Newark Air Museum Indoor Aeroboot Aviation & Avionics Sale
Saturday 14th April 2018

The rearranged Newark Air Museum Indoor Aeroboot / Aerojumble Sale takes place at the museum’s site in eastern Nottinghamshire on Saturday 14th April 2018. This charity fund raising event has attracted interest from a wide range of sellers and once again is a sell-out event, attracting participation from aviation enthusiasts and the general public from across the UK and Europe

The funds that the museum raises from organising the event will be used to support the final installation costs for new Café & Toilet facilities that are currently being commissioned at the museum, which is located in eastern Nottinghamshire close to the Lincolnshire border.

48 tables, featuring around 37 different sellers, who come from around the UK will be arranged amongst the aircraft in Display Hangar 2 at the museum.

Buyers / visitors who attend this fund raising event will have the opportunity to search through a varied selection of aviation and avionic items: including books, paintings, prints, DVDs, plastic kits, die-cast models, clothing, radio equipment and aircraft parts. Regular updates / sellers information are being posted on the news page of the museum website www.newarkairmuseum.org

Buyers / visitors at this event will be able to access the museum site on Saturday 14th April, 2018 at a special discounted admission price of just £4.50 per person.

The museum opening times will be 09.00 to 17.00 hours; with the sale taking place between 09.00 and 14.00 hours; to get the best bargains we suggest that you get there early.

Further details are available on the Events Page of the museum website www.newarkairmuseum.org or by telephoning 01636 707170.

IWM Duxford will present a festival of flying for all the family in 2018, with children under 16 going free to IWM air shows.* Tickets are now on sale, with a fantastic Early Bird offer for all air shows.

Tickets booked for either the Duxford Air Festival or the Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show before 23.59 on Thursday 8 February will automatically be entered into a prize draw to have a chance of winning a once-in-a-lifetime Spitfire flight with IWM Duxford’s pleasure flight partner Classic Wings.

Tickets for all air shows must be booked in advance; no on the day tickets are available.

IWM Duxford’s 2018 air show season commences with the Duxford Air Festival (May Bank Holiday weekend Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 May) offering a thrill-packed weekend. The Flying Legends Air Show (Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 July) is a feast of nostalgia while the Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show (Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 September) is an official partner for the Royal Air Force centenary, celebrating its famous aircraft, past and present.

The Duxford Air Festival will be a feast of action-packed flying full of speed, noise, power and thrills. Confirmed aircraft include the Tiger Nine formation team of nine 1930s Tiger Moth biplanes and the AeroSuperBatics WingWalkers, the world’s only aerobatic formation wing-walking team.

Across the museum, visitors can enjoy a wide range of events and activities. The Family Flight Challenge shows that it takes more than a pilot to make an aircraft fly: from scientists and engineers to designers and mechanics. You might find yourself leaping into the air, slipping-on goggles, meeting our real inventors and adventurers or working in a team to make something fly. In our ‘Meet the Authors’ marquee writers will discuss their current books and take questions from the audience.

The Flying Legends Air Show is organised and produced by The Fighter Collection. This world-famous air show combines flying displays of remarkable historic aircraft with engaging nostalgic activities to create an authentic 1940s atmosphere at IWM Duxford’s wartime airfield.

Rare aircraft travel across the globe to take part in the Flying Legends Air Show, performing exceptional aerial spectacles. At Flying Legends 2018 the Flying Bulls will present a five-ship formation for the first time in the UK, featuring two Alpha Jets, a B-25J Mitchell, Goodyear Corsair and P-38 Lightning. The world-renowned balbo, a massed-formation flying display, provides a remarkable finale to the air show.

In 2018, there will be two vintage villages at the Flying Legends Air Show, offering a wide range of nostalgic entertainment.

The Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show brings to life Duxford’s finest hour as an important Second World War fighter station defending Great Britain from aerial attack in 1940. The roar of Spitfires and Hurricanes over Duxford’s historic airfield make this a hugely engaging historic experience and a great British day out for 2018.

The Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show is an official partner of RAF 100, commemorating the centenary ofthe formation of the Royal Air Force. The flying display will showcase not only the famous historic aircraft of the RAF but will also present its modern capabilities with contemporary aircraft in service today.

Entry to the award-winning IWM Duxford is included in the ticket price for all air shows. Visitors can get up close to the aircraft that have revolutionised flight, including the futuristic Blackbird spyplane, which performed top secret operations for almost 30 years and the B-52 Stratofortress, which stretches the length of the American Air Museum. Iconic aircraft, including the Spitfire, Concorde and the contemporary Eurofighter Typhoon, are on display across the museum.

www.iwm.org.uk

Previously unpublished wartime diary reveals a moving insight into life on a Battle of Britain airfield and the young men who risked their lives in aerial battle.

Life and Death in the Battle of Britain is the powerful and moving unpublished diary of Guy Mayfield, Chaplain at RAF Duxford during the Battle of Britain, a defining moment of the Second World War and one of the greatest aerial battles ever fought.

Through Mayfield’s engaging and evocative writing, readers are transported to life in early 1940s Britain, as the Battle of Britain raged in the skies above.

