Aviation museums

[RooFlyer]

The is a story in the Oz today about various aviation museums around the world: Nocookies

Probably pay walled, so here:

 

[trooper]

Planes of Fame at Chino (CA) is well worth a visit. a LOT of airworthy aircraft...and some really interesting and less common types (P-26!)

 

[tgh]

Closer to Home , the Omaka museum at Blenheim is an outstanding presentation .

 

[Cossie]

This one is good, they have a Vulcan and other bits and pieces. National Museum of Flight

Brooklands is always good to visit. Brooklands Museum

Not forgetting the 2 German museums, whilst not aviation museums as such, they have a great range of planes and even a Soviet space shuttle.

https://speyer.technik-museum.de and Technik Museum Sinsheim

I've been to many in the old East Germany, I'll post links later as we are late for our Lao cooking class!

 

[kelvedon]

Duxford in the UK is a fantastic experience. In one of the hangar you can see them restoring old warbirds.

IWM Duxford

 

[kookaburra75]

The Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden is my favourite, as most of the collection still fly - you can smell the oil when you go into the hangers. Their Airshows are to die for.
The Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon is also another good collection IMHO

 

[docjames]

Visited Duxford twice (as a kid). Fabulous.

Randomly ended up visiting Yorkshire Air Museum ( Yorkshire Air Museum ) last June - actually really good, not necessarily a place you'd go all the way just to do, but a good tie-in with a visit to York York - Wikipedia

 

[seanq84]

MOTAT in Auckland has a large aviation display (plus a lot of other worthwhile exhibits).

Aviation Display Hall Collection|Museum of Transport and Technology|MOTAT|Auckland

 

[ausfox]

The Smithsonian in Washington DC has a fantastic specialist air and space museum in town as well as an equally good new satellite museum nearby in Chantilly, Virginia. The new one the result of a donation of over USD90million from a benefactor who was successful in regional air transportation.

 

[jastel]

Do you mean Udvar Hazy or another brand new one?

Some of my favourites I have visited are -

USA
Smithsonian Air and Space and Udvar Hazy in Washington DC - most famous planes/rockets ever flown
Intrepid Aircraft Carrier in New York - carrier type planes, concorde and space shuttle
Both NASA's - rockets
Ellsworth AFB South Dakota, B52's, B1 Bombers and Nuke missile silos nearby as well.
Pearl Harbour - Hawaii
Yorktown Aircraft Carrier - like Intrepid, not as well kept but can wander anywhere

UK
Duxford - UK planes, have flown into here on a light plane, the new American plane wing is now open again
Hendon - like Duxford older mainly UK planes
Yorkshire Aviation Museum is still set up like a WW2 bomber base, intact Halifax Bomber you can go inside
East Kirkby - Functioning Lancaster Bomber, taxi rides only - not flying
RAF Scampton - Dambusters Museum, Red Arrows...though I think they were moving?
RAF Cosford - excess planes from other museums
RNAS Yeovilton - UK naval aviation
Many ex WW2 stations have some remains or museums and light aircraft runways

Europe
in France many D-Day museums have aviation bits
Royal Military Museum - Brussels all Forces but a large old plane section
National Military Museum - old Soesterberg Air Base - Netherlands, all forces but pretty new
Kbely Aviation Museum - Prague lots older cold war ex Soviet planes and helicopters

Australia
Imperial War Museum Canberra
Most current RAAF bases have Museums in each state some on site some separate.
Have been to Pearce, Amberley, Pt Cook, Wagga, Adelaide, Townsville, Newcastle/Williamstown
Former WW2 bases such as Nhill, and Evans Head have started small museums as well.
Nowra Naval Museum has some planes
Temora Aviation Museum
Qantas at Longreach
HARS at Woolongong
Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra - large collection, lots outside
Small one at Caboolture as well if you are bored...
Oakey Army Aviation Museum
Woomera - Rockets

 

[RooFlyer]

The Smithsonian in Washington DC has a fantastic specialist air and space museum in town as well as an equally good new satellite museum nearby in Chantilly, Virginia. The new one the result of a donation of over USD90million from a benefactor who was successful in regional air transportation.

I wouldn't call the Chantilly 'annex' new. It must have been there 10-15 years. Maybe your are referring to the latest extension of it?

 

[Antoallison]

Just to add to @jastel ’s list:

There is a good little museum at the Aviation Heritage Museum in Bullcreek, WA with a Catalina Flying boat, Dakota C-47, Vampire, Tiger Moth etc and you can take a Avro Lancaster tour @ $125 pp - ouch !

