Scotland’s National Museum of Flight
The National Museum of Flight is located on an old RAF airfield in East Fortune and was founded as a national museum in the year 1975. It is a museum that highlights the triumphs and the heartache, experienced by the brave men that protected and fought for their countries from the air, and it pays tribute to the designers and the curious, that made flight possible through their unwavering determination, to realize their own dreams. Flight is the one aspect of human curiosity that kept legends like the Wright brothers on the continuous quest to build a craft that could grace the skies, and give humanity the wings to fly.
The Museum of Flight is one of the great
attractions in Scotland, as it has four massive hangers that exhibit the largest
collection
of aviation history and aircraft, that is not only interesting to
adults,
but has educational facilities for scholars and tour groups. One of the
most
treasured exhibits, is the 1896 hang-glider, Pilcher Hawk and the R34
that
in 1919, took off to make the very first transatlantic flight from the
east
to the west, by crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Another rare aircraft that
is
housed at the National Museum of Flight is the Model A biplane that was
created by the Wright Brothers.
Vast collections of photographs, rockets, fine art, models, medals,
weapons, aviation clothing and uniforms, coins, engines, instruments
and
relics, complete the historical collection that is on display at the
Museum
of Flight. A library of reference searches assists visitors and
scholars in
additional research that enhances the visual displays of aircraft that
fought their way into the history books during World War I and World
War II.
It is definitely the aircraft themselves that steal the show.
Well-preserved
and maintained aircraft stand proudly at the National Museum of Flight,
and
it is due to them that the museum stands out amongst the other
attractions in Scotland.
The aircrafts that are on display include the F4S Phantom II.
Bristol
Beaufighter, Spitfighter F.21, Tiger Moth C/N 82537, Goldwing G-MBPM,
Avro
Vulcan V-Bomber, Dan-Air De Havilland Comet 4C, Avro 504, Supermarine
Spirfire, the De Havilland DH 80A Puss Moth and many more interesting
and
historical crafts. Amongst the more modern aircraft on display is the
G-BOAA
Concorde and joined the exhibits in 2005, gives visitors the complete
“Concorde Experience”.
The National Museum of Flight has a Museum Shop available, where
gliders,
books, videos, model kits, die cast models and many other related items
can
be purchased. The Aviator Café supplies visitors with refreshments and
the
museum is proud to be able to accommodate disabled visitors, with
wheelchair
access to the museum, bathrooms and parking, and information is also
available in Braille.
