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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 22, 2018 18:35:41 GMT 12
What have been the top ten things (or less) that have most impressed you when you saw them on display in a museum. If does not have to be an aircraft or aviation related. But please say what it was, where you saw it, what is its significance and what impressed you about it. They don't have to be ranked in order if you don't want by the way.
For me:-
The Avro Lancaster at MOTAT - the first time i ever saw it the engines were running, and over the years it has become more and more significant to me as I have visited it many times, and been in it a few times now, and talked with veterans and their families while visiting, etc.
Curtiss P-40E NZ3009, when I saw it at MOTAT as a kid, the first fighter plane I ever saw in the flesh, and it looked magnificent to me. Of course in more recent years seeing it flying has been amazing too.
The Lockheed Hudson at Wigram. I watched it being restored,and it got me interested in the type, which led tome tracking down loads of Hudson aircrew and groundcrew members to talk with them and find out more. I love seeing it every time I visit that museum.
The Vickers Wellington at Hendon, a magnificent piece of history.
Lancaster G for George at the AWM in Canberra, because the way in which it is displayed is just brilliant, with the light and sound show.
The WWI aircraft exhibit at the AWM in Canberra with genuine WWI aeroplanes and the incredible NZ-made movie that screens above them.
The Gallipoli battle diorama at the Great War Exhibition in Wellington is astonishing, as is everything in that museum.
The Sunderland at Hendon was a huge thrill as you could walk inside it. I have since been into the MOTAT Sunderland too, twice, and the Solent there. All of them are amazing.
A private museum but Steve Subritzky's Vickers Vincent, that aircraft is just so awesome (I love the whole collection but for me that is the jewelin the crown)
The Vimy in the Science Museum, London, was very impressive, as were lots of other famous aeroplanes around it.
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Post by vs on Jun 22, 2018 18:52:17 GMT 12
B36, USAF museum, Dayton. Much bigger than I thought
727, Chicago Science Museum. Great interactive display
Apollo 8 Capsule. Went with my father who saw it re-enter from DC8 he was flying
Vulcan, RAF Hendon....bit crammed in, but it's a Vulcan
Bristol Type 188, RAF Cosford....stainless steel jet....way cool
Sea Fury, Havana, Cuba....Sea Fury down town Havana....Cuba plus Sea Fury...way cool!
F111 South Australian Air Museum. Had a great tour for an hour of this example
Boeing Museum of Flight, 747 prototype...great airliner of all time
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Jun 22, 2018 19:04:53 GMT 12
Local delights only:
1. AHC Knights of the Sky: Baron Manfred von Richtofen diorama and artefacts. A framed fabric 'Iron Cross' pilfered as a souvenir from off the Baron's dreidekker, hanging on the wall, is quite outstanding to me (along with Edward Vernon Rickenbacker's flying overalls!)
2. The Great War Exhibition in Wellington. Outstandingly detailed and informative - particularly the diorama and script covering the battle at Gallipoli
3. ZK-AMO 'nuff said
4. NZ3551 " "
5. NZ4115 " "
6. NZ2049 " " (not really in a museum)
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Post by markrogers on Jun 22, 2018 19:45:58 GMT 12
The Ventura at MOTAT: I used to see it sitting in the paddock at the Russ farm in Appleby, most days when going past in the car as a youngster. Then later on as a teenager I watched it being towed on the road to the port to be taken up to Auckland by ship, with a traffic car in front with its flashing light on. The tailwheel was sitting on the deck of a truck while the mainwheels were on the road. I remember there was one propeller on an engine slowly moving around as it was being towed. The other engine didn't have a prop on it and had no cowls.
The Spitfire that used to sit on a stand at Christchurch Airport and is now at the Wigram Museum
The Spifire Mk22/24, Beaufort, Typhoon, Me262, and other aircraft at the RAF museum Hendon in London
And not museum related...but significant:
The Apollo capsule: it was on a tour around NZ and I went to see it close up and touched it.
Halley's Comet in the 80's: saw it with my eyes the length of the comet's tail in the night sky
The first 747 to land at Christchurch Airport in the 70's: saw it fly over and there were cars lining both sides of the road and crowds of people watching
The last NAC DC-3 Skyliner ZK-AOF in the hangar at Christchurch in 1973 or 74 when my uncle who was an aircraft engineer there took me there to show me around
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Post by haughtney1 on Jun 22, 2018 19:59:23 GMT 12
One of the pleasures of my Job is the opportunity to visit museums in places I end up.
