. Speaker Paul Woollard gave an illustrated talk entitled Medium Format Railway Landscape Photography. The show was based on a theme of rail landscapes around the Severn Estuary. His careful planning of the chosen locations and good use of available light highlighted Paul’s high quality photography. The images showed preserved and modern day rail traction that included some excellent preserved steam locomotives hauling rail tours on the main line, and the preserved Dean Forest Railway. The evening ended with a vote of thanks from Mr Kelsey. Members were also reminded to register their interest in the Kemble Delta Jets summer trip no later than the next meeting.

Thursday March 8th 2007.

The March 8^th   meeting was very well attended. Speaker Derek James gave an illustrated talk titled The Bristol Aeroplane Company since 1910. The talk started with an introduction on Sir George White who pioneered the Bristol Box Kite aircraft that made its first flight on the 29^th July 1910. From this date Box Kites were sold around the world. Aircraft design technology and innovation accelerated throughout the First and Second World War periods, the first plane that the Red Baron shot down was a Bristol Fighter! Derek covered the post war period with a detailed history covering the Bristol Brabazon and Britannia.  The talk finished with the jet age and the introduction of supersonic aircraft including Concorde. The show ended with a question and answer session, followed by a vote of thanks from Mr Kelsey.  Derek James is a local well known author and aviation historian, for a list of his published works it is worth looking at the following Web address: www.amazon.co.uk/Aircraft-Archive-Photographs-Derek-James.

Thursday February 8th 2007.

The February 8^th   meeting was very well attended. Speaker Dave Winter gave an illustrated talk titled Steam in China. The show covered many aspects of Dave’s trip to China in 1987. The journey began in Beijing with a look around The Forbidden City. Ice snow and freezing winter temperatures of minus 25 degrees! produced many excellent photographs of steam hauled freight trains in remote areas of China. One of the many highlights of the show was a visit to Datong locomotive building workshops, which were still building 2-10-2 ‘QJ-class’ steam locomotives. The show ended with a question and answer session, followed by a vote of thanks from Mr Kelsey.

Thursday January 11th 2007.

The January 11th  meeting was very well attended. Speaker Hugh Conway-Jones gave an illustrated talk titled ‘The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal – Past and Present. The show covered the history and use up to present day of the Canal, including its Victorian origins. At Hardwicke the canal was dug out by hand to a depth of 40 feet. Hugh also discussed how complicated the navigation was to build, especially at Saul Junction were the two canals owned by separate companies had to cross. The regeneration of Gloucester docks including its unique 15 Victorian Warehouses was also covered. The show ended with a question and answer session, and Richard Kelsey gave a vote of thanks.  Hugh Conway-Jones has an award winning web site www.gloucesterdocks.me.uk.

Thursday December 12th 2006.

The December 14^th  meeting was very well attended. Speaker Peter Berry gave an illustrated talk entitled ‘To the Roof of the World’ which included a steam railway journey on the Darjeeling and Himalayan Railway. A typical journey on the 60 mile long railway takes 6 hours, and terminates at Darjeeling (approximately 7,500 feet above sea level). The small ‘narrow gauge B class’15 ton steam locomotives that still work the line were built in 1880, by the North British Locomotive Company. Peter’s excellent photography also covered Monastery’s, Mosques, and the local people that work and live in Darjeeling. After the show Richard Kelsey gave Peter a vote of thanks.

Thursday November 11th 2006.

The 9^th November meeting was well attended. Speakers Richard Kelsey and Ian Thomas gave a fascinating illustrated talk on Vintage Road Transport. The evening covered motorcycles of various makes including long forgotten names such as Panther and BSA. Vintage and classic Cars Lorries and Buses were also included in this memory lane pictorial visit. The evening concluded with Steam Traction and vintage Fire Engines.

Thursday October 10th 2006.

