The Jet Aircraft Museum has been in its current location at London International Airport for a little over a year now. In that time we, the membership, have made great strides toward improving the facility, to make the museum look more museum-like, user friendly and more professional. What have we done in the past year? In one section of the hangar a working maintenance facility has been created for the restoration of aircraft as well as for ongoing & regular maintenance, along with maintenance offices. The main hangar has had all intererior walls painted, including the JAM logo on one wall. We have increased interest in the museum by offering to temporarily house two former racing boats known as hydroplanes, Miss Supertest and the Guy Lombardo Tempo VII. We have had two members join the museum and have brought their aircraft into the museum to fly with JAM including Richard Coopers MiG 15 UTI and L-29 Delphin and Graham Rawlinson and his BAC Jet Provost. We have created a JAM store offering a mix of JAM merchandise (hats, t-shirts, polo shirts and patches) as well as an assortment of other aviation related items such as gorgeous vintage metal aviation signs, aviation pins & patches, aviation photo art by Jeff Stephenson, plastic, wood and diecast models and more. Shortly, we will also increase the size of the store and bring in new merchandise to offer members and visitors, including more JAM specific merchandise, possibly hoodies and jackets. A ladies washroom has been created with all the work, with the exception of the actual plumbing, being done by members volunteering their time to drywall, paint, tile and grout floors, install fixtures (toilets & sinks), etc, saving the museum thousands of dollars in the process. Fixtures, stall walls and other items were all donated. The mens room is also under renovation, adding urinals, painting, tiling the floor and more. A very nice sized classroom, that is available to rent, when not in use by JAM, was created in 2013 with the work being done by our member volunteers and was furnished with some of the 30 tables and 28 chairs that were purchased by a JAM member and donated to the museum. The entire office area was also painted by members. Appliances such as coffee makers, fridges, freezers, etc have been donated by members. The marvelous new jetaircraftmuseum.ca website was created and is being maintained by members and will be added to and updated as necessary on a regular basis. You can now join and/or update your membership online, join our JAM forum as a member, and eventually its hoped that youll be able to view & purchase JAM store items online, including the Cash & Dream Flights Lottery Calendar. Outside the museum signing was created and donated, then put up on the outside of the museum/hangar, by members, to help make the museum more visible to the general public. All our computers were installed by members and are maintained by a member at no cost to the museum. The museum is now open to the general public, Friday from 10:00am - 4:00pm and Saturday from 9:00am - 5:00pm. The front desk is managed by member volunteers who are there to offer you information about the museum and/or give you tours. Currently, Saturday is our maintenance day at the museum and several members are part of the maintenance team assisting with the restoration and maintenance of all our aircraft. We now have computer flight simulators that visitors and members can enjoy while at the museum, all donated and maintained by a member. The Jet Aircraft Museum also offers the facility up as an events facility known as The Silver Star Centre. Several functions have already been held at JAM with more booked for 2014 including corporate and charity events, birthday parties and weddings. If you or your company have an event coming up, book with JAM and the Silver Star Centre. In 2013 JAM was offered a CF-101 Voodoo from another museum in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia. A team of member volunteers made the trip out east in the fall of 2013 to dismantle, load and truck ( transport done by Atlantic Pacific Transport Inc) the Voodoo from Cornwallis to London. The Voodoo now sits on our ramp in the hope that restoration will begin sometime this year. All of this, and more, has been done by museum member volunteers over the past year. All of this has been done while our 2014 Cash & Dream Flights Lottery Calendar was created, printed and sold in order to raise funds for the museum. All of this has been done while the JAM store, and member volunteers, attended several airshows and aviation events, selling calendars and JAM Store merchandise, raising funds for the museum. All of this has been done while regular museum business, Board meetings, members meetings and other events have happened throughout the year. Members, volunteers, have done a wonderful job of helping to make the Jet Aircraft Museum a success and to help ensure the museum grows and is successful. Lets continue on the path toward a vibrant, informative and educational jet flying museum that will keep the history and heritage of our Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Aviation alive for generations to come. As a member, you are part of the past successes of the museum and will be part of continued growth. If youre not currently a JAM member, visit jetaircraftmuseum.ca and become a member. Help support us in our endeavour to ensure the Jet Aircraft Museum thrives and survives. Thank you to all those JAM member volunteers who have worked so hard to get the museum to where it is today. Thank you for volunteering your time. Thank you for your financial donations. Thank you for your donations of items to help run the museum such as computers, TVs, monitors, fridges, etc. Thank you for your donation of books, aviation artifacts, RCAF uniforms, photographs, tools, etc. Thank you for EVERYTHING you do because, without you, there would be no Jet Aircraft Museum.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 10:14:29 +0000
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