Guy Mayfield arrived at RAF Duxford on 2 February 1940 and wrote regular entries in his diary until his last day at Duxford, prior to a posting to Gibraltar, on 2 December 1941.

Through the emotive and insightful entries in his diary, the reader accompanies Mayfield as he describes the hectic nature of airfield operations and the constant call to scramble interspersed with off-duty time and high jinks in the Officers’ Mess. Mayfield’s intense grief is felt as he describes the loss of friends and colleagues who became so dear to him, while his gentle and endearing humour show why he was such a trusted friend to these young airmen and an integral part of life on this famous Battle of Britain fighter station.

Mayfield spoke, at length and in intimate detail, to pilots who knew they might not survive the next 24 hours. His documenting of these conversations in his diary provides a unique, never before published, insight into the lives of the young men who risked their lives daily in defence of Great Britain – their innermost thoughts, hopes and fears. Years after he wrote his wartime diaries, Guy returned to them, adding retrospective observations and remembrances which have been added to the original diary entries in this publication.

Guy Mayfield’s powerful words are accompanied by poignant photographs of the airmen he lovingly describes. Many of the images are from his personal photograph album and will be published for the very first time. In an introductory section, IWM historian Carl Warner explains why Mayfield’s diary is so remarkable in bringing a compelling and direct new perspective to the Battle of Britain:

“In the pages of his [Guy Mayfield’s] diary, we find one of the finest accounts of a fighter station at ar. It is full of insight into the mind of a man who made an enormous, unsung contribution to victory and into those of others on the station whose mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing he cared about so deeply.”

“Much has been written of Duxford’s role in this defining conflict, but there are few accounts as honest, open and revealing as this.”

“For scholars of the Battle of Britain, and of the Second World War RAF, Mayfield’s account is unique in that it provides us with access to the most heartfelt, deep and meaningful conversations that took place in 1940 as ‘the few’ faced the most monumental challenge of their young lives. It gives rare insight into the thoughts and feelings of young men who, underneath the famous ‘Brylcreem Boys’ exterior, were real people who overcame their own fears day after day – the very epitome of courage.”

‘Life & Death in the Battle of Britain is published by IWM on 19 April and can be pre-ordered here: http://www.iwmshop.org.uk/product/26460/Life_and_Death_in_the_Battle_of_Britain

Sunday April 1 marked 100 years to the day since the Royal Air Force was formed. The award-winning RAF Museum hosted over 15,000 visitors across the weekend with a series of activities and events to mark the historic event.

Visitors to the Museum were treated to theatre, family activities and a special appearance from the RAF Baton Relay team.

The Front of House Theatre Company breathed life into some of the amazing stories set amongst our First World War exhibition. Visitors were able to talk to and interact with actors in character representing the voices of the men and women that are part of our RAF Story.

At the close of the day, serving RAF personnel carried the RAF100 Baton into the Museum grounds. The Baton is being carried across the country and around the world, visiting 100 locations in 100 days. The relay started on Sunday in central London and the team of RAF runners were met at the Museum by our CEO Maggie Appleton who ran the last leg of the relay with the team.

RAF Museum CEO Maggie Appleton: “It’s an absolute honour to be part of the RAF100 celebrations and commemorations and share in the first part of the RAF Baton Relay Team’s journey. I’d like to thank all the visitors who came to the Museum across the weekend and look forward to welcoming them all back at the end of June to enjoy our transformed site when we will have three new exciting exhibitions.”

The RAF Museum’s RAF Centenary Programme:
The RAF Museum’s RAF Centenary Programme is a multi-million-pound transformation of the RAF Museum’s London home will welcome visitors to discover a new green heart of the community in Colindale, North West London, reflecting the historic RAF Hendon airfield. The newly landscaped site includes outdoor picnic areas, children’s playground, restaurant, visitor car parking, and fully accessible pathways.

Two new, innovative galleries will explore the first 100 years of the RAF, its roles today and invite visitors to imagine its future contribution and technology. A third new exhibition will focus on the story of the RAF from the Falklands Conflict of the early 80’s to current operations.

Each exhibition will represent the diversity and inclusivity of the Royal Air Force and focus on the people behind the blue uniforms. Over 500 previously unseen artefacts relating to RAF history will be on display including logbooks, uniforms, lucky charms and technical equipment. These items have been carefully selected by our Museum curators for their ability to engage visitors with a fresh perspective on the RAF story.

The Museum is also launching RAF Stories – an online digital project which will invite everyone to share their own stories, not just former and serving personnel, but also friends and family as well as partners who work closely with the RAF. RAF Stories is a global effort to uncover tales ranging from humour to heroism.

The newly developed exhibitions will open at the end of June 2018 as part of the wider calendar of RAF 100 events celebrating and commemorating the RAF’s Centenary across the country.

The Museum is also running a series of special public events to mark the RAF Centenary across both its sites including a Spitfire 10k run; Open Cockpit evenings and family events such as the Hendon Pageant and the Family Festival of Flight.

The RAF Museum’s RAF Centenary Programme is supported by National Lottery Players through the Heritage Lottery Fund.

For more information about the RAF Museum’s RAF Centenary Programme visit www.rafmuseum.org