Monthly Talks Programme
These take place on the last Thursday of each month at 19:30 (No Talks are held in August and December). The price for Talks at the Fleet Air Arm Museum for 2024 is £6.00. We are continuing to improve the standard of our live Zoom option with the aim of widening the audience for these talks. The cost for this option is £4.00.
Access for Thursday evening Talks at the Fleet Air Arm Museum is via the ground floor access gate, which is to the left of the main entrance stairs. Ring the bell on the sign to the left of the gate and a staff member will come and let you in.
Guests and non members are very welcome at the Museum or on Zoom. Tea/Coffee, Wine and Soft Drinks are available for a donation in the FAAM Auditorium before the presentation starts and also in the interval.
These are very popular events and we encourage you to purchase tickets beforehand to ensure entry. Entry is possible on the door of the night of the Talk but only if the maximum capacity has not been reached. Pre-paid tickets are guaranteed entry as priority will be given to pre-paid ticket holders. Tickets are available online via PayPal. Other payment options are available by BACS and Cheque. Please note: there is a cut off for purchasing advance tickets on the Tuesday before a Thursday Talk at 19:30 when the PayPal links will be disabled. Any payments received after the cut-off will be held over to the following month’s Talk.
NON SoFFAAM MEMBERS
Are very welcome to our Thursday evening Talks both at the Fleet Air Arm Museum and on Zoom. Consider joining SoFFAAM to get the benefits of entry to the Museum and other society privileges. See our Membership page HERE.
NB. We do not issue physical tickets. Names will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium. You will be asked for your Surname and checked-in on the night. The same is for Zoom where you will be checked as you log-in. Zoom links are sent out 48 hours before the talk takes place. For further details on any of the monthly talks, please contact us.
Alistair Hodgson – The de Havilland Comet airliner – the 75th anniversary of her maiden flight.
Thursday 31 October 2024 at 19.30
This October sees the welcome return of Alistair Hodgson.
Seventy-five years ago, the de Havilland DH106 Comet made its maiden flight: as the world’s first jet airliner, it revolutionised air travel. But the aircraft had significant design flaws, and these led to several fatal accidents: while the popular belief is that the Comet’s square windows were the cause of the crashes, the reality is much more complicated and this talk will look at the true causes of the disasters.
Following re-design, the Comet enjoyed a successful career and its iconic shape has inspired many preservation projects on surviving airframes, some of which we will look at more closely.
Alistair Hodgson is an engineer and is the former Curator of the de Havilland Aircraft Museum in Hertfordshire: he is currently the Curator of a small museum in the old Headquarters of the de Havilland Company at Hatfield. His particular interest is naval aviation and he is restoring a Sea Venom fighter at the de Havilland Museum.
Payment options will become available at the beginning of October.
October 2024 Talk Payment Information.
Members and guests attending at the FAA Museum is £6.00ea and Zoom £4.00ea. You can also pay on the door on the night to see this Talk, but priority will be given to pre-paid tickets if the hall capacity is reached.
PLEASE NOTE: there is a cut off for purchasing advanced tickets on the Tuesday prior to the Talk at 19:30 when the PayPal link will be disabled. Any BACS or Cheque payments received after this time will be held over to the following months Talk.
PayPal
To attend at the Museum is £6.00
To pay to attend at the Museum by PayPal, please click HERE.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium. You will be asked for your Surname and checked-in on the night.
PayPal
To attend on Zoom is £4.00
To pay for Zoom by PayPal, please click HERE.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the Zoom attendance list and you will be checked-in on the night.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
BACS
BANK: Lloyds Bank plc. Sort Code: 30-99-98 Account No: 00857987
Please reference the payment with your Surname/Oct so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the October 2024 Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
Cheque
Please send a cheque payable to SoFFAAM:
Membership Secretary, Coombe View, 1 Coombe Villas, Coombe Orchard, Chapel Street, Axmouth, Devon, EX12 4AU.
Please reference the payment with your Surname/Oct so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the October 2024 Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
Paul Hand – The ‘Lizzie’ (Lysander) and Westlands
Thursday 28 November 2024
Paul’s details of his Talk will appear here in the near future.
Payment options will appear below at the end of October.
Thursday Evening November 2024 Talk Payment Information.
Members and guests attending at the FAA Museum is £6.00ea. You can also pay on the door on the night to see this Talk, but priority will be given to pre-paid tickets if the hall capacity is reached.
PLEASE NOTE: there is a cut off for purchasing advanced tickets on the Tuesday prior to the Talk at 19:30 when the PayPal link will be disabled. Any BACS or Cheque payments received after this time will be held over to the following months Talk.
PayPal
To attend at the Museum is £6.00
A PayPal link will appear here at the end of October.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium. You will be asked for your Surname and checked-in on the night.
