Pre-production model of a Howden HWP 300 Wind Turbine and Landrover

Made:
1980-1983 in Glasgow and Portugal
maker:
Vitesse
and
James Howden & Company Limited
Sectioned scale 1:40 model of a Howden HWP 300 Wind Turbine

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Sectioned scale 1:40 model of a Howden HWP 300 Wind Turbine
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Sectioned scale 1:40 model of a Howden HWP 300 Wind Turbine, by Angus Model Makers, Glasgow, Scotland, with a 1:43 scale model of a Landrover vehicle & human figure, by Vitesse, Portugal, 1980-1983. The tubine model was constructed prior to production of the real object, which was installed at Burgar Hill, Orkney, on 20 October 1983.

Model (Scale 1:50), wind turbine, by James Howden & Co,. 1988. Wind turbines usethe wind to make electricity. Wind turns the blades, which turn a shaft connected to a generator. This converts the kinetic energy of the wind into electricity. James Howden launched this 31 metre tall wind turbine design, the largest available at the time, in the early 1980s after testing a much smaller prototype. Despite their size, the Howden turbines did not perform very well. In 1990 they were installed in California in considerable numbers. However, the plan was unsuccessful -this was a costly lesson for Howden, forcing the company out of the market.

Details

Category:
Motive Power
Object Number:
1990-398
Materials:
mahogany (wood), brass (copper, zinc alloy), cotton (fibre), rubber (unidentified), steel (metal), felt, paper (fibre product) and mica
Measurements:
overall (assembled): 870 mm x 470 mm x 413 mm,
type:
replica and wind turbine
credit:
Howden Wind Turbines Limited

Parts

Pre-production model of a James Howden wind turbine

Pre-production model of a James Howden wind turbine

Sectioned scale 1:40 model of a Howden HWP 300 Wind Turbine, by L.S. Angus and Co. Limited, Scotland, 1980-1983. Actual turbine made by James Howden & Company Limited, Glasgow, Scotland, 1983.