Update on the Monino Fire

Oh Crap!

Bill Banaszak, MFE

I was there a week ago last Sunday - and all is not lost.

We were told the day before our group visit that there had been a fire - and that our visit may be cancelled - but it wasn't.

When we arrived we were dismayed to see that there was a large panelled fence in front of the museum - and what looked like the skeleton of the hangar rising above it.

Closer inspection revealed that this skeleton was in fact the metal girders of a NEW hangar being built on the site of the old one - and it was a spark from a welders torch that had caused the fire in one of the old hangars.

The museum curator told us that they had lost some precious artifacts - engines, models, documents etc from the very early (late 1800's - 1917 era) exhibition hangars - but that the rest of the collection was OK.

The billboard in front of the metal skeleton had an artists impression of the new buildings - all glass & steel - due to be opened in November!!!

I wish I had taken a photos of all this new work - I don't know what came over me!!

All the aircraft from these rebuilt hangars are either out on display - or in the larger display hangars over the other side.

There is some money going into Monino - which is good from the preservation point of view, but bad from our enthusiasts standpoint !!

The pathways betwen the aircraft exhibits in the 'park' have been re-surfaced and a low chain-link fence has been put in place.

This stops the punters from going on the grass - but the museum staff did not seem to mind when we stepped over the fence and got amongst the exhibits - as we had always done in previous years.

I suspect though that things will get tighter in future !!!! I can see us having to stick to the pathways.

Ken

Mad-Modeller wrote: