Woodason Aircraft Models And Rosalind Norman

I came across a wonderful website about Woodason Aircraft Models many years ago. Unfortunately that website has gone, but the content has been copied by the Wayback Machine. More recently I found out about Rosalind Norman, the two stories dovetail nicely and this is the result. Link to the archived Woodason site below:
web.archive.org/web/200812281...
Thanks to Peter Graham for information about Rosalind Norman.
Maps courtesy of the National Library Of Scotland
Music: 'Honeysuckle' by Honeyroot
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[@dcmflydude6320]

Thanks Nick. I don’t know how you come up with all this material. It must take enormous amounts of work and time. Very good stuff

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

I've known about Victor Woodason for years but Rosalind Norman was a more recent discovery, found during research into Airwork and Heston. There'll be several films about the old airfields around London, it's a big project.

[@BlueSwallowAircraft]

I started my "professional" aviation career in May of 1987 with my own line of scale flying rubber band powered models. A few years later with 5 different designs, handled by 5 national and international distributors and model for sale in 2 major aviation museums' gift shops, I had sold 10,000 model kits, all for under $10 a piece. Bought my first house in 1991 with the proceeds.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

That's true endeavour. I'm no modeller, the only thing I manage to glue together is my fingers 🤣

[@tennesseered586]

Such intricate models. I wonder, what were their methods? Very good, Nick.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Some were carved from solid wood but it appears that several methods were used. I've added a link to the Woodason archive in the description

[@kbjerke]

Those are some amazingly accurate models, Nick! Thanks for the bit of history!

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

My pleasure. It was a delightful story to research. More history on the way 🙂

[@47stampe]

As always a great. As a teen , taking flying lessons at Weston- super - mare circa late sixties, I earned some flying time as a ramp rat/ dogs body . On the airfield was several wartime huts full of all-sorts, in one hut was old wooden model airplanes ,one of them was the short -Mayo composite, Piggy back hull float planes featured in your movie. The model was a tad damaged so it was given to me to repair (Model builder) I remember the makers brass tag which was Woodasons. I can’t imagine that two of those models would have been built, it was very large and complicated . I repaired the model of the two aircraft and I believe the club, Achilles school of flying gave the model to an aircraft museum. Rick Ontario

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Hi Rick. That is very interesting. Whitney Straight had a financial interest in Woodason Aircraft Models; when they parted company in the late 1940s, Woodason paid off Whitney Straight by giving him several models. Whitney Straight’s HQ was at Weston aerodrome. I think you found those models. It would be good to know where the Short Mayo Composite is now?

[@47stampe]

here I am, mug of tea in hand, looking at a “Whitney Straight” presented cup, given to the Achilles club. The cup given out for yearly club achievements, It belonged to my father who was CFI at that time, wasn’t Whitney, part of the Pratt & ....Whitney family ? Such a small world . I off to one of southern Ontario’s long lasting events this week end, the Tiger boys annual two day open house at Guelph airport ,( Google) treasure that only Aladdin would appreciate , airplane stuff everywhere, with some very interesting old world aircraft engines to be seen . I’ll take a few pics .

[@kieranshanley7365]

Very different and interesting history

[@CaseyJonesNumber1]

Regarding Gaston N Riggs. My grandad, who was a policeman, was off duty at home nearby at the time of the crash - he heard the Mustang in difficulty, and on hearing the crash moments later he rushed to give aid with a couple of neighbours, helping to get Gaston out of his aircraft. I still have the letter of thanks sent to my grandad from the USAAF for his assistance. BTW, I have other photos of Gaston (all the ones now found online were sent to me by his cousin, which I shared about), and I was told that the one you showed of him with a woman, that was Gaston's wife, but it is not him in the photo, it is a friend of Gaston's. The site of Grange Farm house; derelict for 20 years, is now right under the middle of the M4.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Thank you for posting this, very helpful.

[@nevillesutherland6069]

Quite wonderful! I started my journey making models aged about 5, and still going strong. Only a 'modeller' can appreciate the skill and accomplishment producing replicas that actually look like 'real' aircraft. I must do some research into their techniques, sadly supplanted by todays plastic or polystyrene 'foamies'. And view this film again--and likely again,. Thank you Nick for a splendid effort.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

The book that I show at the end is reasonably easy to find, I recently bought a copy for less than £2.

[@PDZ1122]

Great story. I had no idea that model aircraft were such a bog industry.

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

Do you mean ‘big’? 🤣

[@TheHooverit]

my grandad is woodason this is amazing we never new/

[@FlyingForFunTrecanair]

I hope you enjoyed the film, he was a great man.