Philosophy Of Child Friendly Aviation Museum Works

An aviation museum that extolls its child friendly virtues is getting ready to open again post Covid19.

The Bournemouth Aviation Museum next to Hurn Airport in Dorset is in the last stages of getting organised to receive visitors following the Coronavirus lock down.

Hands on for youngsters at Bournemouth Aviation Museum.

For Hands On Child Friendly Aviation Fans

Located in a prime position with full hands-on child friendly exhibits.  No switch, button or lever is off limits for the young ones to touch in the cockpits! Plus, also with great views over the comings and goings of Bournemouth Airport too!

As with many similar sized aviation collections it’s the volunteers that keep these places running. Therefore, many of the 40 members whilst possible in lock down turned out to improve the appearance and help put together numerous newer displays.

Former RAF Red Arrows boss and long-term volunteer Chris Christie is looking forward to getting the visitors both big and small back to the museum.

Chris Christie, Bournemouth Aviation Museum.

He said, “We are unique in the aviation museum world. As we have many cockpits open to the public and we allow un-supervised access to many of them.

“There is a trade off between allowing this and on the wear and tear to the collection. However, the children just love the fact that they can touch!

Dress up and child friendly Aviation Museum.

“The Museum committee have thought long about this. But acknowledge that the thrill the youngsters get is in itself a reward.  Without doubt, this really helps to make it such a popular day out around the Bournemouth area.

From a tiny one-seater, twin engined Cri Cri (cricket) the smallest twin engine aircraft in the world, to most of a Boeing 737/200. Complete with its cockpit and half the fuselage. Plus, a Vulcan jet bomber cockpit which is one of their most popular exhibits.

Cri Cri at Bournemouth Aviation Museum.

One volunteer purchased the Boeing 737 and then donated it to the collection.  This plane has many direct connections with Bournemouth Airport.

Peter Bath And Palmair

For this was the plane used by local well-known Travel Agent, Peter Bath who ran a variety European passenger services in his Palmair plane for many year from the airport.

Peter Bath advertising Palmair at the time.

Full access of course to the cockpit and passenger seating area in it.  Where you can read and see some of its history.  Then you can even dress up as crew too!

Palmair Boeing 737 at Bournemouth Airport.

Another plane in the collection was purchased for just One pound!

A Return For One Exhibit At £1 !

Quite a bargain for a BAC1- 11 (BAC One-Eleven) which came from Empire Test Pilots School at Boscombe Down Wiltshire.

This also has many local ties to what was once called Hurn Airport.

BAC 1-11 back at Bournthouth once again.

For it was then main production and flight-testing base of the Hunting conceived BAC1-11 plane and this was carried out at what is now the airport across the road.

There is also another very modern collection that is near to the museum that you can view from the grounds. Although British Airways at the moment denies that they have around 40 aircraft in storage there?

British Airways not really part of the Bournemouth Aviation Museum…but it works!

Less than 80 meters way the Airbus and Dreamliners planes lined up do make an amazing sight!

As well as the all the cockpits and full-sized aircraft on show in the museum, there is a large collection of aircraft models made at numerous scales and sizes.

One of the model displays at Bournemouth Aviation Museum.

Child Friendly And More Healthy

No museum would be complete without a small shop.  Here, there are dozens of models  on display and those can be bought, along with books and magazines. Some food, ice creams and refreshments are on sale too.

Certainly, this is an amazingly welcoming and child friendly museum attraction.

The major aircraft in their collection are all housed outside.

The advantage of being outside in these days of Covid19

Although, as this turns out.  This is a real plus health-wise. With Coronavirus much harder to transmit in the sunshine and fresh air.

Making the Bournemouth Aviation Museum a perfect choice for a child friendly visit as it becomes hopefully even more safer with the Covid19 infection in the country in decline too.

APPENDIX:

Wessex Helicopter Mystery

This is I am fairly sure is a story of some light hearted inter-service rivalry.

This Wessex and it is a Westland Wessex helicopter.  It would have once been painted in the Fleet Air Arm anti-submarine squadron colours of blue below and yellow on the upper surfaces. Excluding the radome as that would have been blue too. Therefore, this is a Wessex HAS 3  Ser no: XT 257 in disguise!

The story goes that it was moved to Boscombe Down for development flying trials in the mid 60’s and the RAF did not like the idea of flying around in Royal Navy colours.  So, it seems it got blasted with the paint spray gun all over in yellow and then marked up as SAR.  All it is thought to make the RAF crews feel more at home with it. (Unless you know different?)

Stripped out now, in the lower cabin there would have had room for two in there. With pilot and co-pilot aloft as normal.  A dipping sonar operator and a navigator position alongside monitoring the radar.  Positioned in front of them the sonar transducer would be lowered from inside through a hole in the floor and in operation it would hover for sometimes hours.  40 or 50 feet over the sea. It never saw active Royal Navy service.

Another of those little mysteries solved?

For Info: Author saw service with 820 Squadron who were flying Wessex HAS 3’s at that time.