Solway Aviation Museum

The Vulcan van and it's little pal Chippy trailer were at Dalmain house today at the Wigton Motor Club rally and this was their 30 event.
We met lot's of people that still didn't know the museum was at Carlisle Airport so attending these events really does raise our profile.
The next outing is on the 1st of September at the Cockermouth Touch a Truck event held at the auction Mart.
... Come along and say hello and get the latest updates on XJ823.
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XJ 823 update
A bit of a wet start today so no painting but there's always something to do when you have a Vulcan to look after.
So we decided to stop the birds nesting in the Rover turbine bay they actually squeezed between the exhaust òutlet and the panel aperture for the exhaust so we've fitted some wire mesh to cover this area.
... As we were working underneath we decided to open the starboard engine bays to see if any of our feathered friends had managed to get in there this spring but thankfully there was no sign of nesting, our visitors today had an additional treat seeing 823 Olympus engines as well as the usual guided tour.
Finally we managed to get some additional stenciling added to the nose section, looking at 823's cockpit section it looks like an instruction manual, but it looks great and there's still loads to do when we start on the underside.
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Starting to look better.
XJ823 is starting to look alot better as the nose section painting top side is almost finished so we will be starting on the underside soon, our graphics department is busy with all the decals and once these are applied we can move on to the wings.
Please keep following 823's progress.

Here's an even better reason to visit XJ823.

One to watch out for.

If the weather is good to us on Friday 27th in the evening, we will be holding a photo shoot with the Vulcan and the blood red moon as a back drop, all welcome from 19:30 onwards, donations to the upkeep of the Vulcan are welcome.

From this to this! As you know 823 is always undergoing maintenance work to keep her safe and sound; we posted pictures last week of the starboard cockpit section which has been rubbed down and made ready for its first coat of Johnston Smooth Metal paint.
The second picture is 823 with its first coat of dark green and mid aircraft grey in full gloss as she wore in her MRR role, we'll give this side a break and start on the port side to create the same effect, then back to the Starboard side for another rub down and a second coat, by getting the paint to a high sheen the duty staff can see if their hair is tidy by looking up rather than carting a mirror down there !!!

Looking a bit sad today.
XJ823 is currently been prepared for painting and yesterday we removed as much of the previous paint coat we could, a few years ago it was decided to give 823 a long lasting Weathersheild covering, what a mistake that was it left a textured finish which has allowed dirt and grime to build up on her surface.
It has taken hours to remove the coating ready for painting the cockpit section planned for this coming Sunday, so she will be wearing a shiny new coat of mid aircraft grey and hopefully dark green as part of the first phase of the top side repaint.

Back to work on XJ823
Even though it's been up to 30.3 in Carlisle the Vulcan maintenance team have started this years painting.
We are removing as much of the old paint scheme as practical in order to get a better gloss finish.
... If you look closely you can see the reflection of our cherry picker in the first gloss coat.
We are still working on the best way to stop water ingress from the canopy seal we had used weather proof tape over the winter but that does not like been painted so a discreet amount of body filler pushed in to the gap should sort it once and for all.
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Vulcan van busy weekend.
Our museum display van and crew had a very busy weekend working Saturday in Carlisle City centre at the Armed Forces day and at Bywell in Northumbria at the MG classic car show.
Both days were very hot but fortunately the van has a large awning that gave us plenty of shade.
... The van will be out next Saturday at the Scotish National Trust Threave Gardens in Castle Douglas, so come along and say hi to Dougie who's driving it to Castle Douglas, he must be taking it home!
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Correction Sunday the 8th July
Back by Popular demand. It's Flight Simulators Open Day on Sunday the 8th July.
... Fly our own Vulcan XJ823 from Carlisle Lake District Airport to the Solway coast or try your flying skills in a Spitfire dog fight against an ME109, our flight Sims are built into life size aircraft cockpits.
There is an additional charge of £3.00 per 15 minutes so get there soon and book your place bookings can only be made at the museum reception.
The last two sim days were very well attended so come early to make sure you get ago.
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Back by Popular demand. It's Flight Simulators Open Day on Saturday the 8th July.
Fly our own Vulcan XJ823 from Carlisle Lake District Airport to the Solway coast or try your flying skills in a Spitfire dog fight against an ME109, our flight Sims are built into life size aircraft cockpits.
... There is an additional charge of £3.00 per 15 minutes so get there soon and book your place bookings can only be made at the museum reception.
The last two sim days were very well attended so come early to make sure you get ago.
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https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/ca…/ solwayaviationmuseum/

Not your usual view of a Vulcan but it shows the aerodynamic lines of 823's starboard wing as it's deep cleaned and getting prepped for painting.
Also the cockpit section has had the warnings removed and part sanded but we had to stop the sanding as 823's visitors were on board and it is loud in the cockpit with the Sanders on the outer surface.

