Museum thread

Non Air Cadets File 13
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Thought it might be nice to have a thread to share nicher museum recommendations, so I’ll start.

Not too far from me is the RAF Manston History Museum, a fantastic museum with loads of gems (including a Vulcan, Buccaneer, Canberra, Victor cockpit, EE Lightning, Jaguar, full Buccaneer, Nimrod front, Meteor, Chippy, Wessex + many more packed in a relatively small footprint). Also soon to get Nimrod XV232 there too. Also working on the first GR1 Tornado sim, a truly great project. Definitely worth a visit.

Can also be combined with the museum across the road, which houses the former gate guardian Spitfire and Hurricane, to make a great outing, cadets or not!

SAR helicopter has returned too after money disagreements at Lydd, as well as other remnants of GA activity (mostly rotary), so quite a Mecca for aviation.

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https://helimuseum.com/ is fantastic, and not nearly as well known as it deserves!

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Next time I’m down that westerly way I’m definitely going to give it a look! Been on the hit list for a while!

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The Boscombe Down collection is worth a visit. It’s just north of Salisbury, rather than at Boscombe Down, so no security faff. They have lots of cockpit to explore as well as whole aircraft.

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Anyone who has been on camp at Lossie has probably visited, but if you find yourself on the Moray Coast in North East Scotland, www.morayvia.org.uk is definitely worth a visit.

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That was excellent when we went. Has it been affected by the fire at the airfield?

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Fantastic museum. Lots of access to cockpits. They let you actually touch stuff.

The museum at Middle Wallop, Hampshire, is also a good one, along with the Fleet Air Arm museum in Yeovilton, Somerset.

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Not strictly aviation related… but i really enjoyed the Crab Museum in Margate.

Warning. It’s a little bit lefty - but is very jovial in it’s approach to it!

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Also only 5 mins from Manston!

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Elvington is a good day out

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Also on the south coast, Tangmere is good.

And in Lincolnshire, the Aviation Heritage centre is good, especially if there Lancaster is out.

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I’ll add in the Aldershot Military Museum which is small but very atmospheric. Covers basic training over the years, and also has a section on Samuel Franklin Cody.

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Just a minute or two closer to Farnborough is:

Really good little volunteer run musuem, completely free. The building its housed in is also the first HQ of the RAF.

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Fun fact: my squadron’s former Spooner Hut (replaced around 2006ish) is now used as a display space there.

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FAST is a great little museum. I’ve had lunch in Trenchards office there, and my real name is on one of the bricks as I was a Farnborough ‘lad’'.

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I know exactly which building you mean and have been in it. Small world!

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Well this is the Alan partridge of ACC threads

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Since I’m not a massive airplane nerd.

My top 3 favourite museums are

  1. National Railway Museum - York

  2. Yorvik Viking Experience - York

  3. Thackeray Museum of Medicine - Leeds.

Maybe I should just move North to Yorkshire.

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Seeing this mentioned here makes me irrationally happy - by any chance did you get to see the Greatest Gathering?

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