The Helicopter Museum Exhibit Arrivals

EH101 Heliliner

EH101 Heliliner PP8 G-IOIO/ZJ116 arrived at The Museum on 23rd August 2022 from Hendon where it had been displayed at the RAF Museum. The Heliliner is the civilian version of the EH101, and was designed for commuter and offshore operations capable of carrying 30 passengers and baggage in airline comfort. It first flew at Yeovil in 1990 and joins EH101 prototype PP3 already here at the Helicopter Museum.

Details & pictures


Bristol Belvedere XG454

Bristol Belvedere XG454 arrived at The Museum on 21st January 2022 from Manchester. Built in Weston-super-Mare in 1960, it was the 7th pre-production airframe and had an unfortunate career crashing and being rebuilt twice. Only 3 Belvederes remain of which XG452 and XG454 are now in The Museum.

Details & pictures


Piasecki H-21 'Flying Banana'

Piasecki H-21 'Flying Banana' FR41 arrived on 1st February 2016 from Centre d’Etudes et de Loisirs Aerospatiaux in Grenoble, France. Built in the USA in 1956, it had served in the French Army in the Algeria. It was transported in two - front and back sections. Refurbishment started in April 2019.

Details & pictures


Barnett J4B gyroplane

A single-seat kit-built Barnett J4B gyroplane, G-BWCW, PFA c/n G/14-1256, donated by Mike and Nick Smart, was delivered to The Museum, from Farley Farm Airstrip, in Hampshire, by John Phillips on 28th October 2015. Original blades were included but no engine was installed. Refurbished from January 2016 and now on display.

Details & pictures


Gyrodyne QH-50D drone

An unmanned, remotely-controlled, Gyrodyne QH-50D surveillance & anti-submarine drone helicopter, DS-1482, used by the United States Navy in the 1960s, was delivered to The Museum on 2nd October 2014 following shipment from California.

Details & picture


Cricket gyrocopter

Cricket single-seat gyrocopter, G-BYMP, with P.F.A. serial G/03-1265, donated with G-AXRA, (below) was brought to The Museum on 16th January 2014. Kit-built by James Fitzgerald, in Northern Ireland, in 1999 and acquired by the donor in 2011.

Details & picture


Cricket gyrocopter

A single-seat Campbell Cricket gyrocopter, G-AXRA, was donated and brought to The Museum on 4th October 2013. Built in 1970 it was originally owned by an American academic living in Essex and was de-registered in 1990. Placed on public display from September 2016.

Details & picture


Wombat gyrocopter

The single-seat 'Wombat' prototype gyrocopter, G-WBAT, built and developed in Cornwall by the late Chris Julian, between 1991 and 1997, was delivered on 9th July 2013. It was donated to The Museum by Mark Harrisson.

Details & pictures.


Fairey Rotodyne Models

Three scale models of the unique Fairey Rotodyne compound helicopter, from the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, were put on display at The Museum on 6th December 2012. They represent the early 1952 proposal, the final "Z" version of 1960 and the prototype as built and flown between 1957 and 1961.

Details & pictures


Jetranger Helicopter

An Agusta-Bell AB-206C, MM80927, c/n 9151, JetRanger, CC-49, previously operated by the Italian Carabinieri, was delivered to The Museum on 1st May 2012 and immediately placed on public display.

Details & pictures


Ferranti Seaspray Radar

A Ferranti Seaspray Mk1 surveillance and tracking radar system, as used in the Royal Navy's Lynx HAS.2 and donated by SELEX Galileo, the inheritors of the Ferranti operation in Edinburgh, arrived at The Museum on 14th December 2011.

Details & pictures.


Fairey Ultra-Light G-AOUJ
Fairey Ultra-Light

Fairey Ultra-Light, G-AOUJ / XJ928, returned to The Museum on 3rd November 2010 after 15 years with the Cotswold Aviation Restoration Group, in Gloucestershire. It has now been restored by volunteers at The Helicopter Museum,

Details & pictures.


A109GdiF, MM81205, 128
AgustaWestland A109 Helicopter

AgustaWestland A109A MkII, MM81205, GdiF-128, used by the Italian Guardia di Finanza, (Financial Police), was delivered to The Museum on 6th October 2010.

Details & pictures.


Polish Mil Mi-8P, 618
Mil Mi-8P Helicopter

Russian-buil multi-purpose, twin-turbine, passenger transport helicopter Mil Mi-8P, Serial 618,  built in 1972 for the Polish Air Force, arrived at The Museum on 5th February 2010.