In Wales there is the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre with a replica of a Mk1 Sunderland, and a copy of the book by Flight Lft K C Baff “Maritime is Number about the Aussie connection with Coastal Command in WW2.

Both sites doing an excellent job and staffed by volunteers.

 

[Antoallison]

Agree @ausfox both sites of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC warrant a great day out.

Part of the main one in the National Mall had been closed for renovations (reopened 2016 for the 40th anniversary) after a big donation from Boeing, and I believe they have also ‘enhanced’ the site near Dulles Airport.

 

[Cossie]

For a different take on things I recommend the museum in Cottbus, Flugplatzmuseum Cottbus e.V.

another one close by is Flugplatz Rothenburg/Görlitz

Just north of Berlin is a good one at Finowfurt Luftfahrt in Brandenburg

 

[Major]

The museum at Caloundra is also worth a visit

QAM, Queensland Air Museum – Queensland's Greatest Collection of Aviation History

 

[jastel]

The museum at Caloundra is also worth a visit

QAM, Queensland Air Museum – Queensland's Greatest Collection of Aviation History

Sorry that is the one I meant...not Caboolture, Caboolture has a tiny little one shed one at the airport though.

 

[straitman]

Do you mean Udvar Hazy or another brand new one?

Some of my favourites I have visited are -

USA
Smithsonian Air and Space and Udvar Hazy in Washington DC - most famous planes/rockets ever flown
Intrepid Aircraft Carrier in New York - carrier type planes, concorde and space shuttle
Both NASA's - rockets
Ellsworth AFB South Dakota, B52's, B1 Bombers and Nuke missile silos nearby as well.
Pearl Harbour - Hawaii
Yorktown Aircraft Carrier - like Intrepid, not as well kept but can wander anywhere

UK
Duxford - UK planes, have flown into here on a light plane, the new American plane wing is now open again
Hendon - like Duxford older mainly UK planes
Yorkshire Aviation Museum is still set up like a WW2 bomber base, intact Halifax Bomber you can go inside
East Kirkby - Functioning Lancaster Bomber, taxi rides only - not flying
RAF Scampton - Dambusters Museum, Red Arrows...though I think they were moving?
RAF Cosford - excess planes from other museums
RNAS Yeovilton - UK naval aviation
Many ex WW2 stations have some remains or museums and light aircraft runways

Europe
in France many D-Day museums have aviation bits
Royal Military Museum - Brussels all Forces but a large old plane section
National Military Museum - old Soesterberg Air Base - Netherlands, all forces but pretty new
Kbely Aviation Museum - Prague lots older cold war ex Soviet planes and helicopters

Australia
Imperial War Museum Canberra
Most current RAAF bases have Museums in each state some on site some separate.
Have been to Pearce, Amberley, Pt Cook, Wagga, Adelaide, Townsville, Newcastle/Williamstown
Former WW2 bases such as Nhill, and Evans Head have started small museums as well.
Nowra Naval Museum has some planes
Temora Aviation Museum
Qantas at Longreach
HARS at Woolongong
Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra - large collection, lots outside
Small one at Caboolture as well if you are bored...
Oakey Army Aviation Museum
Woomera - Rockets

You need to also look at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook.

Just to add to @jastel ’s list:

There is a good little museum at the Aviation Heritage Museum in Bullcreek, WA with a Catalina Flying boat, Dakota C-47, Vampire, Tiger Moth etc and you can take a Avro Lancaster tour @ $125 pp - ouch !

Both sites doing an excellent job and staffed by volunteers.

I offered to start and run their Huey at Bullcreek but they wouldn't let me! (It’s only about 30 years since I ran one)

 

[tgh]

but they wouldn't let me

Your reputation had clearly preceded you….

 

[FlyboyAl]

Planes of Fame at Chino (CA) is well worth a visit. a LOT of airworthy aircraft...and some really interesting and less common types (P-26!)

I find the Planes of Fame museum to be a great place to visit.
Plus they have a fantastic airshow in May which I'll be going to for the third time!
The sounds and smells of 20 or 30 Merlins and Packard engines roaring around an airfield, sometime no more than 400 feet away is just fantastic. And if you are in the right place at the right time, you can spend time talking to pilots like Steve Hinton and others about what they do.
We are actually flying to LAX just for the airshow (plus some shopping) and with the airshow tickets for both of us coming in at about A$900, I'm looking forward to a great 2 days.

 

[jastel]

I did do Pt Cook...it is on the list above.

Also I meant the AUSTRALIAN War Memorial in Canberra, I cant seem to edit it again.