Last Sunday the museum played host to two motorcycle clubs and they lined up for a photo opportunity and to display their Honda Goldwings.
If you have a club that likes to tour and visit places then give us a call and pop in.

At last we are back working on 823 for this season the work has been delayed by weather and the many other duties this team have to perform.
The weather looks set to be good for the coming week so on Sunday we will be pressure washing the wings and removing the various warning signs ready for painting Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Vulcan van will be out at Brough by Sands village school this coming Saturday followed by Armed Forces day in Carlisle City centre next Saturday and on the Sunday we'll be at the Northumberland MG meeting at Bywell in the North East.

We will be open between 10.30 and 17.00 Bank Holiday Monday, hopefully this wonderful weather will continue so bring a picnic and shelter in the wings of one of our iconic aircraft.

8 Aviation Artists will be at the Solway Aviation Museum between 11.30 and 15.30 and will bring with them a pop up gallery .
This is a very rare chance to meet these artists and see their work.

Wonderful local aviation museum, highly recommended. Sitting in the Vulcan really put a smile on my face. The staff and volunteers are very friendly, and highly knowledgeable and clearly love what they are doing. The collection of aircraft is not huge but showcases a great range of RAF and RN cold war hardware, and the opportunity to climb aboard some of the aircraft is unusual and adds a wonderful extra dimension to any visit.

We saw a leaflet for this whilst away in Northumberland so decided to make a stop off on our way back home. This is a great little museum. A good number of aircraft to see both indoors and outdoors along with some great displays whiched focused on the local areas and people as well as nationally. The highlight obviously is the Vulcan and being able to get onboard and sit in the cockpit area. All the staff are volunteers and are welcoming and helpful. So glad we made the stop off to visit. It was a great way to spend a few hours and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in aircraft and history.

We really enjoyed our day there the volunteers made it a memorable experiance nothing was to much trouble. We had 4 children with us all under 7 an every one of them loved it being able to climb on board the planes, fly a plane simulatere although the kids did enjoy crashing the plane more than flying it. The best bit was the volunteers coming over an talking to the kids telling them the history of the planes in a fun story forms the kids were intreged an staff handle a lot of whys an hows of the kids an were not phased in the slightest. We will definatly go back just gutted it took to know to realise it was there an only a stone though away from Carlisle. Well worth a trip out an can't stress enough how much of a credit the volunteers are to the solway aviation museum.

We had a wonderful day yesterday,My grandson was over the moon he had a smile on his face the whole visit ! The exhibits and displays are VERY informative, beautifully looked after The aircraft are Fantastic made all the more exciting by the fact you are able to "climb aboard " and my does it open your eyes.

The flight simulator (built and paid for by one of the volunteers) is amazing.

I can't find words to describe how welcome we were all made.The staff,all volunteers, do a remarkable job. Hope to see you all again .Thank you all for making our day so ACE

Visited today, 27th May. Wasn't sure what to expect (I was visiting to understand what it would have been like for my mum in the WAAF during WW2) but thoroughly enjoyed my visit and stayed for almost 3 hours wandering around the planes and enjoying all the exhibits. This would be a great resource for local schools as all the volunteers are so enthusiastic and knowledgeable.

Visited today for the first time. Just loved it and found we didn't have enough time to see everything. Great value.

Very enjoyable day out. Friendly staff, informative and welcoming. I recommend it to all.

Thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Solway Aviation Musuem. These enthusiastic and friendly folks manage to keep this place running through sheer enthusiasm and very little cash, relying on donations and memberships. Some wonderful exhibits both indoors and outside which culminated in a seat up the cockpit of the glorious Vulcan bomber. Never got the guys name who was looking after the folks visiting this historic plane but spent a very enjoyable 20 mins or so chatting. Excellent!! As an ex-RAF man I manged to fulfill a lifelong wish sitting up in the Vulcan. Thanks everyone, highly recommended (better in the sunshine than the rain and wind when I was there). :D

Myself and three friends visited yesterday from Falkirk, we made the trip especially to see the Fred Karnos Army WW1 Somme Anniversary display, and we really didnt want to go home, what a place ...fantastic items, fantastic food, and even more fantastic staff, every one of them is a great asset to the museum, I have'nt met such knowledgable museum guides in many years, they obviously all love the place. As do we, so much so, that I'm back next weekend with my grandsons, they will love it too.

Thanks SAM for a great day,

Loved it! Visited yesterday morning and had a fantastic time. It's a great place with very friendly volunteer staff who were great to talk too. It is very much worth a visit if you are in, or travelling through Cumbria, being just a short distance off the M6 and very reasonably priced too! It was a lovely surprise to be able to get on several different aircraft, but the highlight was being able to get on board the Avro Vulcan, which I have never had the chance to see inside before. I was very fortunate to be taken on board by Stephanie, one of the owners, who provided a wealth of information. Everyone involved should be very proud and I'm sure that they are. I definitely plan to return. Maybe next time I'll visit when the simulators are up and running and I can have a go at flying these wonderful aircraft.

