The installation contract to suspend the aircraft was awarded to Unusual Rigging, who have previously undertaken similar work for The Science Museum in London and The National Space Centre in Leicester.
Unusual provided a complete installation service including surveying, drawings, calculations, Health and Safety Management and the design and implementation of high tec minimalist rigging systems.
Opened on December 18th 2003, the new Milestones of Flight exhibition covers the great achievements in the first 100 years of flight, and in particular the major contribution made by the Royal Air Force. The carefully chosen exhibition also contains many unique foreign aircraft used to illustrate the major steps in the development of aviation. Visitors can get close to a range of flying machines from an early airship gondola, a Blériot from 1909 and the most up to date aircraft, the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The installation process started with the museums requirement for the installation of exhibits into the new building. Not only was there a list of exhibits, but the precise positioning and orientation was also specified. It fell to Unusual to deliver the requirement and at this point, Robin Elias started to firm up a programme of works to implement the scheme.
Work started late in 2002 on two fronts. One of the key contract requirements was that the exhibits should not undergo any permanent modification to enable them to be exhibited in the required manner. All modifications were to be temporary and reversible. Working closely with a specialist aircraft structural engineer, Unusual made a thorough appraisal of the structural integrity of all exhibits in relation to the Museum’s requirement. Meanwhile, Unusual’s design office was kept busy with the process of interpretation of the structural reports back to the complex 3D drawings. Eventually, a master plan evolved for the whole exhibition hall.
The temporary modifications to the aircraft required some complex bracketry, which was fabricated in Unusual’s workshops. A theoretically simple rigging process was qualified by two factors. The first and probably most obvious becomes apparent when looking at pictures of the exhibition hall. It was imperative to get everything installed in the right order with safe working systems. A less obvious complication was the true nature of the exhibits. Some are the ‘real thing’ weighing over 4 tonnes, some are models and some are downright old and flimsy. Getting them into position with the correct orientation for the final fix was a painstaking and time consuming exercise.
Overall, Unusual suspended 14 aircraft. Unusual also built and designed a stand for the Harrier to include the installation of the aircraft on the stand. The whole project lasted for a little over a year with modifications and additions being added during the contract period.
