Airscene News

Date: 29 August – 15 September 2020
Cost: Standard entry – £22.50
Discounted entry – £20.50 (Armed Forces Community including Veterans, Personnel and Cadets)
Family Run entry – £10.00
(booking fee applies, additional fees apply for entries from abroad)

The popular Spitfire 10K held annually at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford and London is going virtual this year!

The RAF Museum starts the Battle of Britain commemorations with the annual Spitfire 10K event, but in a slightly different format. Ordinarily, the event would see runners racing across the airfield at Cosford and through the streets of north London, but with the health and wellbeing of participants in mind, organisers are making the 2020 Spitfire 10K event a virtual one and online applications are now open.

Participants of the Virtual Spitfire 10K are invited to join others in a virtual race across the country over the August bank holiday at 10.00am on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August, the original race days, for the real race experience. Trophies and prizes are up for grabs, and runners who submit their times will appear on the leader board.

Or, why not complete the 10K at a more leisurely pace and tailor the racing experience to fit your schedule and ability, by splitting the distance into a few runs or walks. The virtual race gives participants the opportunity to complete the 10K any time between the 29 August and 15 September, wherever and however they want – running, cycling, rowing, or even walking the dog!

The Virtual Spitfire 10K challenge will end on 15 September, the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Participants will then be rewarded with one of the highly sought after 2020 Spitfire 10K medals, an absolute must for any runner’s medal collection!

The Museum is delighted to announced that the “RAF Spitfires” (RAF Rugby 7s Team) will be taking part in the Spitfire 10K. The team members will be running the race, raising funds for the RAF Museum and will be sharing their tips and tricks on how to get ready for the race with other runners on social media.

Any families with younger children who would like to join in the fun can sign up for the Spitfire Family Run, a shorter 1km race suitable for all ages, and participants will be rewarded with a medal upon completion.

RAF Museum Public Events Manager, Ulrike Stuebner said:
“It’s great to see that more than 1,000 runners have decided to support the RAF Museum by transferring their entry from the physical race to the virtual challenge. We’ve also had more than 500 new sign ups since tickets opened and there is still plenty of time for people to register. The great thing about the virtual race is that it can be completed anywhere, and participants will each receive one of our spectacular bespoke medals, which are guaranteed to be popular. Some exciting new additions for the virtual race include a Spitfire 10K Facebook community group, where you can read tips to motivate yourself to get moving, share photos, running routes, hikes and dog walks, it’s a great opportunity to talk to like-minded runners. We also have a brand-new technical running t-shirt and vest again this year, and have created a running playlist to help keep you motivated when completing the 10K.”

The Spitfire 10K is held to commemorate the Battle of Britain and the Royal Air Force personnel who defended Britain’s skies during the summer of 1940. Participants will each receive a roll of honour card with the name of a Battle of Britain Pilot to wear as they complete their 10K, sharing the story of those who served in this pivotal aerial campaign with a new generation.

Help us honour those who defended our skies during the Battle of Britain by fundraising for the RAF Museum and pledging to raise £80 for the 80th anniversary and receive your race day t-shirt for free.

Spitfire technical t-shirts (£10.00), running vests (£12.00) and cotton family run t-shirts (£5.00) can be purchased when registering for the Virtual Spitfire 10K. If purchased before the 1 August, t-shirts will be posted with the race packs, all purchases after this date and overseas participants will receive their t-shirts with their medal.

All those who enter the virtual race will get a head start for the 2021 Spitfire 10K by receiving advanced notice of the race entry details at both museums.

Register for the Spitfire 10K Virtual race online at www.rafmuseum.org. Entry costs £22.50 per person (UK entries), a discounted rate of £20.50 is available for the Armed Forces Community. A booking fee and additional fees for entries from abroad will apply. All proceeds from the event will go towards the RAF Museum, registered charity number 244708.

The Museum is now open daily with a range of measures in place to ensure a safe and great day out for the whole family. While still offering FREE entry to all, visitors are kindly asked to pre-book their arrival time online at www.rafmuseum.org.

The Royal Air Force Museum has announced an exciting new programme which offers members of the public the opportunity to adopt one of over 50 objects within the Museum’s collection.

‘Adopt an Artefact’ is a unique opportunity for everyone to be part of the RAF’s story, while raising funds for the RAF Museum. With a collection of more than 1.3 million items, spanning more than a century of RAF history, Adopt an Artefact highlights a selection of iconic objects, each with their own fascinating story to tell.

Adopt online at rafmuseum.org, where you can explore the Museum’s unique collection and browse through more than 50 items up for adoption, including everything from lapel badges, lucky mascots and a Red Arrows flying suit, to aircraft and even fragments of the Möhne Dam and an Operation GRAPPLE commemorative beer mat, there really is something for everyone! Available to adopt across three tiers (Standard, Enhanced and Exclusive), starting at £25.00, adoptions last 12 months from the date they are adopted. Adoptees can make their adoption go even further by opting to add Gift Aid which will increase their donation by 25% for no extra cost.

