English Helicopter Museum Gains Support

The Helicopter Museum at Weston-super-Mare in southwest England, was awarded a $3,000 grant from the UK's South West Museums Council to upgrade the museum's website. The grant will also allow the museum to add a webcam to let browsers view helicopter restoration progress.

The museum has the nod from local authorities to conduct a series of fundraising helicopter sight-seeing flights along England's south coast during the resort season. Supporters expect the fundraiser to yield in excess of $36,000. Such activities enable the museum to take on high-profile restoration projects, such as rebuilding an historic Bristol/Westland Belvedere, a warbird that helped Great Britain defend Brunei against Indonesian invaders in the late 1960s. When fully restored, the Belvedere will take its place among 50 other helicopters on display.

By Fred George