Royal Air force Museum - London's March 2018

The RAF Centenary: 1 April On Sunday 1 April the Royal Air Force will celebrate its 100th anniversary! We will be sharing and celebrating RAF stories throughout the year, but you can join us to commemorate this very special birthday with theatre, family activities and a special appearance from the RAF Baton Relay team on EasterSunday. We will even provide the birthday cake! Activities will start at 11.00am and will climax with the arrival of the RAF Baton Relay Team between 4.00pm - 5.00pm. Join us for this very special once-in-a-lifetime celebration. Read more » The Life and Works of W.E. Johns: 10 March Roger Harris will be talking about the life and work of the famous children’s author and creator of 'Biggles' to mark the 50th anniversary of W.E. Johns' death. As an enthusiast and collector of the works of W.E. Johns, Roger will look back at the life of the RAF pilot who inspired generations of young people with tales of heroism and bravery in the skies. This talk will start at 1.00pm in the Museum's Lecture Theatre. Admission is free. Please reserve your seat in advance to avoid disappointment. Read more » British Science Week: 12 - 17 March Find out about the physics of flight. Join us in the Main Reception to make your own quick ‘Bernoulli Blower’ experiment that you can take home to fascinate your friends and family.   This activity is free and suitable for ages 5 – 12. Drop in any time between 11.00am and 3.00pm Monday 12 March - Friday 16 or from 11.00am - 4.00pm on Saturday 17 March. Our team will be ready to astound and amaze. Read more » RAF Inspired:The Furniture Makers The furniture manufacturing industry has a long and distinguished association with the Royal Air Force, equipping its ranks with famous aircraft types as the Sopwith Camel, de Havilland Mosquito and the Airspeed troop-carrying glider. Twenty five furniture design students from Ryecotewood Furniture Centre in Oxford have worked with the Museum, in partnership with the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers, to produce concepts for public seating. Their designs are based on an aspect of the RAF that has inspired them and will be on display in the Museum's Art Gallery daily until late September. If you are a student of design or intrigued by good practical design we would urge you to visit. Read more » Animal Easter Trail: 31 March - 6 April Specially created for our younger visitors, our 2018 Easter trail will have you searching for animals and the aircraft that they belong to within our galleries. Sucessfully complete the trail and you will receive a scrumptiously chocolatey reward - well it is Easter! Trails are available daily from 11.00am - 3.30pm from the Museum's Main Entrance Return your completed trail by 4.15pm to claim your reward. Each trail costs £3.00. Read more » Spitfire 100K Challenge: 1 April onwards Looking for a new challenge?  Why not walk, run or jog your way to 100K in 100 days to mark the RAF's Centenary. Over 500 people across the world have already signed up.  Starting on the 1 April you have 100 days in which to accomplish the challenge and on completion you will be awarded with an exclusive Spitfire 100K medal.  All you have to do is run, walk or jog 1K each day - if you own a dog you probably do more than that already! All funds raised are in support of the RAF100 Appeal. It costs £20.00 per person to take part (booking fee applies). You have until the end of March to sign up and get involved.  Good luck! Read more »

