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Going to London

pilotmansam

Active Member
This may not be the right kind of post for this forum, but looking for some feedback anyway.
My wife and I are going to be in London in September (no, flying commercial). I've never been there and I am looking for any suggestions on interesting aviation places to visit. I am sort of a WWII aviation enthusiast since my Dad was a P-51 driver. Any feedback welcome. Thanks so much!
-- Sam Hart
 
Sam,

Will you have access to a car? If so, definitely plan a day trip to Cambridgeshire to see the Duxford air museum.

Within London, the RAF Museum and the Imperial War Musem are both more or less accessible via the Tube and are packed with great exhibits. One caveat, on my most recent trip (last September) the IWM was undergoing major renovation and nearly all the aviation stuff was packed away. Not sure if that's been sorted out yet or not.

Of course there are innumerable other things to do and see in the great city of London, but the above are the first ones that came to mind with an aviation theme.

- Matt
 
The tube gets you from Heathrow to the train station. That gets you to Duxford and there is a bus(during the sumer months) direct to the airfield and museum.
 
RAF Museum in London

2nd going to Duxford, it is great. There is a RAF museum in London and it is free! Info here: http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk

It is 30 minutes from Central London.

Also the Croydon airport visitor centre. http://www.croydonairport.org.uk/Visitor-Centre

The Imperial War Museum in. London opens 19 July. Info here
http://www.iwm.org.uk/exhibitions/iwm-north/from-street-to-trench-a-world-war-that-shaped-a-region

Here is link to lots of museums. If you have a car there are a number of interesting ones in Kent. Link here: http://www.deroeck.co.uk/aviation-museums.html

Have fun, I'll be there 26 Jul thru 13 Aug.

TJ
 
The aviation display, including WWII, on the top floor of the Science Museum in London is also worth a visit -

Not my pic -

HurricaneL159201600x.jpg


I thought the highlights were the Schneider Cup with the S-6b racer and the original transatlantic plane, the Vickers Vimy, 8 years before Lindbergh - but lots of history for all aviation buffs.
 
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RAF Museum and Shuttleworth

The RAF Museum at Hendon was a really great museum and very easy to get to with the train system.

The Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden is also worth a visit, it's just not as easy to get to. You'll need a taxi from the train station to get there.
 
You have some very good suggestions there already.
Certainly the science museum while you're in London, the V&A is next door and Harrod's nearby if your party needs more cultural or retail indulgences.

Depending what transport you have, then Duxford and Shuttleworth are highly recommended. If you can make a flying evening or display day at Shuttleworth, all the better.

Brooklands Museum is also not far out of London, where much of 'Those Magnificent Men.." was filmed; easily combined with a visit to the nearby RHS gardens at Wisley.

Slightly further afield is the RAF museum at Cosford.

If you are in the vicinity of Nottingham, you can arrange to visit the Rolls-Royce Heritage centre at Hucknall where the first Merlin powered P51s were converted and flown. They also have an engine collection at Derby, but you need to book an appointment to see either.

This is a good list of other flying events in the UK - http://events.royalaeroclub.org/eventuk.htm
 
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Imperial War museum

This was always a favourite place to visit when I was a kid growing up in London.

When I went back to London with my Wife (she is American, we live in Oregon) I took a trip down there and it was a s good as I remembered.

The IWM is being refurbed and will re-open on July 19th and is easy to get to using the London Underground.

It is not specifically aviation related but well worth a look.

Frank
 
In the vein of "haven't seen that in real life before", the IWM got a mark from me for the Heinkel 162 Salamander. Duxford has the prototype Concord still wired up for testing. Man, its a small cabin. Of course there was a lot of WWII hardware there too. Wish I had made a show but my work schedule was wrong.
 
Whilst not exactly aviation related, a great day can be found at Greenwich. There you will find the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Naval College. Harrison's clocks are in the museum there, and is the location of the Cutty Sark too.

If churches are your thing, St Clement Danes on the Strand is the church of the RAF and has loads of war material.
 
Whilst not exactly aviation related, a great day can be found at Greenwich. There you will find the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Naval College. Harrison's clocks are in the museum there, and is the location of the Cutty Sark too.
.....

And you can stand straddling the brass line in the parking lot with one foot in the Western hemisphere and the other foot in the Eastern hemisphere. :D
 
+1 on Duxford. You can take the train from London to Cambridge, and then a local bus out to Duxford (if you don't have your own wheels). Tip: purchase the train ticket a few days in advance and as I recall you can save a few pounds.
 
