Yorkshire Air Museum

Yorkshire Air Museum

The Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial, (RAF Elvington airfield during the Second World War), is an air museum in England. The Museum was founded, and first opened to the public, in the early 1980s.

The Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial is the largest independent air museum in Britain and is the most original Second World War RAF Bomber Command station open to the public and the only base used by the French Heavy Bomber Squadrons, (346 'Guyenne' & 347 'Tunisie'. Preceded by No. 77 Squadron RAF when the Station first opened in 1942. It is also the only Allied Air Forces Memorial in Europe. The Museum has a good international reputation and profile with established branches in Canada and France and is supported by over 4,000 registered “friends” across the world. It is a Corporate Member of Friends of the Few (Battle of Britain Memorial) and the Royal Aeronautical Society.

The Vice Presidents of the Museum include: Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton GCB, BSc, FRAeS, CCMI; General Denis Mercier, Chief of the French Air Force; Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu; and TV Presenter, Jan Leeming.

The Museum's principal activity is in education and the history of flight, through which it is involved with aerospace manufacturers and organisations via its long term "Reach for the Sky" project which delivered the first KS2 History of Aviation educational resource book to all 26,000 primary schools in UK, supported by RAeS and the Ministry of Transport.

The Museum has around 50 aircraft scanning the development of aviation from 1853 up to the current GR4 Tornado. Several aircraft are kept live and operated on special "Thunder Days" during the year. Over 20 historic vehicles and a Registered Archive containing over 500,000 historic artefacts and documents are also preserved at the Museum, which is also the Official Archive for the National Aircrew Association and National Air Gunners Association. It is nationally registered and accredited through DCMS/Arts Council of England and is a registered charity. The 20-acre (81,000 m2) parkland site (which has held the Yorkshire in Bloom, Silver Gilt Award 3 times) includes buildings and hangars, some of which are “listed”, and the site incorporates a 7-acre (28,000 m2) managed environment area and a DEFRA and EA supported self sustainability project called "Nature of Flight". The Museum is situated next to a 10,000ft x 400 acre international standard runway which holds the current European Land Speed Record.

One of the UK’s most important permanent exhibitions on RAF Bomber Command was opened at the Museum by Life Member, Sir David Jason OBE. In 2010 a new exhibition called “Pioneers of Aviation”, and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, was opened featuring the lives and achievements of Sir George Cayley, Sir Barnes Wallis, Robert Blackburn, Nevil Shute and Amy Johnson.

Principal on-site businesses include: Restaurant, Publishing, Retail Shop, Operational Fire Service, Events, Aircraft Operation Engineering Workshops, Archives and Corporate Business Suite. The Museum produces its own films and publications and is also a popular location for TV and film companies.

The Museum undertakes several annual events each year within the general attraction / entertainment area as well as educational / academic events for specific audiences, plus several corporate events in association with companies such as Bentley, Porsche, Banking, Government Agencies etc. The biennial Allied Air Forces Memorial Day takes place in September.

It is operated by 149 employees, of which 138 are unpaid volunteers. A small operations team works closely together in a variety of specialist subjects from PR/marketing to Corporate Affairs and Museum Management.

The Museum is expanding rapidly and currently receives over 90,000 visitors per annum. It has received numerous awards, such as: Top Specialist Attraction in UK - 2011; Top Attraction in Yorkshire, Press Top Tourism Business; York Top Marketing Award and Winalot Top Dog Friendly Museum in UK.

The Museum is open every day except Christmas Day and Boxing Day.