Lots of interesting things to see and brilliant helpful informative staff

If you like planes, this is a recommended visit. You can visit the inside of a Canberra bomber, and go in the crew cabin of a Vulcan. Very comprehensive history displays in the museum and a great welcome.

Honestly a great place to visit. We almost decided not to come here but decided to pass by it quickly and it ended up being the highlight of our trip to Carlisle. Some nice selection of war planes to be seen, but the highlight was to see the Vulcan combat plane and to get up into the cockpit and have such an in depth demonstration and presentation by Stephanie, co-owner, pilot, author and expert of combat planes. And to think I'm not even remotely interested aviation, engineering, history or war. Hats off to all the volunteers and enthusiasts who maintain the planes and the museum. They receive no funding from the government and are in constant threat of being pushed away from nearby commercial enterprise Carlisle Airport.

Had a lovely day. People very friendly and knowledgeable. Will be back forgot to buy our brick. Being able to get inside the Vulcan was the highlight. Could do with a few more benches to sit on outside especially on a nice day. Thanks to all the volunteers for a lovely time.

Had a great time on Sunday 27th March. Arrived 1 hour before opening time. Stephanie came out to see us. Had a great chat and went off to take lots of photos. She also opened the aircraft early for us to go into. And then she gave us a guided tour of 'her baby', the Vulcan. The inside exhibits are well laid out and very informative. Very friendly and helpful staff. Highly recommended to all Cold War and aviation enthusiasts!

Great museum with some fantastic aircraft in a wonderful location. Friendly and enthusiastic staff who are happy to accomodate. I hope they remain for many years and if I am ever in the area will visit again.

Cracking little Museum run by very knowledgeable volunteers. Only £6 pound to get in and who is going to pass up the opportunity of going in a Vulcan?!?!? Well worth a visit and I'll definitely by going again when next in the area.

Came all the way from Prestwick in Scotland on Sunday 10th April. What a fantastic day we had loved seeing all the old planes but the best bit was seeing my 7yr old daughter face when she can out the Vulcan ( she has been in love with the vulcan ever since we seen it two years ago and the Scottish Airshow). The museum is brilliant has loads of interesting information about world war 2 right through to present day. The staff was so friendly and helpful and made you feel welcome also great vaule for money for families, shop wasnt over priced either. To top it all off we meet Ft Lieutenant Frank Hilton the pilot of Vulcan XJ823 To use the words of my daughter best day ever.

Brilliant. A great place to visit if your an aviation enthusiast . Staff were very helpful and full of knowledge of all the exhibits . Trip inside the Vulcan Bomber was amazing.

Wonderful local aviation museum, highly recommended. Sitting in the Vulcan really put a smile on my face. The staff and volunteers are very friendly, and highly knowledgeable and clearly love what they are doing. The collection of aircraft is not huge but showcases a great range of RAF and RN cold war hardware, and the opportunity to climb aboard some of the aircraft is unusual and adds a wonderful extra dimension to any visit.

We saw a leaflet for this whilst away in Northumberland so decided to make a stop off on our way back home. This is a great little museum. A good number of aircraft to see both indoors and outdoors along with some great displays whiched focused on the local areas and people as well as nationally. The highlight obviously is the Vulcan and being able to get onboard and sit in the cockpit area. All the staff are volunteers and are welcoming and helpful. So glad we made the stop off to visit. It was a great way to spend a few hours and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in aircraft and history.

We really enjoyed our day there the volunteers made it a memorable experiance nothing was to much trouble. We had 4 children with us all under 7 an every one of them loved it being able to climb on board the planes, fly a plane simulatere although the kids did enjoy crashing the plane more than flying it. The best bit was the volunteers coming over an talking to the kids telling them the history of the planes in a fun story forms the kids were intreged an staff handle a lot of whys an hows of the kids an were not phased in the slightest. We will definatly go back just gutted it took to know to realise it was there an only a stone though away from Carlisle. Well worth a trip out an can't stress enough how much of a credit the volunteers are to the solway aviation museum.

We had a wonderful day yesterday,My grandson was over the moon he had a smile on his face the whole visit ! The exhibits and displays are VERY informative, beautifully looked after The aircraft are Fantastic made all the more exciting by the fact you are able to "climb aboard " and my does it open your eyes.

The flight simulator (built and paid for by one of the volunteers) is amazing.

