Simviation Forums

hi,

what do you think is the worlds Mecca of aviation? which place you have to visit at least once if you are an aviation freak (like all of us). is it Everett (Boeing), NY (Wright Bros), AMARC, Reno (Air Races),...

personally i think it's Edwards AFB. so much aviation history is written over there...

I'm going to cheat a bit, but given one day...

AM Old Warden, Bedfordshire
PM Duxford, Cambridgeshire

They're only about 30 miles apart, so I could get away with that...

Charlie

I'd say the RAF Museum at Hendon, but Duxford is a close second.

Ozzy

I've been to the Boeing Plant in Everett, WA. Although I was young, it still fascinated me.

I'm hoping to be at the Reno Air Races this year

Monino or AMARC, Duxford or kittyhawk

You guys are gonna think I am soooo pro-Yank, but I have to admit that the best time I ever had was when I went to Dayton Ohio for a flying (R/C) weekend.....it was held on the runways of Wright-Patterson, and gee, guess what is there.....USAF Museum, housing my all-time fav the XB-70............one of the organisers of our group got in touch with the museum personel, and after closing, we were given two hours free time, with the extra note of "you can cross the barriers but do it with care and respect as you all know the value of these things"..........immediately after this two hours we were given a new release IMAX presentation  too........  Well, say no more.........

I've got to say Duxford. I vist about four times every year and the place is still magic. Flying Legends is just pure Warbird heaven

what and where is Monino and what the hell happened at Duxford in the early days?

.....I'm hoping to be at the Reno Air Races this year

Don't forget to take your camera with you Andrew.
Those are some pics I would love to see*

Cheers mate... ...!
Paul.
(England).

*our local Shobdon air races are being held here in August...always lots of fun and a big attraction... ...!

If i have the chance, time and money i want to see all of the following list

• Monino aircraft museum in Moscow(Russia)
• Simsheim/Speyer... one of the biggest russian aircraft collections in western europe including the An-22 and the Tu-144 (Germany)
• Oshkosh(USA)
• National air and space museum and the AMARC (USA)
• USAF museum  in Arizona (USA)
• Duxford, and some other ones in the UK
• Anywhere where they have either a Concorde, SR-71, XB-70 or a few MiG's

So i can start when the new aerospace museum in Lelystad (holland) is finished. they have:
Constellation
2 DDA DC-3's
MiG-21
a load of Fokker aircraft

and they are hoping to get a DC-8-30 to there somewhere in the future

Coliab,
Monino is the big aircraft museum (dump) in moscow on a former air force base. don't forget to take dollars and cigarettes with you if you want to go there and make photo's (only of the outdoor part, and they usually want bribes for it)

what the hell happened at Duxford in the early days?

Duxford was an RAF fighter station in the early part of WW2. 19 Sqdn based at Duxford was the first to recieve the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire. Aces like Barder and Jonnie Johnson served there at one time or another. Later it was used by the USAAF as a fighter station with P-47 Thunderbolts.
These days it's the home of the UK Warbird scene with a number of operators based on the site as well as a very large collection belonging to the Imperial War Museum.

I was fortunate enough to have a guided tour of the Imperial War Museum collection at Duxford last year. Also seen the museum's reserve collection at RAF Wroughton with many rare exhibits. I've visited so many museums & air displays including Old Warden & the RAF Museum Hendon over the years. One ambition yet to be achieved is the DH Moth rally at Woburn Abbey.

While in the US a few years ago I finally got to spend a day at the National Air & Space Museum, Washington DC. Often the smaller museums & events are most interesting, like the regular Old Rhinebeck displays with airworthy examples of authentic WWI aircraft which I saw during the same trip. Back home, the G-VFWE (Great Vintage Flying Weekend) is a must for anyone like me with a passion for vintage light aircraft. This event has been held at the old Red Arrows base at RAF Kemble for the last 2 years.

However, having seen all this I wouldn't miss the local annual RAFA display at Shoreham which is well worth a visit & virtually just down the road from my home.

middle wallop, yeovil are both good places to visit.
and the U.S. space and rocket center in huntsville, AL is a really good place to visit

The Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovil is good. Its got loads of historic aircraft like the Concorde prototype and others.

Also Hendon is very good.

Don't forget to take your camera with you Andrew.
Those are some pics I would love to see*

Cheers mate... ...!
Paul.
(England).

*our local Shobdon air races are being held here in August...always lots of fun and a big attraction... ...!

Hi Paul!

Don't worry, I'll be taking a camera and lots of film!!

cheers