Flying high for 50-plus years

Our latest free event aimed at providing a little extra for our friends, visitors and supporters saw aviation professional Geoff Connolly entertain an appreciative audience with his talk entitled 50 Plus Years of Flying.

Now in his 56th flying year, Geoff explained that he began flying with the RAF Volunteer Reserve with the University of London Air Squadron, gained his Private Pilot Licence (Aeroplanes) in 1970, and has continued to fly light aircraft ever since.

After legal training, he joined the RAF and was an operational helicopter pilot before becoming a flying instructor, later graduating from the Empire Test Pilots School. He entertained the audience with stories based on 11,000 hours of flying experience, gained on over 80 types of helicopter and fixed wing aircraft.

There is now a short gap until our next Sunday afternoon talk, which will see Air Marshal GA ‘Black’ Robertson CBE giving a presentation entitled ‘Flying Through the Ranks - Phew - That Was Close!' at 2pm on Sunday 11 May.

In the meantime, there is plenty going on at the Memorial, including our popular Make & Paint sessions, which are taking place this year on Saturday 12 April.

This is a great chance for young and old alike to try their hands at the fascinating art of plastic kit building. We have experts on hand to help you build and paint a scale model Spitfire kindly donated by leading kit builders Airfix.

Our morning session is now sold out, but there are still a few places left for the afternoon session, which runs from 1pm to 3pm. At just £10 a person, this is a great opportunity to 'have a go' - and the price includes an extra kit to take home. Click the link below to sign up.

1pm - 3pm: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/make-and-paint-your-own-spitfire-airfix-model-1pm-3pm-tickets-1255438994829

Air Marshal Robertson's talk on 11 May will include enthralling stories from the Cold War, the Falklands and Kosovo, and the experiences of both aircrew and groundcrew.

There are limited seats available, so advance booking is essential. Call 01303 249292 or email enquiries@battleofbritainmemorial.org

Entry is free, although donations are welcomed. Nominal parking charges apply

Geoff Connolly, the speaker at our most recent Sunday afternoon talk.