The 10^th October meeting was well attended.  Speaker Chris Turner gave a talk about the day-to-day operations of the County Air Ambulance. The illustrated show addressed the difficulties and highlights of the charity run air ambulance. The helicopter used is an EC 135 (Euro-copter), and cost approximately 2.4 million pounds, which excludes the cost of the specialist high tech medical equipment carried on board. Chris also discussed the various exemptions that they have from the Civil Aviation Authority that allow them to fly and land anywhere. The EC 135 at present operates from Strensham M5 service station. The Helicopter is manned on a 7 day 12 hour shift rota that is covered by a total of 5 pilots, 30 paramedics, and various ground staff. The air ambulance can also be ready to go to its destination from Strensham within 2 minutes. The evening ended with a question and answer session, followed by a ‘vote of thanks’ and a  Donation to the Air Ambulance.

Thursday May 11th 2006.

The 11^th May meeting was well attended.  Speaker Barry Barnes gave a talk titled ‘ Australian Flying Corps at Leighterton & Tetbury 1918-1919’. The talk started off with the reasons why the local area was selected for the construction of WW1 Airfields and Aerodromes. Building materials arrived at Tetbury via the local Branch line, and then road steam traction engines moved the heavy loads to the new airstrips. This movement of material destroyed many local roads, and outraged the local Tetbury council. Also Tetbury town had many buildings acquired by the MOD for use as a military Hospital and HQ, along with a new barracks. State of the art advanced aircraft of the day were used for training purposes, types included the Avro 504, Sopwith Camel, RE 8, SE 5, and Snipe biplanes. Barry explained how the Leighterton photo-reconnaissance unit worked, many interesting aerial photographs of the Tetbury area still exist. The talk finished with recognition of the ANZAC day parade at Leighterton, that still takes place once a year to remember the gallant airmen who risked their lives, in the early days of military aviation. The evening finished with a question and answer session.

Thursday April 13th 2006.

The April meeting was well attended.  Speaker Group Captain John Heron OBE gave a talk titled ‘The Harrier-Cold war operations & concepts’. The talk started with the history and development of the Harrier Jump Jet (VSTOL) at Hawker’s in 1957, by chief design engineer Sir Sydney Camm.  John also discussed the prototypes from the Kestrel to GR3 model, then on to the present day GR7 Harrier jump jet.  A history of cold war operations in the old West Germany brought the evenings talk to an end, with a question and answer session.  At the end of the meeting a Wings and Wheels donation was made to John Herons patron charity the R.A.F.C.  trust.

Thursday March 9th 2006.

The March meeting was well attended.  Speaker Derek Taylor gave a talk titled ‘Building Model Steam Locomotives’. The talk started with the History of model engineering, and how 5 and 7.25 inch gauge railway modelling became popular.  Mr Taylor also brought along three large 5-inch gauge railway locomotives, two of which were steam powered and one that was driven by a re-designed Honda pasola motor cycle engine!  Mr Taylor also exhibited his latest engineering project a 7.25-inch gauge GWR 14XX tank engine, which was only built up to the chassis stage. The evening finished with a question and answer session on model railway locomotive engineering.  For further information on Derek’s model locomotives and society visit www.bristolmodelengineers.co.uk

Thursday February 9th 2006.

The February meeting was very well attended.  Before the evening’s entertainment began two cheques (from the Wings and Wheels funds) were presented to the local RAFA and Community Centre charities respectively by Wings and Wheels founder members D Lamb and R Kelsey.  Speaker Derek James (local aviation historian and author) gave an illustrated talk entitled ‘The Flying Machine in Gloucestershire’.  The talk covered the history of aviation in Gloucestershire, starting with the Bristol Box Kite. The aircraft factories at Gloucester that produced more than 10,000 aircraft were discussed in great detail.  The talk also covered the first RAF jet aircraft that was built in Gloucestershire. The talk finished with the design and building of Concorde at the then British Aircraft Corporation plant at Filton.  The evening’s entertainment closed with the Guest speaker fielding questions from the audience. 

Thursday January 12th 2006.

 The opening meeting of 2006 saw the welcome return to the projector of Ian Thomas who delivered a very interesting talk entitled "150 Years of Dursley Rail".  It was clear that the local interest in the Dursley Branch line is still thriving!  Ian entertained the society with stories and slides focusing on the Dursley to Coaley Junction branch line history from 1856 to 2006. Also included was the historic re-opening of the Cam & Dursley station. Ex local railway workers D Markey and G Kerr also told stories of  signal box operations at Coaley Junction in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Local rail memorabilia, and historic photographs of the branch line were also available for viewing. The evening’s entertainment closed with the Guest speaker and friends doing a local-rail question and answer session.

