The Newark Air Museum MEGA-FEST WEEKEND

12/13^th June 2004

During this weekend in 2004 Newark Air Museum will create a 'mega-event' by bringing together two of it's special events and running them as one. Each will run under its own sub-event banner, so CockpitFest, TransportFest and Aeroboot will each run much as before with the established formats continuing. The benefits are wide ranging and will be beneficial to everybody, especially the visitor who will get two events for the price of one. Bringing the themes together under a new event banner will also give scope for event growth in the future, and will also be mutually supportive by appealing to people with different interests. This will coincide with a time of museum development as a new hanger will have been built and many exhibits moved around the site, so there will always be something new to see, especially during special event weekends. This is something that will encourage more visitors, as it will give excellent value for money on a day out. We believe this will give each participant maximum exposure to the public, with the event cross over bringing people to the event who may not have visited before, therefore allowing you to show your exhibit to a wider range of people.

CockpitFest 2004

This is the annual gathering of members of the International Cockpit Club who each year travel to NAM with their cockpits and / or aircraft interior parts, to display them to the public, to whom these items are rarely seen. This event is sponsored by FlyPast, the UK’s top selling aviation monthly. The cockpits are in various stages of restoration, from the newly acquired wreck, through ongoing projects, to fully restored cockpits. All of these types form the ethos of what CockpitFest is about, the saving and conservation of our aviation heritage, it is not, nor ever will be a beauty parade of perfect cockpits. Part two of CockpitFest is known as the "Interiors" and features anything that goes inside a aircraft, this can include flying clothing, survival equipment, flying helmets, instrument panels, control columns, gun turrets, ejector seats, etc. This became part of the event from day one but some collectors may still be unaware of this. Owners/Collectors of the above wishing to display at CockpitFest 2004 should contact us with details.

Lightnings 50^th Anniversary

A sub theme running through CockpitFest 2004 will be the Lightning’s 50^th Anniversary, to celebrate this we are asking those with Lightning cockpits to give these a priority for 2004 and bring them along, also those with Lightning interior displays. To allow this theme to grow we would welcome contact from anybody who may wish to display Lightning related material during this event.

Aeroboot - Aviation and Avionics Sale

During the Saturday of this weekend we open a special area for an aviation and avionics sale, this tends to focus on the selling of aviation books, videos, photos, prints, uniforms and parts. Pitches for this are available, in this traditional booters setting, please contact NAM for details.

TransportFest

This event is aimed at commercial, rescue and military vehicles, mainly those that have now passed into the category of classics, but recent or modern vehicles can also participate. These vehicles are generally vans, buses, and lorries or maybe types of cars that were used for a commercial or professional purpose. These are likely to have had, or are undergoing, restoration work carried out on them with the view of returning them to original condition, both types would be welcomed. Owners of these vehicles are invited to display them during this special event weekend in the relaxed setting of the museum.

Contacts

Please contact members of the museum events team if you would like to participate in this event. They are,

• Bill O’Sullivan for CockpitFest and Lightning
• Ray Hind / Bill O’Sullivan for Transport Festival
• Howard Heeley for Aeroboot