Museums and Airfields
 

Hey Everybody,
I am an American Airlines pilot getting ready to transfer to European flying soon.. I am interested in finding some good museums/airfields that have WWII era aircraft. I will be flying primarily to England/France/Italy/Scandinavia and would appreciate any suggestions on where to visit. Thanks for the help....

Hi Alaska. Duxford, the Imperial War Museums airfield has to be on your list. Also the RAF Museum at Hendon, London and RAF Cosford (the storage & display airfield for the RAF Museum). The Yorkshire Aircraft Museum at Elvington is well worth a visit as they have the only intact Halifax (a replica of Friday the 13th in which my dad was a F/E) in the world at the moment. Try [email protected] or www.ipc.co.uk/pubs/aeroplan.htm for a full listing of aviation museums in the UK.

Good hunting

PS You can fly into Duxford and Elvington

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CubTrek. To slowly go...

I'd recommend: -

RAF Museum, Duxford (Cambridgeshire, England)
- Huge WW2 collection.

Shuttleworth Trust, Old Warden (Bedfordshire, England)
- Old aircraft, up to and including WW2, all in flying condition.

Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton (Somerset, England)
- Royal Navy Collection, large WW2 collection included.

G

Just to add,
That there is a WW2 museum at Hawkinge in Kent. Well there was about 12 years ago when I went. Anyone know if it's still there?
Duxford and the Fleet Air Arm Museum are a MUST.

Enjoy them, VFE.

The Hawkinge Battle of Britain museum is still there in the old armoury but the old flying area is gradually getting covered with house shaped shoeboxes.. Excellent display of memorabilia, uniforms and other artifacts and full size reps of Spits, Hurris and 109s.

As an ex-fishead I would point out that one of the best is the Army Air Corps museum at Middle Wallop. I'm sure you'd be able to fly in there.

And whatever you do, don't miss Shuttleworth's saturday evening flying displays, they are awesome if only for the rarity of what flies there. A formation of Spit, Hurricane, Gladiator and Lysander on my last visit, the L shaped crowd line is both a display pilot's and photographer's dream. Take a picnic too.

Have fun!

And how did we forget the RAF museum at Hendon, no flying there since the thirties but what a collection, even if you do have to drive.

[This message has been edited by Pinger (edited 15 August 2000).]

Thanks for the ideas everbody!

dont forget the museum of army flying at middle wallop.......http://www.flying-museum.org

Hi.

If you're going to Denmark, I can definitely recommend two spots.

One is a dedicated vintage museum at the airfield Stauning (EKVJ) in Jutland, the western peninsula of Denmark.

The other is a recently opened branch of the Danish Technical museum in Elsinore (Helsingør) approx. 25 NM N of Copenhagen. That means you can go and see Hamlet's castle Kronborg as well ;-)

Enjoy your trip

there are museums at stockholm arlanda (take the free bus to the SAS hotel and it is a short walk)and at helsinki vanta(not far from the terminal but i dont know about busses)also a very good one at paris le bourget.

[This message has been edited by A and C (edited 17 August 2000).]

Don't forget the Fleet Air Arm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton, http://www.fleetairarm.com

which you can probably fly into. In France there is the national collection at le Bourget, Paris, which you can definitely (but expensively) fly into.

The Shuttleworth Collection is just outstanding, with a fantastic period feel to the airfield, particularly if you visit it during the week.

[This message has been edited by skua (edited 25 August 2000).]

Alaska if you're getting up to Norway then try the WW2 Musem at Stavanger (S. Norway) and even further north at Bodo is a v impressive Military Aviation musem

Good luck

SP

Last year I stumbled on the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, on the former site of RAF Tangmere.
It is one of the most interesting museums I have ever visited, not a typical formal museum environment, but CRAMMED full of remarkable artifacts, including many personal items.
In my opinion, it is really worth visiting, as it is a very personal tribute to the individuals who put their lives on the line during WW2.
It is also run by very enthusiastic volunteers, and is a reflection on their hard work and devotion.
Worth visiting!
http://www.berryman.ndirect.co.uk/tangmere/

Hi Alaska - as an ex AAer myself, (and a current BAer, I can suggest another museum to you. Its located at Sandown Airport on the Isle of Wight (which is but a short Warrior Flight from Shoreham airport). Its not huge but has atmosphere, and is also a fun place to land at (It has a footpath running across the active runway....)

Tangmere also has a small museum, as it used to be a WWII RAF field. I would also suggest the Museum of Flight in Southampton. Give me an e-mail, and we can fix something when you get over here.

Tailwinds

:)

I thought the museum at Sandown had closed (again). It's still worth a vist as it's a nice field with some interesting aeroplanes for hire there (Tiger Moth, Super Cub, R22).

There's also a Norwegian Air Force museum newly opened at Gardermoen.

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When the wheels stop turning you're high enuff. CubTrek. To slowly go...

Cerny Aerodrome (nr La Ferte Alais)about 40 minutes Southwest of Orly in France.