Thursday December 9th 2005.

Decembers meeting enjoyed a talk by Chris Rawlings of Tiger Airways who fly a mixture of vintage aircraft out of Gloucestershire airport.  Chris told of the many trials and tribulations involved in operating vintage aircraft.

Thursday November 10th 2005.

At the November meeting , Richard Kelsey took the audience on an Air Enthusiasts tour to Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.  After resting in Sydney to get over the long flight, it was off to Auckland, New Zealand, to start visiting a few airfields and gain some air experience flights in various vintage aircraft such as DH Rapide, Dove, DH Moth Minor, Percival Proctor.  Another airfield supplied flights in Harvard's , P40 Kitty hawk, and a Lockheed Catalina PBY amphibian flying boat.  Also the Tour took in the various tourist spots in their travels, before being entertained again with flights in Tiger Moths, Chipmunks, Harvard's.  Several RNZAF Bases were visited with conducted tours before crossing to the South Island.  Making their way south they called in at various museums and sites where engineers are renovating vintage aircraft, and building replica World War One Aircraft.  The highlight of the visit was the Biannual ‘Wanaka Airshow’ for a few days, this is a family oriented show combining vintage vehicles, steam engines, vintage military hardware, vintage and modern aircraft, with a backdrop of mountains this is a wonderful setting.  Returning north a stop was made at Mount Cook Airfield where all Tour members took to the air once again for a flight and Ski landing on a Glacier and a short walk in snow before returning to the airport.  A trip was also made on a Steam Railway Engine for a six mile run.  then it was time to go north to Auckland and the final flight to Singapore via Sydney, staying for three days before returning to the U.K.  The proceeds from this Show by the Wings and Wheels Society were given to the North Nibley Romanian Trust, the society was able to give them £150.

Thursday October 13th 2005.

The first show of the 2005 winter season sadly had to be cancelled due to a power cut just before our guest speaker for the night, Barry Barnes, was due to deliver his talk about the Royal Australian Air Force at Leighterton.  Wings and Wheels Society would like to apologise to every one that turned out that night and Barry will be making another appearance at Wings and Wheels soon.

Thursday May 12th 2005.

The May meeting of the Wings and Wheels Society featured an illustrated talk on "Moscow Wings and Wheels" by one of the societies founder members Rich Kelsey.  The show was a real treat for aviation fans as it featured, amongst many other things, a trip to the museum at Monino.  Rich's show also showed a lot of the interesting architecture to be seen in Russia's capital city.

Thursday April 14th 2005.

Aprils meeting was a two parter entitled "Steam Safari in the Ukraine" and "Concorde in Bristol", these were delivered in fine style by Dave Winter.  A feature of this show was the fine photography that showed to good effect the topography of the Ukraine.

Thursday March 10th 2005.

The March meeting was something of a departure for Wings and Wheels with local artist Barry Walding giving the society an insight into how he puts a painting together.  This was fascinating, Barry paints a variety of subjects including wildlife, aircraft, and locomotives.  Barry also bought along a selection of his prints for the members to purchase.

Thursday February 10th 2005.

The February meeting was a well attended evening, with steam engines galore.  The speaker, Gilroy Kerr, gave a slide show of the "Last Days of steam in Britain and Europe".  The show covered Gilroy's days as a signal man at Coaley Junction showing many types of engines that passed through what was, at the time, a main LMS Line, as well as scenes from Coaley Junction the show also showed steam engines around other parts of the U.K. This part of the show took us up to the demise of steam locomotives in this country.  The second part of the show showed us steam engines in many parts of Europe.  Gilroy's talk was fascinating and enjoyed by all who attended.

Thursday January 13th 2005.

The January meeting welcomed Mr Carl Roedling as the guest speaker, Carl gave a very interesting talk to the Society  on the development of the miniature gas turbine and the models to which they are fitted.  Carl explained how jet models were first flown using ducted fans driven by conventional glow ignition engines, this led onto the use of vehicle turbo charger components and eventually proper, manufactured gas turbines for use in models.  Some of these gas turbines are very complex, having fully automatic start up and shut down facilities via a plug in ECU.  As well as having examples of gas turbines on display Carl also bought along several examples of gas turbine models ranging from a sports delta training model to a full blown scale model of a McDonnell Douglas A4 Skyhawk.  Carl's passion for the hobby was evident throughout and made for an excellent presentation that was well received by the attentive and appreciative audience.

