A group of Air Engineer Officers (AEOs) from HMS Sultan recently took a break from their studies in order to provide some voluntary support to the Hovercraft Museum.
The Hovercraft Museum located in Lee-On-The-Solent, occupies the same site as the Interservice Hovercraft Trials Unit (IHTU) which operated at HMS Daedalus from the early 1960s.
It houses the largest collection of hovercraft in the world with models including those seen in James Bond, Scrap Heap Challenge as well as ex-military, racing and commercial models.
The AEOs are currently working towards their Systems Engineering and Management Course (SEMC) for Air Engineers at the Royal Naval Air Engineering & Survival Equipment School (RNAESS), part of the Defence College of Technical Training.
With so many different displays, there were plenty of tasks for the SEMC students to undertake.
Class leader, Sub Lieutenant Matthew Shaw said, “We’ve done lots to help move the exhibits around and also helped to clean things up a little ahead of the museum reopening for the summer. It’s actually really interesting to see everything that they have on offer."
"I think exercises like this are really good for team building, thankfully we’re all quite a tightly knit class, which means we all work together and will chip in. It's great to be out making a positive contribution within our local community."
Hovercraft Museum Trustee Stephen Henderson said, “It’s fantastic to have them here, they're a godsend. We open for the first time on the 1 April and the team have come and done a lot, making a significant contribution towards making things ready.”
“I used to be based as an Aircrewman within the training unit and we've had a good chat about the history and I think the interest is there. We were unique at the time and no one knew what they (hovercraft) could do and the records are there that show that they did everything we asked.”
The Hovercraft Museum opens to the general public for the first time this year on Saturday 1 April. For further information on the museum please visit: www.hovercraft-museum.org.