Lots of WW1 and WW2 stuff, many still flying especially at weekends. There is no ATC there which means you can see some 'tres' interesting airmanship (or is it airpersonship these days)especially after the famous French lunchtime.
They also have an Airshow once a year (end of May early June) with lots of visitors (Spits, Mustangs, B17, Lysander, Flamants etc.)

I went up to Duxford in the last week of October and can say it was well worth visiting even without the air displays.

Worst part of the day was the rail epic from Kings Cross to Cambridge. At £16 for a day return ticket that could take over two hours each way (did for me), it makes the bus from Victoria Stn at £9 return and 1:30 each way look good. Online bus tickets can be purchased at www.gobycoach.com

Pinger;

(a bit off-topic, but ho-hum)

You say no flying at Hendon since the Thirties. Not so, I remember going to a display there as a schoolboy - probably late 50s.

Two small outfits worth a mention.

If you like Mosquito's there's a small museum dedicated to them near St'Albans. It's where the first one flew and very interesting. Small private museum but lots of info.

There's a small museum at Wycombe Air Park 30 miles west of London. Don't know what it's like but it seems to have had some money put in it recently.

Duxford is the one, Lots of live restoration work going on in many hangars. Don't miss it.

A good website to find out what's going on at Duxford is www.duxford.org

UnwellRaptor/Pinger - for what it's worth, the last movement out of Hendon was an Anson in the late 60s. The airfield was built over during the 70s but RAF Hendon (not the musueum) became an enclave and finally closed in 1995 or so.

You could always pay us a visit at the London ATC Centre. It's a working musuem with lots of vintage radar and computer equipment. ;)

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PPRuNe Radar
ATC Forum Moderator
[email protected]

"The Museum of Flight." It is in East Fortune, just south of Edinburgh in Scotland. It is on the site of the old RAF East Fortune, and tells the story of the RAF in Scotland during WWII. It was also an airship launching site, and it was from here in 1910s (I think) that the first Atlantic crossing in an airship took place! Good museum, loads of a/c (spits etc) and an all round good day out! :)
So Alaska if you are coming up to Scotland during your stay, and I recommend you do, then pay it a visit!
Have fun, and enjoy your stay!
Eff Oh.

[This message has been edited by Eff Oh (edited 01 November 2000).]

Hi Alaska

Try the RAF Museum at Cosford. An outstanding display of a/c including loads of WW2. They have some rare Japanese models amongst the types on display. There is also a fabulous collection of R&D a/c. A great day out.

Try this: http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/mus/cosfd/cosford.htm

Tonks

[This message has been edited by Tonkenna (edited 01 November 2000).]

I'm looking to visit the RAF Hendon museum on my next stopover. I was planning to take the tube to Hendon Central...will this take me within walking distance?

Go one stop further on the Northern Line to Colindale and it is then about 5 mins walk (signposted)

A couple more suggestions:

There's a rather good little museum at Coventry Airport (Baginton). In the summer, when there are plenty of volunteers, you're allowed to sit in the cockpits (Starfighter, Phantom, Lightnings, Vulcan etc). As well as the jets there are exhibits from the days when Armstrong Whitworth had their factory on the other side of the airfield. Well worth a visit. Also Air Atlantique have their Historic Flight based at the airport.

The second suggestion is the Newark Air Museum, a couple of miles east of the A1. There's gliding alongside the museum, and the runway was long enough to fly in their Vulcan - which must have been some sight! Mostly early jets, but some WWII memorabilia.

Alaska, and anyone else unfortunate enough to transit England's capital city.

The RAF Museum, Duxford and The Shuttleworth collection at Old Warden are a must. If you can pick your days then make sure you are at the latter two for a flying day. All are within a comfortable drive of London.

The Shuttleworth collection at old Warden is an occaision where on flying days people take picnics and sit and watch fantastic rare aircraft climb into the skies.I believe any aviator visiting old Warden would at some point want to go again.Unfortunately the hotel at which we stopped overnight nearby old Warden in the centre of the local town was so bad we should have slept in the car!!

Duxford is awesome!! :) Don't miss it if your in the area. SFly

The thread's been going since August, for heaven's sake, and no-one has mentioned:

The Science Museum - right there in the heart of London.

There are, of course, a few crew-rooms around the country that are full of museum pieces. ;)

But methinks that Alaska has gone on his way and is no longer checking this thread. But we tried, I guess.

mention of the Science Museum reminds me of their Reserve collection/ storage site at Wroughton near Swindon.

I thought I had heard that the Wroughton reserves had all had to be moved.

Certainly, the FAA Museum had to find space at Yeovilton for a lot of the exhibits that used to be at Wroughton. Its now all in a most impressive climate-controlled hangar across the road from the FAA Museum and is a museum in its own right. Some Lottery money was involved, I think, and rightly so.

Shuttleworth collection - an excellent thing, lots of vehicles and other exhibits as well the all flying aircraft collection.

And London's Science Museum - fine aviation section as well as the other facinating collections. You'll spend the day.

Alaska

e me when you're in UK. I would gladly fly to Duxford/Cosford/Coventry/Yeovilton from White Waltham nr Maidenhead.
Any excuse!!