All adoptees will receive a digital adoption certificate and photo of their adopted artefact, along with exclusive updates and information on your chosen object throughout the year. Recognition of your adoption will feature alongside the object on Collections Online, the Museum’s new digital collections system. If purchased as a gift, or in memory of a loved one, you have the option to include a dedicated message along with the name of adoptee. Artefacts can be adopted on an individual or corporate basis and those adopting one of the Exclusive tier items will receive additional benefits tailored to their adoption.

Within the Standard tier, objects can be adopted by several people and include many unusual items such a pack of Playing Cards with Hidden Maps. Used by RAF prisoners of war in Germany, during the Second World War, playing cards were often used to smuggle maps into prison camps. Or how about the small but mighty Twinkletoes the Cat, the lucky charm of Arthur Whitten Brown. Twinkletoes flew alongside Brown and Captain John Alcock on the first ever non-stop transatlantic flight in a Vickers Vimy in 1919, quite an adventure for a pocket size cat. A Chocolate and Sugar Confectionery Coupon Card is the perfect guilt free chocolate adoption for anyone with a sweet tooth – thank goodness sugar rationing ended in 1953! If accessories are your thing, step into the world of RAF 1940/50s sweetheart fashion by adopting an RAF Evening Bag, there’s not a Prada or a Gucci logo in sight but the opportunity to adopt a one-off adorned with a pair of pilot’s wings on fabric from the skies. Other items in the standard tier include a Jamaica Uniform Badge, Burma Star and even Powdered Egg!

Items in the Enhanced tier are exclusive to one adoptee and include the Uniform of Avis Hearn. After refusing to leave her post at an RAF radar station while under devasting attack by German dive bombers, her actions were to see her awarded one of only six Military Medals given to WAAFs during the Second World War. Or how about adopting a small dish containing links to one of the most infamous Second World War stories, The Great Escape. Sand from Stalag Luft III Parade Ground, The Great Escape, is a small but fine testament to the 76 Allied prisoners, the majority RAF aircrew, and their legendary feat of engineering. Other artefacts in the Enhanced tier include a Red Arrows Flying Suit, RAF flying ace Douglas Bader’s Log Book and a Fordson Balloon Winch.

The Exclusive tier consists of thirteen aircraft, each available to only one adoptee and includes aircraft such as the Hawker Siddeley Gnat T1, previously flown as Red 3 by the world-famous Red Arrows, thrilling crowds with their precision formation aerobatics! The Gnat T1 was the RAF’s standard advanced training aircraft for some time, and the initial equipment of the Red Arrows until replaced by Hawk T1s in 1980. Or how about adopting something with a royal connection? The Westland Sea King HAR3 was flown in 2011 by HRH The Duke of Cambridge, while serving as a Search and Rescue pilot at RAF Valley. It was the very first in RAF service, providing search and rescue cover for both military and civilian personnel across the UK, and only retired in 2015. Other aircraft in this tier include the Panavia Tornado GR1B, Avro Lancaster 1 and Boulton Paul Defiant I.

To celebrate the launch, the Museum is offering up to 20 people the chance to adopt the iconic Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb. Ordinarily, this item would feature within the Exclusive tier, however for the launch of Adopt an Artefact, you can adopt this item for £200 within the Standard tier, the ultimate gift for any aviation fan.

View your adopted artefact during a visit to the Museum, where each object can be found on display at either the Museum’s Cosford or London site, with the exception of just one – Douglas Bader’s Log Book. Stored in the archives, a private viewing of the log book can be arranged for the adoptee of this item.

Edward Sharman, Head of Development RAF Museum, said:
“Support from adoptees will help the Museum continue sharing the RAF Story, past, present and future, to engage, inspire and encourage learning for current and future generations. Whether you’re adopting an artefact for yourself, as a gift for an aviation fan, or someone currently serving in the armed forces, it may even be a personal tribute to honour and remember a loved one, this is a fantastic opportunity to be part of the RAF’s history and to receive something unique in return for your support.

Each item tells its own fascinating RAF story, whether it’s a cute stuffed toy with an adventurous past, clothing that tells more than just a fashion statement, from tiny badges with major honours to large iconic Battle of Britain aircraft, there is something to inspire and connect everyone. Support the RAF Museum and adopt today, and share your special adoption story.”

For more details on how to Adopt an Artefact and to browse the items available, visit www.rafmuseum.org.uk/support-us/adopt-an-artefact

The Museum is now open daily with a range of measures in place to ensure a safe and great day out for the whole family. While still offering FREE entry to all, visitors are kindly asked to pre-book their arrival time online at www.rafmuseum.org.