Museums I have known and loved.

I want to follow this on from the Modern Aircaft thread so..
Which museums have you visited either in your own country or in others which you recommend to a stranger or visitor.
I will start withuxford,Cambrigeshire[AKA The Imperial War Museum],Shuttleworth[Old Warden airfield].Eden Camp,Malton,North Yorkshire.The last is an ex Italian POW camp that has been restored and is packed with things to see.It is a terrific place for ALL ages.

Oh gawd!!aircaft is AIRCRAFT, UXFORD is Duxford and on and on

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Rhinebeck NY, of course. The NASM in Washington D.C., Owl's Head Transportation Museum in Owl's Head ME is small, but nice, and The New England Air Museum at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks CT are a few of my local favorites.

[PeterL]

Andy, I would add to your UK selection the RAF Museum Hendon. A great collection and bags of OT. Elvedon near York is also a goody, especially for those into aircraft armament.

Overseas the Musee de l'Air is not to be missed and should be combined with a visit to *the annual whit weekend show at La Fert if at all possible.

Sadly one which I would scratch is IWM Lambeth. When I first visited it in 1961 it was crammed with exhibits and there was a surprize round every corner. It is now a sad reflection of it's former glory with previously authentic large exhibits "restored" to a more uniform standard; ie: everything painted the same shade of green

>either in your own country or in others which you
>recommend to a stranger or visitor.

Every time I have been to Old Rhinebeck it has been a barrell of fun. I enjoyed the USS Intrepid, it is an excellent choice for a museum plus they have some excellent exhibits, you cant beat wandering around an aircraft carrier as a museum though. In Australia I like the Point Cook Museum, it has a good collection that arent jammed in together or hidden away. Like Champlin the displays are in old hangars, so avoid the 40C+ (100F+) days. The hangars can swelter.



cam

Andy,
I would also add the RNAS Museum at Yeovelton. Excellent simulation of an aircraft carrier. Good early aircraft, an excellent shop

[Mark_Miller]

I will second all of Rex's choices.
NASM is an incredible place - I've been there about a dozen times - never gets old for me but my family on the other hand....

While in DC
The Paul Garber Facility (is that right?) is a great place.
It's the NASM restoration facilty. You have to call ahead and schedule an appointment, but it's worth the trouble.
When I visited they were well into the N28 restoration. Had an interesting conversation with the lady who does all the rib stiching. Beautiful work, hope she found an aprentice.
They had to drag me out


Also in progres was a hawker Hurricane and a Japanes Serian (sic) an odd plane that was meant to be carried in a sub.

Also check out the Museum of American History (part of the Smithsonian) Steam engines, farm equipment, all kinds of interesting stuff. Nice models as well - the displays on bridges I found to be particularly interesting.

DC is a great town for museums

Of course The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is a favorite. I only live about 1.5 hours away so i get to go at least one a year. Check out the town as well. The area was depressed during the 50s so they didn't have enough money to screw up the architecture like everybody else.
Very pretty.

Mark

[Ginger.]

The Airborne Museum in the Hartenstein Hotel,Oosterbeek Holland.It was the 1st Airborne Div's HQ in the Arnhem battle.The museum and it's park dotted with slit trenches and shrapnel pitted trees is a fine tribute to the men of the Red Beret.

My personal favorite so far is the U.S.A.F. museum in Dayton, Ohio. It's about an 8 hour drive from me so I don't get there more than once every 5 yrs or so, but it's a world-class museum and it's FREE to the public. That's a hard combination to not like!

Closer to home, the Kalamazoo Air Zoo in Michigan is a very nice place. It is mostly WW2 but their collection is nothing to scoff at....and they try to keep all of them in flying condition. Not too many places in the world still have Curtiss P-40's....but the Air Zoo has one, and they fly it at air shows!

[Michael]

The National Aviation Museum at Rockcliffe has more aircraft, including the sole surviving AEG bimotor, Nieuport 2 seater, SPAD VII, and they're restoring an RE-8, but for my money give me the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at Mount Hope Airport. You can get up close and personal with the airplanes (you have to duck under them to get around!). If you're so inclined you can get a ride in a Stearman or Harvard IV.