The RAF Museum in the Midlands is located at Lysander Avenue, Cosford (TF11 8UP) It is free to enter but there is a £6.50 car parking charge. The museum is fully accessible with walkways and ramps throughout – in fact you can have free use of a mobility scooter if required (but you can’t drive the Avis Scorpion tank of the RAF regiment! ) The museum is ideal for families but also interesting and educational for any age group.
Youngsters can get the opportunity to step abourd a VC10 aircraft, sit in the cockpit of a Hunter or Phamtom or just try the interactive exhibits. There are huge hangers full of a variety of historic aircraft going back to the early biplanes as you walk through 100 years of RAF history – including how women went from the WAAFs to becoming pilots. There is a Mosquito bomber made of wood and the oldest surviving Supermarine Spitfire. The story of the Battle of Britain in 1940 is retold. Up close you can see V-bombers, a Vickers Wellington, a Blenheim and a and a TSR2. It is quite awe inspiring to walk under the wings of these mighty aircraft or see the Lightning Jet in vertical display. The museum also tells the story of the Cold War including the Cuban Missile Crisis (When will we ever learn?) There is also an imaginative display about the Berlin Wall plus a collection of Cold War era cars. Another interesting item is the US Pave Low MH-53 Covert ops helicopter. For the brave you can have the experience of a Eurofighter Typhoon inside a flight simulator, a virtual reality immersive Spitfire 360 degrees, Dam Busters flight or one with the Red Arrows. There is even a room where you can try on an RAF uniform.
Unless you are visiting with grandchildren, it’s better in term time because, as you can imagine, it gets very busy. Then when you need a sit down like we did there is a nice cafe in the Visitor Centre. The whole complex is well worth a visit.
P.S. I do not have a great knowledge of aircraft – I just dotted down some notes!
