Duxford Air Museum - Part two

This is the second post of our trip to Duxford. This time, we've got my photos and some of our favourite things about the day.

We learnt so much about flight at Duxford. It seems incredible that in such a short space of time, it went from people like the Wright Brothers to supersonic jets! Some of the huge air crafts looked like they'll never get off the ground, let alone fly!

Our Family's thoughts of the day!

JIM:-  "I enjoyed going inside Concorde, it was narrower than I thought it would be.
The B52 was much bigger than I thought too. It was a great place and I would love to get a pilots licence now. Out of 10, I'd give it 9, as we didn't get to go in the flight simulator (as that was an extra cost) I would make that free of charge."

Liberty:- "Did you know that in Concorde you have to use 657 dials and digits while in the air?! I learnt a lot of things about air flow and steering in the "hands on" area. It was nice to see the old planes being renovated and used. I would give it 9/10."

Dad, Rhiannon, Liberty and Berea inside one of the planes

JED:- "The American hanger with B-52 was brilliant - it was as if they put the building together around the plane! Seeing the SR-71, more commonly known as Blackbird, was really cool too. In the Ground Warfare hanger there was a display on the D'day landings. The entrance to it was one of the boats the infantry used to cross the channel with surround sound hidden in it so it really took you by surprise!"

Nathanael:- "I counted over 60 mannequins, some looked so real it was hard to tell, you just had to stare at them for a while to see if they moved or not!  I Iiked going under the tanks. I was amazed at all the buttons in the cockpits, there were hundreds! I liked seeing all the different colours of planes and designs. I liked seeing all the planes hanging up and the ones you could walk under. I would say 9/10."

Rhiannon:- "I really liked the display of the WW2 D-day landing exhibition with the sound effects over head. Also, amongst the bombed out areas and trenches they had even put some poppies growing. The vibrant red stood out against the barbed wire and rubble. Lest we forget indeed!  I have had a great interest in the history of WW2 . My favourite books of this era would include...

"To plant you a lilac tree"

"I have lived a 1,000 years"

"The Hiding place"

"Under a war torn sky"

"To see you again" 

"Defiance" 

"Never again" 

"Sarah's key"

and many, many more. I have been writing one myself for several years now. Watch this space!"

Magdalene:- "I saw a film there of a man with wood under his arms which he thought would make him fly. He crashed and died so they had to make a better one. I like going inside the planes and seeing where the pilot sat..I liked all the films, seeing how they learned to fly. I liked pushing and pulling all the levers too."

Rhiannon with Magdalene and Berea

Mum:- "I really enjoyed this day as all of them had so much fun. Especially Tom and JIM. I was very touched seeing the WW2 exhibition of the houses bombed and reduced to rubble. They had depicted a family home in ruins with toys and a pram and a kitchen all scattered and smashed. I felt incredibly thankful for my family's safety, home and peace. 
 It was a great place for pushchairs too with lifts (elevators) etc. That always helps.
I did, however, especially miss the little train ride between the hangers. The younger ones always loved the train!"

Zac:- "The land warfare was a great experience and I fully respect the brave Men and Women who served their country. My favourite planes would have been the Gloucester Gladiators, or the Sopwith Camel of WW1. It was fascinating to see the history of flight and how pilots mastered such amazing machines of the air."

Talitha:- "I learnt that the Wright Brothers were the first people to make a plane, as soon as we got back I got a book about them to learn more. I  am not really a fan of planes but it was exciting seeing all of them. I like the little ones best, some were so big you did not know you were really walking under a plane until you looked up. It took 5 miles to walk the whole place and it felt like we were there for two days. It was exciting seeing some planes land and take off. Out of 10, I'll give it 9."

Ike:- "My favourite part, was the restoration hanger, where private owners can restore these fantastic, early, primitive, planes back to their original state. As I work on cars, I can completely understand the time, effort and money that goes into these large costly projects.
My hats off to the re-builders! Also, the Normandy landing exhibition. I have always liked that part of the war, simply because of the genius behind it. My heart goes to the Grandsons and Daughters who's grandparents they never knew, that fought at Normandy." 

Berea:- "I liked the green aeroplane and the cars and tanks and the caterpillar tyres. I liked dressing up and playing WW2 when we got home."