Royal Air Force Museum London - What's On Feb 2018

The Vulcan and Cold War Experience: 30 January Our Vulcan, Phantom and Lightning are three of the Cold War’s most iconic aircraft. Between them, they tell a story of uncertainty and tension that loomed over the world for decades. In this new experience, you will have unparalleled access to these Cold War Warriors in a personal tour. Our Vulcan and Cold War Experience runs the last Tuesday of each month. Reserve your tour now. Tickets retail at £49.50 per person. Terms and Conditions apply.  Read more » Little Swifts: 6 and 22 February By popular demand, we are now running two Little Swifts sessions a month. Designed for pre-schoolers, our fun and lively sessions include arts, crafts, games and songs that bring our wonderful collections to life. Sessions start at 10.30am. Tickets cost £3.00 per child, pre-booking is required. Read more » Airfix Make and Take Sessions: 12 - 16 February Come and join us in the First World War in the Air Galleries for an Airfix extravaganza this February Half Term. Just drop in and chose the aircraft you want to build, construct and then paint! All materials will be provided by the Museum for a very affordable £3.00 per kit. We will have three different models for to choose from:  The Sopwith Pup The Albatros The Mitsubishi Zero Sessions will run daily from 11.00am - 3.00pm. Tickets will be available at the Museum's main entrance. Read more » The Early Years of the RAF: 15 February In the first of our Trenchard Lectures in Air Power Studies for 2018, Sophy Gardner will speak on ‘The early years of the RAF: A cautionary tale of history in the making’. Sophy Gardner is a collaborative doctoral award student and researches the early politics of the RAF and air power. Based at the Department of History at the University of Exeter, she is in the second year of a collaborative PhD studentship  with the RAF Museum. This lecture will start at 6.30pm at the headquarters of the Royal Aeronautical Society at 4 Hamilton Place, London. Admission to this lecture is free but as seating is limited please pre-register. Read more » Air War Over Palestine and Syria, 1918: 16 February In the first of our 2018 First World War in the Air lunchtime lecture series, Stuart Hadaway from the Air Historical Branch will speak on the air war over Palestine and Syria, 1918. The air war over Egypt and Palestine differed greatly from the familiar one over the Western Front.  Not only were the tempo and environmental challenges different, but so was the pattern of the development of the air campaign. This fascinating talk traces the development of that war, and examines its culmination: the RAF’s role in the Battle of Megiddo in September-October 1918. The talk will start in the Museum's Lecture Theatre at 12.30pm. Admission is free but please pre-register as seating is limited.  Read more » 100 Open Cockpits and Cabs: 24 February To celebrate the Centenary of the RAF, London and Cosford will be offering the rare and exciting chance to get a closer look inside 100 cockpits and vehicles from our collection during a series of four Open Cockpit and Cab events at each site. Ticket holders will have the opportunity to view a wide range of aircraft and vehicles which aren’t usually open to the public - with each event  enabling you to get a feel for what it was like to fly or drive these much loved machines. Sessions run from 1.00pm - 4.00pm and 6.00pm - 9.00pm. Tickets cost £13.50 per person or £10.00 for Museum Members. For a list of aircraft that will be open at the first London event on 24 February, click here. Until 9 February we are currently offering a £100.00 ticket for all eight events across both sites - saving you a massive £62.50. Hurry, they're going fast!  Read more »

Royal Air Force Museum - London's December 2017

Little Swifts: 15 December Our popular Little Swifts sessions are designed for pre-schoolers. The final session of the year will be taking place on Thursday 15 December at 10.30am. Come and join our fun and lively sessions which include arts, crafts, games and songs that help bring our wonderful collections to life. Sessions take place in our gallery for children. Tickets cost £3 per child, pre-booking is required. Little Swifts will be flying in again in 2018. Read more » Christmas Grotto: 16 and 17 December Father Christmas will be popping into the Museum for on the weekend of 16 and 17 December while checking out his flight route with our Archives Team. He has agreed, while visiting us, to meet any girls and boys who want to tell him their Christmas wishes between 10.30am and 3.30pm on each day in a specially created grotto, located in our First World War in the Air's Nissen Hut. Each session will last approximately 10 minutes and each child will receive a special gift from Father Christmas. Tickets cost £5 per child and may be purchased here. Read more » Ride in Santa's Sleigh!  From 1 December, London's 4D Theatre will be showing a very specialseasonal film that all the family will love. “Sleigh Ride 4D” takes you to Christmas Eve where Santa is making last minute preparations for the big night. But when disaster hits, it only leaves a stuffy reindeer and a clumsy but brave elf to take the reins. Will this unlikely duo be able to save Christmas by putting their differences aside? Find out by taking a making a magical journey across a starry Christmas sky. Tickets for this experience may be purchased from the Museum's Main Entrance, Shop and 4D Theatre and retail at £5 per person or £16 for a family ticket of four people. You may watch a preview of the film here. Read more » Make your seasonal visit special - Sit in a Spit Make you visit even more special this December by sitting in a Mk16 Spitfire. Our Spitfire Experience now runs daily from 10.15am to 3.30pm. Better yet, there is no need to book in advance. Just make your way to our Mk16 Spitfire in Historic Hangars and select the slot that you would like for your tour. Nothing could be easier. Prices for each tour are £10 per person, and include a 15 minute talk about our Mk16 Spitfire where you will be guided through its control panel from one of our experts, whilst you sit in the cockpit. Photography is encouraged! Go on spoil yourself, you're worth it! Read more » Last Postal Dates for Christmas Gifts Don't miss out on ordering one of the fantastic gifts in our Christmas onlineshop. Guaranteed Christmas delivery to family and friends in the U.K and abroad are as follows: Rest of the World - 7 December Europe - 13 December United Kingdom - 20 December Don't forget that for a small additional charge of £2 per item we can gift wrapyour present with a personalised seasonal message. All you have to do is choose from our brilliant selection of Christmas Gifts. Read more » Our Festive Opening Hours If you're dreading the impending reality of distant relatives descending for the Holidays and are looking for ways to keep them affordably entertained, don't despair, we are here for you. We will be open daily from 10.00am 27 Dec - 5.00pm New Year's Eve. We are closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. We will be closed on New Year's Day before re-opening on 2 January at 10:00am. We look forward to welcoming you. Read more »

