WESTON-SUPER-MARE will mark World Helicopter Day with a vintage transport event.
The event takes place on Sunday, August 18 and to mark the occasion the Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare is staging a transport event with a difference.
Not only will it be opening up some of its more unusual exhibits that have rarely been open to the public before and operating actual helicopter flights from its helipad, but it will also be hosting a vintage bus rally in its grounds.
Lee Mills, the museum manager, said: “Visitors on the day will be able to climb aboard a selection of vintage buses and go for a short ride in them, whilst helicopter flights will also be operating from our helipad.
“It all demonstrates just how far transport has evolved over the last 100 years or so.”
The event, in association The West Country Historic Omnibus and Transport Trust (WHOTT) will see over 20 Vintage Buses and Coaches on display around the airfield control tower and pilots block in the museums grounds.
Inside, several of the museum’s military and civil helicopters will be opened up for visitors to experience what it is like to sit in the pilots seat of some incredible and iconic aircraft including a Huey, a Lynx, a Hind Gunship and a Mil-8.
The oldest bus on display at the event will be a 1938 Bedford WTB which has recently been restored by WHOTT and returned back to its original colour scheme.
The vehicle has had a fascinating West Country based history running trips around Exeter, Weston-super-Mare and spending ten years transporting tourists around the Isles of Scilly. It even took part in the gruelling Trans Pennine Run.
The Helicopter Museum houses the world’s largest collection of helicopters including two aircraft of the Queens Royal Flight, the world’s oldest surviving helicopter and many of its aircraft enjoy top benchmark status on the National Aviation Heritage Register.
The World Helicopter Day Open Cockpit Bonanza and Vintage Bus Rally takes place on Sunday, August 18. Standard museum admission applies.
The Helicopter Museum is a registered charity, number 281053.
For more details about the museum, please visit www.helicoptermuseum.co.uk
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