I can't find words to describe how welcome we were all made.The staff,all volunteers, do a remarkable job. Hope to see you all again .Thank you all for making our day so ACE

Visited today, 27th May. Wasn't sure what to expect (I was visiting to understand what it would have been like for my mum in the WAAF during WW2) but thoroughly enjoyed my visit and stayed for almost 3 hours wandering around the planes and enjoying all the exhibits. This would be a great resource for local schools as all the volunteers are so enthusiastic and knowledgeable.

Visited today for the first time. Just loved it and found we didn't have enough time to see everything. Great value.

Very enjoyable day out. Friendly staff, informative and welcoming. I recommend it to all.

Thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Solway Aviation Musuem. These enthusiastic and friendly folks manage to keep this place running through sheer enthusiasm and very little cash, relying on donations and memberships. Some wonderful exhibits both indoors and outside which culminated in a seat up the cockpit of the glorious Vulcan bomber. Never got the guys name who was looking after the folks visiting this historic plane but spent a very enjoyable 20 mins or so chatting. Excellent!! As an ex-RAF man I manged to fulfill a lifelong wish sitting up in the Vulcan. Thanks everyone, highly recommended (better in the sunshine than the rain and wind when I was there). :D

Myself and three friends visited yesterday from Falkirk, we made the trip especially to see the Fred Karnos Army WW1 Somme Anniversary display, and we really didnt want to go home, what a place ...fantastic items, fantastic food, and even more fantastic staff, every one of them is a great asset to the museum, I have'nt met such knowledgable museum guides in many years, they obviously all love the place. As do we, so much so, that I'm back next weekend with my grandsons, they will love it too.

Thanks SAM for a great day,

Loved it! Visited yesterday morning and had a fantastic time. It's a great place with very friendly volunteer staff who were great to talk too. It is very much worth a visit if you are in, or travelling through Cumbria, being just a short distance off the M6 and very reasonably priced too! It was a lovely surprise to be able to get on several different aircraft, but the highlight was being able to get on board the Avro Vulcan, which I have never had the chance to see inside before. I was very fortunate to be taken on board by Stephanie, one of the owners, who provided a wealth of information. Everyone involved should be very proud and I'm sure that they are. I definitely plan to return. Maybe next time I'll visit when the simulators are up and running and I can have a go at flying these wonderful aircraft.

Lots of interesting things to see and brilliant helpful informative staff

If you like planes, this is a recommended visit. You can visit the inside of a Canberra bomber, and go in the crew cabin of a Vulcan. Very comprehensive history displays in the museum and a great welcome.

Honestly a great place to visit. We almost decided not to come here but decided to pass by it quickly and it ended up being the highlight of our trip to Carlisle. Some nice selection of war planes to be seen, but the highlight was to see the Vulcan combat plane and to get up into the cockpit and have such an in depth demonstration and presentation by Stephanie, co-owner, pilot, author and expert of combat planes. And to think I'm not even remotely interested aviation, engineering, history or war. Hats off to all the volunteers and enthusiasts who maintain the planes and the museum. They receive no funding from the government and are in constant threat of being pushed away from nearby commercial enterprise Carlisle Airport.

Had a lovely day. People very friendly and knowledgeable. Will be back forgot to buy our brick. Being able to get inside the Vulcan was the highlight. Could do with a few more benches to sit on outside especially on a nice day. Thanks to all the volunteers for a lovely time.

Had a great time on Sunday 27th March. Arrived 1 hour before opening time. Stephanie came out to see us. Had a great chat and went off to take lots of photos. She also opened the aircraft early for us to go into. And then she gave us a guided tour of 'her baby', the Vulcan. The inside exhibits are well laid out and very informative. Very friendly and helpful staff. Highly recommended to all Cold War and aviation enthusiasts!

Great museum with some fantastic aircraft in a wonderful location. Friendly and enthusiastic staff who are happy to accomodate. I hope they remain for many years and if I am ever in the area will visit again.

Cracking little Museum run by very knowledgeable volunteers. Only £6 pound to get in and who is going to pass up the opportunity of going in a Vulcan?!?!? Well worth a visit and I'll definitely by going again when next in the area.

Came all the way from Prestwick in Scotland on Sunday 10th April. What a fantastic day we had loved seeing all the old planes but the best bit was seeing my 7yr old daughter face when she can out the Vulcan ( she has been in love with the vulcan ever since we seen it two years ago and the Scottish Airshow). The museum is brilliant has loads of interesting information about world war 2 right through to present day. The staff was so friendly and helpful and made you feel welcome also great vaule for money for families, shop wasnt over priced either. To top it all off we meet Ft Lieutenant Frank Hilton the pilot of Vulcan XJ823 To use the words of my daughter best day ever.

Brilliant. A great place to visit if your an aviation enthusiast . Staff were very helpful and full of knowledge of all the exhibits . Trip inside the Vulcan Bomber was amazing.