Weston Airfield was an obvious choice to site the museum,
but during the early 80's the airfield was
undergoing a complex sale to Westland by the Ministry of Defence and long
legal
delays frustrated initial negotiations. The inability to
obtain a permanent site and display
buildings were to hinder the development of the collection into a fully
fledged museum for the
next nine years.
However, a small
group of enthusiasts continued with determination, acquiring more
exhibits and preserving rotorcraft
history. Without the efforts of the group and continued
purchases by Mr. ap
Rees many historically significant examples of British rotorcraft
development would have been
lost forever.
1981 a significant change, to what was essentially a
private collection, took place with the
Museum becoming a limited Company and a registered
charity. This new status allowed the Museum to start collecting its own artifacts
and to
qualify for grant aid. With its registered charity status it also enabled approaches to be
made to the helicopter industry and other interested companies for sponsorship, to enable
a proper museum to be set up to display the now significant collection. The Museum also established a membership
scheme to give everyone the opportunity to
support the development of the ever growing museum. The only remaining major parts of the Fairey Rotodyne were added to the collection in
1981, preventing them being
scrapped.
1983 saw the remains of another two rare machines
join the collection, a Cierva C30A autogyro built in 1935 and the prototype Servotec Grasshopper II.
Other aircraft acquired or obtained through on loans in the early eighties included an ex Royal Air
Force Westland Whirlwind HAR Mk.10 in 1980, a Bristow Helicopters Whirlwind (G-ANJV), in
1981 and in 1983 a Westland Scout AH Mk.1 (XP165) previously operated by the Empire
Test
Pilots School. Most of these aircraft went into outside storage at Westland's
Oldmixon
factory.
In early 1983 the Museum still only had £383.02p in the
bank but, despite a lack of income, a further five aircraft were acquired outright or
through loan in the mid eighties, including a Westland Wasp (XS463) and Bell 47H, both in
1985 and a Westland Widgeon in 1986, followed by military and civil examples of the Westland Wessex in 1987.
By the end of 1987 the
collection had grown to nearly
50 aircraft
and, although negotiations were well advanced, still no permanent home had been found.
1988 was to be one of the most significant year in the
history of the Museum, with an agreement being signed with Westland Helicopters
Ltd. for
the current site, and therefore the establishment of a permanent museum site at Weston-super-Mare.
The agreement with Westland Helicopters Ltd. was for the
long term lease of a 4.5 acre
site on the South-Eastern edge of the airfield at
Weston-super-Mare. The local Council
also provided grant aid to fund an access from the
main road. Volunteers then quickly set about refurbishing a 1940s vintage wooden building
on the site, which had been the former
Achilles flying club. Other work included erecting
and refurbishing 3500 sq. ft of buildings that had been donated, these were necessary to
house the now large collection of artifacts and some of the more delicate aircraft
exhibits with the aim of opening that summer to the public. A souvenir shop, cafeteria and
toilets were also to be built along with several interior displays.
Once the site was secure it was finally time to move the
main part of the collection to the new site, over the weekend of 24-25th June, the stored
aircraft were towed across the airfield to their new home and, from late July to early
September, the Museum opened on a limited basis, thereby achieving the main aims set back
in 1974 of establishing a rotorcraft museum open to the public. Also in 1988, to better
identify the Museum to the general public, the name was changed from the British
Rotorcraft Museum to The International Helicopter Museum.
1989 was to be another year of significant progress in the
Museum's history. With the security of a permanent site and new income being generated
more exhibits could now be obtained, while work continued on development of the site and buildings. February saw the
Westland 30 prototype was donated to
the Museum by Westland Helicopters and in June this was followed by the Lynx 3 prototype. Other exhibits acquired during this year
included a Wessex HU Mk.5 and the remains of the Vertigo Man
Powered Helicopter project.
The hard work of the Museum volunteers was rewarded
at Easter 1989, when the Museum
opened its doors on a regular basis to the public, with
its first paid manager and a system of volunteer shop staff. Regular helicopter operations
also started from the Museum site, allowing visitors to fly-in.
On the 3rd November the
Museum was officially opened by HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of
York, who arrived in a Wessex
HC.4 of the Queen's flight.
