5 Aircraft; 1 Curator; No Public; No Barriers – Limitless Photography

The RAF Museum is running its first Photography-After-Hours Event on Friday 19th April 2013.

Photography After-Hours has been designed to give guests a behind-the-scenes experience; combining a talk from our Head Curator with a one-to-one photography opportunity with the public barriers removed. This will become a series of events, where a different set of 5 aircraft will be viewed each time.

The event on the 19th April will focus on the BAC Lightning F6; E.E Canberra PR3; de Havilland Vampire F3; de Havilland Chipmunk and BAC Jet Provost T5A.

The evening will start at 6.30pm with a talk by our Curator, Ian Thirsk. Ian will explain the career history of each aircraft, how it came to be at the Museum and how it is cleaned, checked for damage and repaired as well as the conservation challenges each aircraft presents.

Guests are divided into 5 groups of 10 and assigned their first aircraft. The barriers will have been removed, allowing access to take up close and personal photography that is not usually available to the public. The Curator will move between the 5 aircraft answering any questions that guests have about the collection.

Where possible, each aircraft also has an Ambassador who has a personal knowledge of that type – either as an ex-pilot, ex-engineer or current conservator. Ambassadors can answer specific questions and talk about their particular experiences of the aircraft.

After 20 minutes, the groups will rotate onto the next aircraft, allowing plenty of time with each for photography or questions. Small groups mean that photography is easier and guests do not need to move out of each other’s way.

The Photography After-Hours event comes hot on the heels of the April launch of the Museum’s new membership scheme aimed at those with a passion for aviation history – anyone who signs up for membership on the 19th will be able to take advantage of a concessionary rate. The Museum also launched its new quarterly magazine: RADAR at the beginning of April which will be giving readers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the workings of the Museum as well as the stories behind the exhibits and collection. One of its key articles in the first edition was a profile of the Lightning.

The event will start at 6.30pm and will end at 9.30pm – allowing guests plenty of time to get home. For further details please visit www.rafmuseum.org. Tickets cost £20 for Lightning Members; £25 Lancaster Members and Non-Members and can be purchased here: www.rafmuseum.org/whatson

Tags: 2013, April, News, RAF Museum London