Hangar 16M construction work updates

September 2021

The Conservation in Action Workshop opens to the public.

July 2021

Our Patron HRH The Princess Royal formally opens the new Conservation Workshop.

Find out more…

September 2020

On 21st September John Perkins Construction completed the capital works phase of the Hangar 16M project. We are really pleased with how the hangar has turned out, retaining its historic profile with brand new cladding, insulation, external doors and buttresses and newly restored windows, trusses and internal framework.

The hangar is now a safe environment with electricity, drainage and water supply, ready for the installation of equipment needed by our Volunteers to complete important restoration and conservation work.

One interesting external feature of the hangar is the rooflights. The hangar used to have rooflights that were partly painted black, left over from the days of the blackout. These were in need of complete renovation. However, instead of replacing the rooflights (which would have let in more than the levels of light required for an exhibition area and would have adversely affected the building’s insulation), and on request from our local Conservation Planning Officer, our architects created a likeness of the windows. You can see this incorporated into the new roof.

Inside the hangar, a collections storage area, workshop, plant rooms and extraction area have been partitioned off. Heavy duty metal doors are in place to protect volunteers and visitors from the fumes from chemical works, such as doping. Four plant rooms now exist for paint and flammables, to house an air compressor and for welding and electrical engineering. An external wash-down area has also been completed for volunteers to wash down aircraft components.

The original Aircraft Warning lights from the hangar - having previously been restored by some of our volunteers - have now been installed on the roof as a nod to the building's historic use as an aircraft hangar. One of these can be seen in the image below.

Finally, a new lobby and draft exclusion area has been installed, including a fantastic glass viewing panel. This can be used when visitors are unable to enter the workshop due to special events taking place inside, or if the facility is closed to visitors for certain conservation works.

On the glass panel, a graphic has been installed introducing the Conservation in Action Workshop and recognising Biffa Award as our founding partner.

We are now looking forward to when things have returned closer to normality, so we can finalise the interior of the workshop, welcome our volunteers back and get to work again on our important restoration projects. We are really thankful to those of you who have kept up to date with our journey, please continue to watch this space!

August 2020

Works on Hangar 16M have been continuing since May with great progress being made by our contractors. The building has now been entirely re-clad and all the windows and doors have been replaced. A new lobby area has been created, complete with cladding and automatic doors, and internal walls have been plasterboarded to delineate the different areas of the Hangar. Outside, a concrete hardstanding area has been installed at the south end of the Hangar to take the load of vehicles bringing in and out objects for storage and the live conservation and restoration projects.

May 2020

We are pleased to share that works were able to resume on Hangar 16M from Monday 18th May, after the works were paused due to Covid-19. We are delighted that even with the museum closed at present, development on this new exciting project is able to continue. Social distancing measures are in place and this week, the structure is forming for the lobby area and works to the roof.

Bottom metal sheet covering the roof and the ridge profile on the up-stand detail.

April 2020

Towards the end of March, the situation with the Coronavirus pandemic was affecting works on site. Our contractors were experiencing delays with the supply chain, which had a knock-on effect on their progress. On advice from the government, the contractors also reconsidered their approach to social distancing to keep their workers safe. This meant they made the decision to pause works at the end of March until further notice. The length of suspension will depend on advice from the government and the on-going impact on the supply chain.

The Contractor’s need to suspend works, as well as the museum site being closed to visitors and staff for the foreseeable future, means we are “on pause” with the project at the moment.

We look forward to when we can share with you that it is safe enough to continue works on site. In the meantime all of the museum’s and contractor’s staff are keeping safe and well.

MArch 2020

Although the museum had to close its doors to visitors on 18th March the Hangar 16M restoration project and future Conservation in Action workshop has fortunately been able to continue, although this is subject to government advice regarding non-essential construction work.

Since the start of main construction works in January the cladding from the walls and roof has been removed, leaving the skeleton of the listed hangar. With all the original cladding removed the contractors have been working on repairs and replacements to the timbers.

The majority of the work has been to create supports alongside the existing timbers to reinforce the frame to take the weight of the new insulated roof, as the cladding is slightly heavier than the original.

The supports have been fitted sensitive to the historic structure of the building. Once the cladding is replaced, the frame and roof trusses of the building will remain visible from the inside for visitors to admire.

Alongside creating supports and undertaking further timber repairs, the contractors have been digging down to check the foundations of the buttresses that support the Hangar's structure externally. They have been replacing buttresses that have corroded having been sat in mud for decades, deep underground. They have also been excavated concrete within the Hangar's future storage area that needs to be reinforced to take the weight of forklift trucks and the museum objects that will be moving in once the Hangar is complete.

The museum team have been drafting and designing museum panels for the workshop, to extend the museum’s visitor experience into this new exciting space. Information will cover the history of the listed hangar, conservation methods and information about the aircraft restoration projects and more.