Thursday December 9th 2004.

The December meeting of the society was quite an evening with a talk by guest speaker Group Captain J.D. Heron OBE, with the subject ‘From Schoolboy to Station Commander’ who early in his career was going to be an architect, until he seen the early jet aircraft, and saying I want some of that, joining the RAF and doing his training at RAF Cranwell, training on Provost jets and on to Hunter jets, being the Squadron display pilot, going on loan to France, flying Mystere and Mirage jets, and then going on loan to the United States, flying F105 Thunderchief’s and training American pilots that went on to Vietnam, after flying in many U.S. Aircraft, returning to the U.K. to fly and bring the Tornado's into operational use, and of course rising through the ranks, then being posted to the Falkland Islands as the RAF Station Commander, the evening finished with a question and answer session.

Thursday November 11th 2004.

At the November meeting, with a good attendance, before the Guest Speaker started there was a small presentation on behalf of the Society to it’s  adopted Charity, and Patron, The Dursley and South Gloucestershire Branch of the Royal Air Forces Association, Mr Dave Lamb presented a cheque for £150, to Mr Francis Bailey, Branch President, for its Annual Wings Appeal.  Mr Francis Bailey, gave the Society many thanks on behalf of the Branch.  The main subject of the evening was ‘The Jet Age Museum’ guest Speaker, Mr David Hunt, gave the history of the Gloster Aircraft Company, and how it started, and how the Brockworth Airfield came in to being, and how the Hawker Aircraft took over the site, and built Hurricane fighters there during the war.

Then on to the Jet Age with Frank Whittle’s  development of the gas turbine, to the UK’s first turbojet aircraft the Gloster E.28/39 and on to the Gloster Aircraft’s entry into building Jet Fighters, Meteor’s and the all weather Javelin, at Moreton Valance, both these aircraft went into service with the R.A.F.   With this History of Aviation in the County, the Jet Age Museum came in to being several years ago, but having to move from the site they occupied, and at present all Aircraft are in storage.  The main hope is to build a new museum on a site at Staverton Airfield, they have applied to the National Lottery Fund for a grant, which they hope it will be successful, They also have the late Russell Adams complete Aviation photo collection of Gloster Aircraft presented to the Jet Heritage Museum to put on display.

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Thursday October 14th 2004.

At the opening programme for the new season, at the Dursley Community Centre on Thursday 14^th October, with a well attended audience, there was a talk and slide show on the ‘History of Local Railways’ guest speaker was Mr Ian Thomas, who took us around the Bristol/Gloucester main rail line, the Stroud main line, the Berkeley/Sharpness Line, and to finish with, a trip up the Branch Line from Coaley Junction to Dursley, giving many facts and figures on the History of these lines, to which the audience was most appreciative.

There was a vote of thanks to Mr Ben Ashworth, for allowing some of his collection of Railway Pictures to be shown, also a thank you to Mr D Markey and Mr B Thomas for bringing along photographs of Branch lines, which after the main slide show, members could peruse through the Albums that were on show, and there was plenty of reminiscent about days gone bye.

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Thursday May 13th 2004.

The Wings and Wheels Society enjoyed a trip to the Delta Jets facility at Kemble Airfield for the last meeting before the Summer break, the Wings and Wheels convoy left Dursley at seven o'clock after meeting in the car park of the Dursley Community Centre.  Upon arriving at the Delta Jets Hangar the Society was met by Delta Jets Chief Engineers, Andy   and Steve.   Andy welcomed us and then told us a little bit about the Delta Jets operation and what we could and couldn't do in the hangar.  It's thought that most of the Societies members who made the trip took the opportunity to sit in the Folland Gnat and The Hawker Hunter that they very kindly opened up for us.

Rich Kelsey thanked Andy and Steve for their hospitality at the end of the evening before we found a local hostelry in which we enjoyed a beer (or three) while talking about the evenings events.

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Thursday April 8th 2004.