Details & pictures


Boeing XCH-62 Heavy Lift Helicopter (HLH)
Landing gear from the giant Boeing Vertol XCH-62 Heavy Lift Helicopter

Landing gear components from the giant Boeing Vertol XCH-62 Heavy Lift Helicopter (HLH), scrapped in 2005, 30 years after cancellation of the project, arrived in 2008.

Details & pictures


McCulloch J-2, G-ORVB
McCulloch J-2 autogyro

McCulloch J-2 autogyro, G-ORVB, was received at The Museum on December 21st 2008. Designed by D.K.Jovanovich, it was built in 1971 with a 3-bladed rotor, a wooden pusher propeller and a Lycoming 180 hp, 0-360, engine.

Details and pictures


Bensen B-8M, G-BIGP
Bensen B-8M gyrocopter

Built in the UK, from a design by Igor Bensen, this B-8M gyrocopter, G-BIGP, was brought to The Museum on 10th May 2008. Powered by a 4-cylinder, 2-stroke McCulloch engine, it was first registered in 1980.

Details and pictures


Sud Aviation Alouette SA 318C, A-41
Sud Aviation Alouette II Helicopter

Belgian Sud Aviation Alouette II, SA 318C, A41, built in France in 1967, is powered by a Turbomeca Aztazou 11A turboshaft engine. It was received from the Brussels Military Museum on 19th February 2008, in exchange for Bristol 171 Sycamore Mk.14, XG547.

Details and pictures


Air & Space 18A Gyroplane
Air & Space 18A gyroplane

Air & Space 18A gyroplane, G-BVWL, a tandem two-seat autogyro, was built in 1966, in Muncie, Indiana, to a design inspired by Raymond Umbaugh.
It was delivered to The Museum on 21st November 2007.

History and pictures


Bristol Sycamore HR.14,  XL829, in Bristol's Industrial Museum 2006 before moving to The Helicopter Museum in 2007
Bristol Sycamore HR.14 Helicopter

Bristol Sycamore HR.14, XL829, built in Weston-super-Mare in 1957 was one of the last to be retired from the RAF, in 1971, after service in the Middle East and the UK. It arrived at The Museum on 17th October 2007.

History and pictures


MBB Bo.105M, 81+00
MBB/Bolkow Bo-105M Helicopter

MBB/Bolkow Bo-105M, 81+00, a German army liaison helicopter, was built in 1984 and served in the Heeresflieger until 2002. It arrived at the Museum on 4th May 2007.

History and pictures


Husband Modac 500 Gyroplane
Husband Hornet Gyroplane

Husband Modac 500 Hornet Gyroplane. Built as a private venture, between 1997-2003, this light autogyro was never fully developed. It was received by the Museum in November 2004.

History and pictures



Wessex HAS.3 XM328
Westland Wessex, HAS.3, XM328 Helicopter

Westland Wessex, HAS.3, XM328, built in 1959 for anti-submarine duties, arrived on 12th May 2004. Extensively restored by THM volunteers it went on public display in 2016.

History and pictures


Wessex HU.5, XS486
Westland Wessex, HU.5 XS486 Helicopter

Westland Wessex HU.5 XS486, an ex-Royal Navy assault/training helicopter, was delivered in March 2004.

History and pictures



Brantly B.2B  G-ATFG
Brantly B.2B Helicopter

Brantly B.2B Helicopter, G-ATFG, a reconstruction using parts from two other Brantlys, arrived on 21st January 2004.

History and pictures


Bensen Gyro-Boat
Bensen B-8B Gyro-Boat

Bensen B-8B Gyro-Boat. This un-powered flying dinghy, for towing behind a motorboat, arrived on 19th October 2003.

History and pictures


Dauphin F-WQAP
SA365N Dauphin 2 Helicopter

SA365N Dauphin 2, F-WQAP, former fly-by-wire trials helicopter, arrived on 2nd March 2003.

History and pictures



Robinson R22HP
Robinson R22HP Helicopter

Robinson R22HP Helicopter, G-OTED, arrived on 28th February 2002.

Details and pictures



Royal Wessex
Wessex Queen's Flight Helicopter, XV733

Westland Wessex Helicopter, XV733, formerly of The Queen's Flight, arrived on 15th November 2001.

History and pictures



Westland Lynx 3

Westland Lynx 3, ZE477, was planned as a ground attack helicopter and first flew in June 1984. This sole example was donated to The Museum in June 1989.

Details and pictures