As we reported earlier, the Classic Air Force Museum, based at Newquay Airport in Cornwall, United Kingdom opens today, March 29, 2013. In celebration of the grand opening the museum is waiving all admission fees through Monday to give local residents an opportunity to experience the sights, sounds and smells of working vintage aircraft, including the opportunity to take to the skies in these machines of days gone by.
Housed within the newly-renovated 63,000 square foot hangar 404 which was originally used for Nimrod anti-submarine airplanes, the museum will boast over 30 planes owned or loaned to the museum’s parent organization, the Classic Aircraft Trust. Presently on show are a de Havilland Dragon Rapide, a Percival Proctor, an Avro Anson, an English Electric Canberra, a Douglas DC-3 Dakota, a Hawker Hunter, Vickers Varsity and a BAC Jet Provost to name but a few.
Group Captain Davie Paton OBE, a 37 year veteran of the RAF and chief executive of the Classic Air Force Museum came out of retirement to take on the challenge of running this ambitious enterprise. Says Captain Paton: “..one day I saw an ad to run an air force (and) I immediately knew this was what I wanted to do. I have all the problems of running a conventional air force here. I need to think about the engineering, maintenance and administration, while at the same time I am operating a tourist attraction. I need to think about the pilots, the pleasure flying and the public getting what they want. I want us to create real dynamism here, with new aircraft arriving all the time. I am determined that people who visit in 2014 will not see what they saw in 2013.”
We here at Warbirds News wish this exciting venture much success and encourage our readers in the area to get out and support what looks to be an exciting new air museum.
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