WAM Hovercraft restoration progress report – Autumn 2023

Mark Porter – Restoration Project Manager

Introduction:

Restoration work on the hovercraft had paused over the early summer while arrangements were made to move the craft.

Moving the hovercraft:

It was decided to move the craft onto two concrete runners to the left of the “elephant shed”. Two trenches were dug out and filled with concrete by WAM volunteers. The tops of the concrete runners are just above ground level, and these are surmounted with scaffold boards. Thus, the craft is slightly raised so that water on the concrete doesn’t soak into the bottom of the craft and its landing skids.

Rob Kingswell of Kingswell Heavy Haulage Ltd surveyed the site on 7th August. The ground was still quite wet from rain the previous week, but it was expected that the ground would be firm enough for the trailer by the following Friday.

On Friday, 11th August the team from Kingswell Heavy Haulage Ltd moved the hovercraft to its new position. In addition to this, our SR.N4 hovercraft fin was moved to a position alongside the CC7 hovercraft.

We took the opportunity to wash the fin down, getting to one side before the move and the other side afterwards. Our large hovercraft artefacts are now consolidated in one place.
The groundwork, preparation, cleaning and moving were a superb effort, and thanks go to our great volunteers and of course the excellent team from Kingswell Heavy Haulage Ltd.

A fresh look:

Once the move had been completed, we set to work on preparing the craft for painting. The craft will be repainted in stages in its original Olive Drab colour. Rather than buying thousands of tinlet’s of Humbrol paint, we went to “Bodyshop Direct” who mixed the required paint for us!

The sides of the hull have been painted, which will allow us to refit the inflatable side bags once they have been sealed. Our plan is to have a complete set along the starboard side, which is the side that is visible when approaching the museum. On the port side, we will omit the bags that would be alongside the entrance door. This will allow the public to get close to the craft and look into the cabin.

We estimated for enough paint just to paint the hull sides but have some left so we have painted the fan intakes, engine air intakes and forward gunwale.
The roof will remain undisturbed until next year, when we will refurbish the damaged and leaky panels and paint each one when complete.

Benefits of the new location:

The CC7 hovercraft and SR.N4 fin are visible to visitors as they walk to the end of the access road, and have been found to attract visitors toward the museum. A display board has been installed behind the starboard window summarising the craft’s history and characteristics. The ARV Super2 aircraft has been moved and is behind the hovercraft display.

Restoration work:

The two panels between the fan volutes have been refitted with hex head self-tapping screws, using rubber material to form a seal. We have done this to prevent water ingress to the aft section of the craft. The side doors have been inspected and it has been noticed that the runner blocks are severely worn. Some Nylatrol material has been sourced and new parts will be made. The remaining two windscreen wipers have been removed.

Next steps: Winter working

We will leave the roof panels undisturbed over the winter so that we don’t create more leaks. We will refurbish one of the side doors.

Click on the link below to read the 2022 project update:

Project Update – 2022 – Wight Aviation Museum

You can support this restoration work by donating below:

If you would like to support our team of volunteers restoring the CC7 you can do so quickly and securely by donating via the link, many thanks.