Shuttleworth Collection

The Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of the most prestigious in the world due to the variety of old and well preserved aircraft.

History

The collection was founded in 1928 by aviator Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth. While flying a Fairey Battle at night on August 2, 1940, Shuttleworth fatally crashed. His mother, in 1944, formed the Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth Trust for the "Promotion of education and training in the science, practice and history of aviation and automotive transport."

Collection

Restoration and maintenance work is carried out by a staff of six full-time and many volunteer engineers. These volunteers are all members of the 3,000-strong Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society (SVAS) [http://www.svasweb.org] . These dedicated enthusiasts are crucial to the preservation and restoration of the collection.In addition to the aircraft, the collection houses a number of vintage and veteran cars. Events include model-flying days, and once a year, there is a special flying day for schools in the area.

The Shuttleworth Collection puts an emphasis on restoring as many aircraft as possible to flying condition. There are typically about twelve air shows per year, including evening displays, which offer the opportunity to see aircraft which in many cases are the last of their type to survive, let alone to exist in flyable condition.

The Edwardian Flying machines

Some of the most notable aircraft in the collection are the five Edwardian aeroplanes, of which one is the oldest British aeroplane still in flying condition. What makes these exceptional is that they still fly (weather permitting). The oldest, with British civil registration G-AANG, is the Bleriot XI (still with original engine), which dates back to 1909 - six years after the Wright brothers' aircraft and it is the world's oldest airworthy aeroplane, with the next oldest being, at only three weeks newer by date of manufacture, the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome's own restored original Bleriot XI (Bleriot factory serial number 56, with civil registration N60094) in the United States.

Aircraft in the collection

Also resident but privately owned:
*Druine Turbi
*Fauvel AV.36 glider
* Fokker Dr.1 Triplane replica
*Luscombe Silvaire
*Miles Falcon
*Miles Magister I
*Ryan PT-22
*Ryan PT-22
*Westland Wallace replica fuselage

Vehicles in the collection

* 1898 Panhard et Levassor
* 1899 Mors Petit Duc
* 1899 Benz International dogcart
* 1900 Marot Gardan
* 1901 Locomobile Steam Car
* 1901 Arrol-Johnston
* 1902 Baby Peugeot
* 1903 Richard-Brasier
* 1903 De Dietrich
* 1912 Crossley 15
* 1912 Wolseley MS
* 1913 Morris Oxford
* 1920 Hucks Starter
* 1926 Jowett Short-chassis tourer
* 1931 Austin 16hp "Burnham"
* 1935 Austin Seven
* 1937 Railton
* 1937 Fiat Topolino
* 1937 MG TA
* 1939 Hillman Minx RAF Staff Car
* 1943 Fordson WOT 2H
* 1900 Singer Motor Wheel Motorcycle
* 1904 Aurora Motorcycle
* 1921 Scott Squirrel Combi
* 1923 Triumph SD Motorcycle
* 1927 Raleigh 14 Motorcycle
* 1929 Ariel Motorcycle
* 1938 Rudge Motorcycle
* 1940 BSA M20 Motorcycle
* 1950 Philips Cyclemaster
* 1952 Brockhouse Corgi Scooter
* 1955 BSA A7 Motorcycle
* 1955 New Hudson Motorcycle
* 1960 Norton ES2 Motorcycle

There is also a collection of tractors.

Other large collections of flying historic aircraft

* Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RAF Coningsby, UK
* Commemorative Air Force‎, in Midland, Texas.
* Fantasy of Flight, in Polk City, Florida;
* Champlin Fighter Collection at the Seattle Museum of Flight (formerly housed at Mesa, Arizona;
* The Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas.
* The Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
* The Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum‎ in St Louis, Missouri

References

* Guttery, T.E. "The Shuttleworth Collection". London: Wm. Carling & Co, 1969. SBN 901319-01-5
* Ogilvy, David. "Shuttleworth - The Historic Aeroplanes". Shrewsbury, England: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1989 ISBN 1-85310-106-0

External links

* [http://www.shuttleworth.org Official site]