Acquisitions |  |
Acquisitions | |
As the list above suggests, donations and loans come in all shapes, sizes, forms and styles, and come from an even wider variety of sources.
John Baker accepted, on behalf of the BBM&L, donation of the balloon Shy Tot, to the museum. Shy Tot (G-AZER) is a Cameron O-42 (42,000 cu.ft) balloon and was the first of that size anywhere in the United Kingdom. Tom Donnelly flew the balloon to 34 records (12 World and 22 UK) on the 31st March 1972. It is reported that when ordered, Tom requested “no flapping skirt, built in Nomex, an open work basket on the sides and a plywood floor and all brown”, and that was exactly what he got! Below is a photo of John Baker, our illustrious Chairman receiving Shy Tot from Presidennt of the Museum, Robin Batchelor at Icicle 2005.
John Baker and the late Norman Pritchard were invited to Lindstrand Balloons at Oswestry to view the Trans-Pacific Capsule with a view to the Museum acquiring it. John Baker produced a report with photos and presented it to the council at the last meeting.
The capsule itself is approx 2.6mtrs high and 2.7mtrs across, weighing in at about 400kgs. We can now confirm that this has been donated to the BBM&L along with 2 cylinders. One of these has the insulation still on it and the Virgin Cola artwork. The second cylinder is still "boxed" without insulation, but with the artwork.
Registered G-OWWF, the balloon held two records, set on 17th January 1991, for an AX15 balloon, endurance 26hrs 15 mins and distance 7,691.9kms/4,768.1 miles. The actual track distance was 10,885.2kms/6,765.2 miles, but the FAI only recognise the Great Circle distance.
The next task the Museum has is to find a home for the capsule, and how to move it to that new home. We hope to announce where this will be based in the near future.
The Museum has received a large amount of balloon related material from the collection of the late Norman Pritchard. Included are books, posters, leaflets, and a mixture of other items. Many will be added to the library collection in time. At the luncheon in 2005 Mike Allen donated to the museum’s keeping his large collection of ballooning books. We express our thanks to Elizabeth Pritchard and Mike Allen for the collections.
Sometimes a donation is made anonymously and leaves the committee puzzled. One such item was a box of glasses with related inscriptions from the 1980's, marked as from South Wales. Maybe we shall find out who donated them one day so we can thank them.
If you feel you may have an item that the museum would like, please contact the chairman or secretary by phone or e-mail for more information.
