THINGS TO COME?
In 1951, in celebration of the ending of the Second World War and the new world to come in the future, this country held the 'Festival of Britain'.
As a centerpiece SKYLON was created; a soaring needle pointing towards the skies.
Over half a century on and the site and the contents of the Festival of Britain are long gone, but the SKYLON name lives on in an unique REUSABLE space plane.
The man behind this notion is ALAN BOND, British rocket engineer who worked with the late Val Cleaver, one of Britain's foremost rocket pioneers.
SKYLON
Alan Bond and his creation - SKYLON
Work on the development of SKYLON - and its predecessor HOTOL - has been going on for many years.
However on reflection the connection is perhaps not that peculiar. Spacecraft use the science and technology of ceramics for heat shields and - with certain specific modifications - the tiles that decorate the walls of your bathroom,and not that far removed from the tiles that protect the NASA Space Shuttle Orbiters on re-entry.
The late Paul Portelli (left), then CEO of WORLD'S END TILES and Paul Penn-Sayers examine the canards of the 1:18 scale SKYLON model in Paul (PS's) workshop. |
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The Skylon model was built up from many sections of wood, sanded smooth and then coated with resin gel. |
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Skylon arrives in Battersea after a few trials and tribulations. The models was built in two basic parts - the main fuselage and the wing section which can be seen resting against the wall in the background |
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Skylon - being lifted - somewhat unceremoniously into place, courtesy of two technicians and a cherry picker.... | |
SKYLON - in position in the showroom of WORLD'S END TILES |
SKYLON is on display in the Showroom of WORLD'S END TILES
Silverthorne Road, Battersea, London SW8 3HE.
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