PayPal
To attend on Zoom is £4.00
A PayPal link will appear here at the end of October.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the Zoom attendance list and you will be checked-in on the night.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
BACS
BANK: Lloyds Bank plc. Sort Code: 30-99-98 Account No: 00857987
Please reference the payment with your Surname/Nov/Thur so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the November Thursday 2024 Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
Cheque
Please send a cheque payable to SoFFAAM:
Membership Secretary, Coombe View, 1 Coombe Villas, Coombe Orchard, Chapel Street, Axmouth, Devon, EX12 4AU.
Please reference the payment with your Surname/Nov/Thur so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the November Thursday 2024 Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
Marc Heighway – D-Day Launch Pad – RAF Needs Oar Point ALG
PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS ON A SATURDAY MORNING: Saturday 7 December 2024 at 11.00
SoFFAAM is delighted to announce a Saturday lecture at FAAM this December.
Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944 required the single engined fighter-bomber squadrons of both the RAF Second Tactical Air Force and USAAF 9th Air Force to operate as near to the Normandy battle area as possible. This requirement to maximise sortie time over the five assault beaches saw a network of 23 two-runway Advance Landing Grounds constructed across the south coast stretching from Hampshire to Kent. Four ALGs were sited in the New Forest and RAF Needs Oar Point on the shores of the Solent was the last built. Operational from 10 April 44, by D-Day it was home to RAF 146 Wing comprising four Hawker Typhoon ground attack squadrons. The story of these temporary wartime AEAF airfields – that were activated for D-Day only – is rarely told and Marc Heighway will bring Needs Oar Point’s to life.
Photo is of RAF 257 (Burma) Squadron Hawker Typhoon pilots; the squadron was operational at Needs Oar Point from April until July 1944
Access to the museum is free to SoFFAAM members. Members can bring up to four guests at 30% discount on the museum entry price and must be pre-booked. See the SoFFAAM website HERE about this.
Non SoFFAAM Members are welcome to attend this Talk but they MUST also purchase a museum entry ticket AND pay Talk ticket fee. If you become a SoFFAAM member, you have free entry to the museum for the whole year of your membership. This membership costs less than buying a Ticket from FAAM and our membership form can be downloaded HERE. Membership must be taken out at least a week before its intended use to gain free entry to the museum to allow for processing.
Payment options for advanced Talk ticket sales are as below.
December SATURDAY 2024 Talk Payment Information.
Members and guests attending at the FAA Museum is £6.00ea and Zoom £4.00ea. You can also pay on the door on the day to see this Talk, but priority will be given to pre-paid tickets if the hall capacity is reached.
PLEASE NOTE: there is a cut off for purchasing advanced tickets on the Thursday prior to the Talk at 19:30 when the PayPal link will be disabled. Any BACS or Cheque payments received after this time will be held over to the following months Talk.
PayPal
To attend at the Museum is £6.00
To pay by PayPal , please click HERE.
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium. You will be asked for your Surname and checked-in on the night.
PayPal
To attend on Zoom is £4.00
To pay by PayPal, please click HERE
We do not issue physical tickets. PayPal informs us you have paid and your name will be added to the Zoom attendance list and you will be checked-in on the night.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
BACS
BANK: Lloyds Bank plc. Sort Code: 30-99-98 Account No: 00857987
Please reference the payment with your Surname/Dec/Sat so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the December 2024 Saturday Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
Cheque
Please send a cheque payable to SoFFAAM:
Membership Secretary, Coombe View, 1 Coombe Villas, Coombe Orchard, Chapel Street, Axmouth, Devon, EX12 4AU.
Please reference the payment with your Surname/Dec/Sat so we know which talk you are paying for.
For Zoom, you must email soffaam.joinup@gmail.com requesting your Zoom invite. Please advise your payment is for the December 2024 Saturday Talk.
Your name will be added to the audience attendance list at the Museum Auditorium or to the Zoom attendance list.
Zoom links will be sent 48 hours ahead of the Talk. If you have not received one by 24 hours ahead of the Talk, please contact soffaam.joinup@gmail.com
2025
Sqn Ldr (retd) Rod Dean – Flying the Hunter operationally and for fun
Thursday 30 January 2025
Alan Lawson – Saddam Hussein – my part in his downfall in 2003
Thursday 27 February 2025
TBC
Thursday 27 March 2025
TBC
Thursday 24 April 2025
Flying the SEPECAT Jaguar in the RAF – Sqn Ldr (retd) Micheal Morison
Thursday 29 May 2025
TBC
Thursday 26 June 2025
Battle for South Georgia – Lt Keith Mills RM (retd)
Thursday 31 July 2025
TBC
Thursday 25 September 2025
TBC
Thursday 30 October 2025
TBC
Thursday 27 November 2025