Tom:- "Having been to Duxford many years ago, it felt quite special to have had the chance to go back. Many things have changed since visiting before and so much money has been spent on advancing facilities, exhibitions, and obviously the planes and hangars. There are a lot more aircraft at many museums now and Duxford has been sure to not be an exception to this. It would be easy to spend two maybe three days going round and I think I definitely could to feel I properly appreciated all there was to see! 
My favourite part of the day would have to be going in Concorde's cockpit which we were quite fortunate to be able to as normally it is blocked off. Joe kindly got me a picture in it too. 

Not to forget seeing the TRS2 there which was quite a surprise! What an amazing aircraft. Makes me appreciate older planes all the more and realise that we haven't got an edge which we used to have considering they were built so long ago and how well they flew.

In a way that made the day something that it wouldn't have been otherwise, I was really happy to get a picture of Mum with a helmet and .25 machine gun!! I always thought she was a good picture of a soldier and I wasn't wrong!
The only thing that I thought was a bit of a shame was seeing some of the things that I have fond memories of from going before are no longer there. Health and safety I think might have something to do with it as the park was no longer there, but then the hangar had been enlarged over the space. The park that is there now though is for children up to nine and still has a lot of artificial foam which I never knew growing up! Things have changed from when I was younger that's for sure. The train that used to take people around isn't there either and as a large family we wouldn't fit in the mini buses they use now. A mini bus takes the fun out of it anyway!! I felt distinctly that they've monopolised on the school groups visiting and this has changed a few things there giving it an air of a business/education approach. Aside from that it's still a fantastic day out and I look forward to taking my kids there one day and making myself feel like a midget next to the B-52 again!"

Dad:- "The best thing about having such a great bunch of varied aged children is seeing each of them enjoying particular favourite bits of days out. Duxford is no exception. Watching the children have fun in their own different ways is one of the joys of parenthood. 

I suppose the biggest disappointment was that the old playground had gone - it really used to be so much fun.Also, the old basic 'hands-on' section has been upgraded a hundred thousand fold to supposedly satisfy the scientific needs of older school kids (who to be honest did not seem that interested anyway from what we saw). The old bit was much more child-friendly. The old wooden puzzles are sorely missed by younger children!

Having said that I am still in awe of the size of the B52 and how it even got into the hangar. You cannot fathom the size of the thing until you are up close to it. It does make you think 'how on earth does this get off the ground?' The WWII section with all the tanks and D-Day bit was good too. Very full , good value day out however, 7/10."

Joe:- 
"For me WWI and II are interesting because of it's history, but it feels closer than say the middle ages. It seems more real, and visiting Duxford just made it that little bit closer. While I have a admiration for planes and people who fly, the land army museum was most interesting.
The American Hanger was the highlight as it had the largest aircraft on base and it also had a Huey Aquarius (helicopter). I love Hueys."
Great day out: 7.5/10 


And me, Charis:- "And my favourite bit had to be the part on WW 1 & 2. I think they did a great job at 're-creating' in a way, the D'day landings, the homes that had been destroyed and all the tanks and cool trucks. That was a great experience being there! It was also incredible to be able to see a pair of one of our soldier's boots that had been worn and used to serve our country. It's amazing how they have managed to keep them in such good condition after all those years! Getting really squished in the lift was funny too." (see photo below!)


Hope you all like the rest of the photos!

Aaron on the information phones, these were in abundance and would have taken us a whole day just listening to them. Abe can now say "Hello!" too.

Nat admiring the planes below

I lost count how many hangers we went in...

Zac at the entrance

Magdalene

A Sopwith Camel flying

Aaron on Rhiannon's shoulders. He loved it here!

Having a quick re-fuel on some food

Would you look at that!

Nathanael. This one and the one below were
taken by Jed.

Joe and Zac exiting one of the planes

Inside the lift, we were rather squished!

Nathanel having a rest, be prepared to walk miles.

Liberty and Talitha matching again.

Mum and Rhiannon having a laugh!

Abe and Ike

Nat having a great time...

...and with an orange plane! 

Myself, helping Bubby Abe on the slide.
Thanks Jed for these the pics below!

Magdalene...

...looking rather squashed!

...This one?

I've now got the camera back! Abe and big bro, Joe

We'll be back soon with more updates!

Charis

P.S Thank you all so much for your encouraging comments, they are really appreciated!