Royal Air Force Museum - RAFM - October What's On

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Announcing the People's Spitfire Pilot We are delighted to announce that over 350,000 votes were cast in 'The People’s Spitfire Pilot’ poll, which was hosted by the fantastic support of the Daily Telegraph Online. The majority of votes were for Franciszek Kornicki, the last surviving Polish Air Force squadron commander who celebrated his 100th birthday in 2016. A full-length cut out image of Franciszek Kornicki will now stand beside the iconic Spitfire Mk Vb (BL614), in a new exhibition which tells the story of the first 100 years of the Royal Air Force opening in 2018. The stories of all the other pilots in the poll will also be told in the exhibition through a new online project 'RAF Stories'. Read more » Watching, Killing: The Evolution of RAF Drone Warfare in the 21st Century - 19 October Dr Peter Lee, a noted expert on RAF drone operations, discusses 'Watching, Killing: The Evolution of RAF Drone Warfare in the 21st Century’. The first part of this lecture will explore the interconnected features of the emerging Reaper Force. The second part will consider the future potential for a stable culture of remotely piloted aircraft operations as the RAF Reaper enters its second decade in service. This lecture will be held at the Headquarters of the Royal Aeronautical Societyat No. 4 Hamilton Place, London W1J 7BQ at 6.30pm on Thursday 19 October 2017. This lecture is free of charge but please pre-book, as seats are limited. Booking is quick and easy, click here. Read more » Airfix Make and Take: 23 - 27 October This half term we will have a number of different models available suitable for both seasoned model makers and those new to Airfix. Simply drop into the First World War in the Air Gallery, between 11am - 2pm and choose the aircraft you want to build and paint. Suitable for ages 5+. Tickets are £3 per kit. Read more » Museums at Night: 27 - 28 October As part of the 'Museums at Night Festival', we will be holding two Open Cockpits evenings on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 October from 6.30pm - 8.30pm. Each evening will offer the opportunity to get a close up view of our iconic aircraft, sit in our helicopters and even peer inside our fast jets. Join us for one of our most popular evening events of the year! Tickets can be purchased here from £13 - £30 with a 50p booking fee. Read more » William Robinson Clarke: Kingston Boy to Fly Boy - 29 October Join us for a very special day, as we commemorate the centenary of the first African-Caribbean Pilot in the Royal Flying Corps to win his ‘wings'. We will be holding a day of storytelling, music and dance that celebrates the best of Jamaican and Caribbean culture.  Listen to the sweet Calypso melodies of award-winning troubadour Alex D'Great, be captivated by the rhythmic Jamaican dance performed by IRIE! dance theatre and be enthralled by the stories, songs and music of Winston Nzinga. We will be serving delicious West Indian food throughout the day and to complete the day, famous songs and music from the First World War will be played on the steel pans by St Michael and All Angels Steel Orchestra. Curator Peter Devitt will be offering a fascinating insight into Robbie’s life with a talk about his achievements with a guided tour of our award-winning First World War in the Air Gallery, describing the lives of African-Caribbean and Asian aviators who flew during the conflict.. The event is free (no booking required). Read more » Parking at our London Site If you plan to visit us during October half term, please consider travelling by public transport. Due to the extensive building works taking place as part the RAF Centenary Transformation Programme we are unable to guarantee a parking space during periods of high demand, particularly during half term and at weekends. Please take either the Northern Line to Colindale Station or a mainline train to Mill Hill Broadway. The 303 bus will take you from both stations to our site or you can walk from there. Read more »