FEATURES
From the Floor of the Paintshop RAF Lyneham
For the most part of Darren Wilson’s career he worked in the paintshop at RAF Lyneham. When he left, he took with him the idea, and the old paint, that has made him a very successful living…
the Desert Sand finish.We resprayed also military transport vehicles and ground equipment.
D
uring my career in the RAF I was part of a section that paint sprayed the Hercules C130 aircraft,
on primary and minor servicing. During the Gulf wars this included full resprays converting the aircraft to
When I left the RAF, I seamlessly transferred within the station to a position as a civilian contractor, employed in the same trade, this time working at Station Workshops alongside carpenters, metalworkers and those in the Trim Shop. All personnel were focusing on aircraft priorities and components and other duties, including refinishing anything, from station display signs and vehicles to framed Mess honour boards.
In 2003 the decision to close RAF Lyneham was taken and in Jul 11 along with fellow workers, I reluctantly took compulsory redundancy. It had been 22 years of extremely memorable and enjoyable times
working with the Air Force and I will miss it immensely. It was such disappointing decision to close such a well loved station.
Whilst thinking about my future I fell upon the idea to use the the most unlikely of materials. On the floor extraction grids in the spray bay, atomised paint had settled and built up over very many years. It was a substantial thickness made up of hundreds of different coloured layers representing so many years of spraying history. I chipped away at the material from the grids which were about 4.5cm wide and thought, this would be the most superb medium for creating shapes and sculptures.
With practice and a great deal of patience, I allowed my imagination and newly discovered skills, to produce satisfying pieces, including a model of a Hercules,
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Envoy Autumn 2012
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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