Museums in UK

There are a lot of aircraft related things to see around London and in the UK generally.

The Imperial War Museum is great, but as already said it will be opening soon as it has been renovated.

Duxford is the IWM annex and is truly fantastic. If you are getting a car then while your out at Duxford you can go and see the Shuttleworth collection at Biggleswade. This is a unique group of aircraft, with just about everything there in flying condition, with a lot of WW1 vintage planes. They have flying days too where you can see all of these very old aircraft take to the air.

The RAF have two museums. Cosford is one, and it contains many of the large transport and experimental aircraft used by the RAF. However just near London there is Hendon, this can be reached by tube and contains a huge range of aircraft from WW1 onward, as well as helicopters and a lot of other memorabilia. By the way they all have a lot of US aircraft in their collections as well.

Others have also mentioned the Science Museum and the RAF chapel St
Clements Dane. The chapel is at the bottom of the Strand and after looking at it you can walk up the hill to St Paul's Cathedral!

Have a great trip, London is a very nice city, hope you enjoy yourself.

Cheers

Jim
 
One more idea that I can't believe I missed!

Take your logbook along, and your medical, and by some dual in a Tiger Moth. You can do this at White Waltham, which is very near Heathrow in Maidenhead.

In fact, just head out there late Saturday morning. There are benches out front to watch from, and a restaurant with a pub and proper English beer. In theory the place is members only; however in my experience all pilots are welcome.

No wheels? You can get there on a train plus bus or taxi.
 
A US airman's certificate is valid in the UK for day/VFR private flights in G- registered aircraft.
White Waltham is a great club, just on the western edge of Heathrow's class A control zone.

Another alternative is Headcorn in Kent, which is home to the Tiger club and near a main-line railway station. They are not too far from the white cliffs of Dover if you're after a bit of nostalgia (but watch out for the Hun-in-the-sun!).
 
If you get sticker shock at the Tiger Moth rental ($850 for 60 mins. airborne), try a trail flight in a UK microlight. I had great fun flying around Cheshire and North Wales last summer at much less cost.

One example location-

http://www.mainairflyingschool.co.uk/index.php?page=trial-flights

trial1.jpg


Sea level and low temperatures keep the performance of the low power Rotaxes acceptable. :)

Of interest to all of us 100LL users - my picture of the Catalyst Plant on the River Mersey in Ellsemere Port - the only source of TEL (tetraethyl lead) in the free world.

catalyst_zpsab678d19.jpg
 
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P51

If your dad was a P51 driver, did he fly in the European theatre, if so you could visit his old airfield, most are in East Anglia not to far from London.

Enjoy the decent beer

Rob
 
A US airman's certificate is valid in the UK for day/VFR private flights in G- registered aircraft.
White Waltham is a great club, just on the western edge of Heathrow's class A control zone.

Another alternative is Headcorn in Kent, which is home to the Tiger club and near a main-line railway station. They are not too far from the white cliffs of Dover if you're after a bit of nostalgia (but watch out for the Hun-in-the-sun!).

Tiger Club have recently left Headcorn ...
 
IWM London reopenning in the news today

Reopens on 19th July 2014 and admission is free.

"Imperial War Museum London to reopen

The Imperial War Museum (IWM) London has undergone a ?40m transformation and is due to reopen this week with new displays to mark the centenary of World War One.

The new atrium is made up of four levels divided into different clusters, which include more than 400 objects and artworks."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-28316238

_76278209_76278208.jpg
 
I know that just before the Olympics the Queen opened a monument dedicated to airmen of WWII. It's a nice area to walk around and there is also a memorial for Victoria Cross holders close by. It's in Green Park. I am sure you can google it to get the location. Close to B.Ham palace.

Have a great time!
 
Wow, that Imperial War Museum upgrade is something else! Wonder if the Lancaster and other planes are still in that dimly-lit gallery. Was kind of depressing on a bright, sunny day -- although likely good for aircraft preservation.
 
Churchill Exhibit

In London earlier this year with some clients and we ran across the Churchill exhibit in the underground bunkers where he ran the WW II campaign, very very interesting, lots of information that I did not know about the war effort and his life. The place is kept exactly as they closed the doors the day the war ended.

The same kind of exhibit exists inside the cliffs of Dover where they ran the Battle of Britain campaign, also very interesting.

If you get as far as Yeovil as suggested, stop by the Army Aviation Museum at Middle Wallop, it is on the way and has some great exhibits and history.
 
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