The Shuttleworth Collection

The Shuttleworth Collection is a working aeronautical and automotive collection located at the Old Warden Aerodrome, Old Warden in Bedfordshire, England. It is the oldest in the world and one of the most prestigious, due to the variety of old and well-preserved aircraft.

History

The collection was founded in 1928 by aviator Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth. While flying a Fairey Battle at night on 2 August 1940, Shuttleworth fatally crashed. His mother, in 1944, formed the Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth Remembrance Trust "for the teaching of the science and practice of aviation and of afforestation and agriculture."

Collection

Restoration and maintenance work is carried out by a staff of 12 full-time and many volunteer engineers. These volunteers are all members of the 3,000-strong Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society (SVAS). These dedicated enthusiasts are crucial to the preservation and restoration of the collection.

In addition to the aircraft, the collection houses a number of vintage and veteran cars. Events include model-flying days, and once a year, there is a special flying day for schools in the area.

The Shuttleworth Collection puts an emphasis on restoring as many aircraft as possible to flying condition, in line with the founder's original intention. There are typically about ten air shows per year, including evening displays and an annual Flying Proms event, which offer the opportunity to see aircraft which in many cases are the last of their type to survive, let alone existing in flyable condition.

The Edwardian flying machines

Some of the most notable aircraft in the collection are the five Edwardian aeroplanes, of which one is the oldest British aeroplane still in flying condition. What makes these exceptional is that they still fly (weather permitting). The oldest, with British civil registration G-AANG, is the Bleriot XI (still with original engine), which dates back to 1909; six years after the Wright brothers' aircraft and the world's oldest airworthy aeroplane, the next oldest being, at only three weeks newer by date of manufacture, the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome's own restored original Bleriot XI (Bleriot factory serial number 56, with civil registration N60094) in the United States.

Aircraft in the collection

*Data from Ellis 2004, pp. 12-14.
Also resident, but privately owned:
Avro Anson (BAE Systems)
* Miles M14a Hawk Trainer N3788 G-AKPF
* Westland Wallace replica fuselage
* De Havilland DH89A Rapide G-AGSH painted as British European Airways
* Sopwith Dove G-EAGA

Vehicles in the collection

* 1898 Panhard et Levassor
* 1899 Mors Petit Duc
* 1899 Benz International dogcart
* 1900 Marot Gardan
* 1901 Locomobile Steam Car
* 1901 Arrol-Johnston
* 1902 Baby Peugeot
* 1903 Richard-Brasier
* 1903 De Dietrich
* 1912 Crossley 15
* 1912 Wolseley M5
* 1913 Morris Oxford
* 1920 Hucks starter
* 1923 Leyland SG7 bus
* 1926 Jowett Short-chassis tourer
* 1931 Austin 16 hp "Burnham"
* 1935 Austin Seven
* 1937 Railton
* 1937 Fiat Topolino
* 1937 MG TA
* 1939 Hillman Minx RAF Staff Car
* 1943 Fordson WOT 2H
* 1900 Singer Motor Wheel Motorcycle
* 1904 Aurora Motorcycle
* 1921 Scott Squirrel Combination
* 1923 Triumph SD Motorcycle
* 1927 Raleigh 14 Motorcycle
* 1929 Ariel Motorcycle
* 1938 Rudge Motorcycle
* 1940 BSA M20 Motorcycle
* 1950 Philips Cyclemaster
* 1952 Brockhouse Corgi Scooter
* 1955 BSA A7 Motorcycle
* 1955 New Hudson Motorcycle
* 1960 Norton ES2 Motorcycle

There is also a collection of tractors.

See also

* Shuttleworth College (Bedfordshire)

;Other large collections of flying historic aircraft
* Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, at RAF Coningsby, United Kingdom
* Cole Palen's Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, directly inspired by the Shuttleworth collection, located in Red Hook and Rhinebeck, New York.
* Royal Navy Historic Flight, at RNAS Yeovilton, United Kingdom
* Commemorative Air Force, in Midland, Texas
* Fantasy of Flight, in Polk City, Florida
* The Fighter Collection, at Duxford Aerodrome, United Kingdom
* Champlin Fighter Collection at the Seattle Museum of Flight (formerly housed at Mesa, Arizona)
* Lone Star Flight Museum, in Galveston, Texas
* Yankee Air Museum, in Ypsilanti, Michigan
* Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum, in St Louis, Missouri
* Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum, at Paine Field, Everett, Washington

Notes

Bibliography

* Ellis, Ken. ''Wrecks and Relics - 19th Edition'', Midland Publishing, Hinckley, Leicestershire. 2004. .
* Guttery, T.E. ''The Shuttleworth Collection''. London: Wm. Carling & Co, 1969. .
* Ogilvy, David. ''The Shuttleworth Collection''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1989 (revised edition 1994). .
* Ogilvy, David. ''Shuttleworth - The Historic Aeroplanes''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1989 .

External links

Official site
*

{{Coord, 52, 05, 22, N, 00, 19, 21, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title

Aerospace museums in England
Museums in Bedfordshire
Automobile museums in England