Paul Woolard was our guest speaker this month, Paul entertained us with two talks entitled, "Railways in the Landscape" and "A River Severn Pilot Voyage".  The first talk, Railways in the landscape took us on a journey all round the U.K. and foreign climes as well with railways in Portugal being featured.  Many of Paul's slides showed Branch lines and industrial sites that are no longer in use, so the talk had a very good historical angle to it as well as treating the audience to some beautiful examples of "Atmospheric Photography".  The second of Paul's talks featured some trips on the River Severn and the Severn Estuary that Paul was able to undertake when his Father was employed as a River Pilot on this, one of the worlds most tidal, Rivers.  Of particular interest were some slides that illustrated how the Caissons for the second Severn crossing were put into place using a GPS stabilised crane barge.  Paul has had some of his work published in the past, it was not difficult to see why as the slides that he showed the Society were of an excellent standard.

This was the last "Hall Meeting" before the society meets back in October 2004, It was an excellent end to our first season.

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Thursday March 11th 2004.

There was a good turnout for the March meeting, despite the inclement weather (it snowed) and a change to the program.  At very short notice the Societies very own Rich "Relentless" Kelsey gave an illustrated talk on air shows at Kemble and Fairford over the past years, covering vintage aircraft from the first world war to the present day stealth aircraft.  Rich presented the show in his own inimitable style and kept the audience entertained for the whole evening.   

As always from Rich, the photography was of a very high standard.

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Thursday February 12th 2004.

At the February meeting we had two very good speakers, firstly Mr Ron Sparrow, gave a talk on the life of Sir George White who started out in law at a young age, but ventured into many businesses, he was the man that gave Bristol, and many other cities their Tram transport systems, but when the flying machine came in to being, and seeing what Bleriot was doing, George White was one of a few who could see a future in aviation, and started building aircraft, which was the beginning of the Bristol Aircraft Company, which saw the Bristol Boxkite of the first world war, through to the many aircraft produced for the second world war, and then to the commercial aircraft produced right up to Concorde.

Then Mr Chris May gave a talk on how the Bristol Collection started, how it got to Kemble, and hopes for the future, with a Museum possibly to be built at Filton, now that a Concorde is a resident.

It was announced at this meeting that the society now had a web site up and running.

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Friday January 9th 2004

The January 9^th meeting was very well supported, there are plenty of  Steam Railway fans around the District, and they were not let down by the presentation of a Slide Show of, Steam Railway Around Britain, given by Railway Enthusiast Mr Ian Thomas, he started by showing Railcolour slides, starting in the Southwest, and moving up to the Midlands, covering many Branch lines long closed, then continuing with his own photographic slides from all around the Rail Network, from the South of England and up into Scotland, and closer to home, the Dursley Branch Line.

In all 300 slides were shown, and appreciated by the audience.

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Thursday 11th December 2003

The December meeting saw local aviation artist Barry Barnes reveal the fruits of many years research into the Royal Australian Flying Corps to the gathered society members.  Barry showed many slides illustrating how the Aussies managed to build, what was then, a major training base in the little Gloucestershire village of Leighterton and other locations in the county during World War One.  As the slides revealed, this was no mean feat given the state of the road system at the time, Barry's talk also showed the varied types of aircraft that the Australians flew during this period, the way the airfields were laid out, and the living conditions enjoyed (?) by them.                                                                 

The societies members were very appreciative of the presentation given by Barry.

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Thursday 13th November 2003.

This meeting, the societies inaugural gathering, started with two of the founder members, Dave lamb and Rich Kelsey,  welcoming everyone to the meeting and explaining a little bit about the vision that they held for the society.  Once this was dealt with Rich Kelsey was introduced to give the first illustrated show to the society, this took the form of a slide show depicting Aviation Museums of Texas.  Some years ago rich and his father Brian were lucky enough to be able to join a British Aviation Enthusiasts tour of Texas Aviation Museums, during this tour rich took a multitude of slides showing the many facilities and air shows that they were able to attend, culminating in the Confederate Airforce Show at Midland Airfield, Texas.  The slides also showed a lot of the city's and towns visited.

Rich is a keen photographer and this showed in the quality of his images, with this presentation we could not have wished for a better start to Wings and Wheels, the audience were very appreciative.