Imperial war museum Duxford.
Smithsonian Washington DC
RAF Museum Hendon
RAF Cosford..free! But £3 to park all day
USAF Dayton
NASA, Kennedy Space centre
USS Midway and Intrepid (San Diego and NYC)
War Renmants Museum Ho Chi Minh, lots of interesting stuff there!
Museum of the great patriotic war Moscow. Got the private tour...was huge and took 4 hrs!
Fantasy of flight Seattle, great for a rainy Seattle day...with a beer at the end across the road!
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Post by madmac on Jun 22, 2018 20:41:21 GMT 12
Don Subritzky hangar (yes not a formal museum but...), first saw it when I was about 10 & thought all my Christmas's had come at once
RAF Cosford, the prototype hangar
Duxford, the Vulcan just arn't as big as they look in pictures
V&A, london if only for the random stuff collections interesting stuff
Ferrymead Aeronautical society
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Jun 22, 2018 21:17:30 GMT 12
Oh, can I add another?
Bits and pieces of ZK-BBZ...!
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 22, 2018 21:31:47 GMT 12
What is ZK-BBZ?
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Post by johnnyfalcon on Jun 22, 2018 21:53:34 GMT 12
Dave...! Ask Baz
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Post by thebrads on Jun 22, 2018 22:23:42 GMT 12
Lancaster at Motat. First time i went there as an "adult" and understood/appreciated what this aircraft symbolized, terms of the sacrifices, the efforts made for the way of life that was at stake at the time. Didn't want to walk away from it.
IWM Duxford, for the sheer scale of things. Hangar after hangar of aircraft. First building i went into upon entry was Airspace, walked into a huge hangar and it comfortably had a Victor and a Shackleton comfortably sitting in it. This then opened to an even bigger "shed". For scale, took me several minutes to realize Concorde is kinda just tucked along one side, past the Comet, behind the Sunderland and so on...
Concorde: Without planning to, laid eyes on about 6 of them in 6 weeks. Awesome aircraft.
East Fortune, because it has that feel of discovering a forgotten airfield where time has stopped.
Brooklands, the sheer amount of history, not just the aircraft related items, which is why i went, but discovering the motor racing history (which i knew little of prior to going) but really enjoyed, the foot bridge over the remaining banked track was another spot where you can almost feel history.
Historic Maritime Park Paeroa, as a lad growing up in the area playing on/exploring the ex RNZN vessels that were there at the time. May have contributed to my joining the RNZN a decade later.
Point Cook, didn't know much about it, but took a visit one day while living at Laverton nearby, well organised and displayed, and caught a P-51 demo. (I think the same airframe had a belly landing there about a year later)
Dachau: I wouldn't say it "impressed" me, but certainly moved me, and left me mentally and emotionally drained. I never want to go to anything like it again, yet I am thankful i did. Hard to put into words, but I would think those who have been to a similar site would understand.
Mohne Dam: Not really a museum, but walking along it, seeing, turning the "stories" into reality.
Amien Prison, as above. It stops being a "boys own" story and becomes a real event
And finally, boyhood summer holidays: Mercury Bay Museum: visiting the grandparends, Grandad would take me an bro, and it had a "Tank". Well, it was my boyish eyes. (I would love to know what it really was! - early 1980's if anyone knows). Coupled with days spent trying to dig up the HMS Buffalo (it's just below the top layer of sand you know!), the little ferry to Cooks Landing...
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Post by tbf25o4 on Jun 23, 2018 9:12:41 GMT 12
For me the two Smithsonian air and Space Museums in Washington DC. The degree of restoration and the excellent displays (especially in the Dulles Airport venue) are so designed that the
visitor can see all of the aircraft with plenty of space for photography.
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Post by shorty on Jun 23, 2018 10:27:50 GMT 12
The "Wasa" display in Stockholm, amazing time capsule of a sailing ship that sank in 1628 and salvaged from Stockholm harbour.
Colditz Castle, put all the stories into context.
The aircraft museum in Brussels, amazing collection both old and new (including Oxford and Mosquito) and also the Aerospace Museum in Paris
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Post by camtech on Jun 23, 2018 12:59:31 GMT 12
FAA Museum Yeovilton - mind you that was 1976
Anne Frank in Amsterdam
IWM Duxfield - especially Concorde
Velu, Guadalcanal - some real history there. Found some slides that I should scan and upload.
USS Arizona Pearl Harbour - one of the most spine tingling experiences.
Culluden battlefield, Scotland. Graves of my ancestors, visited on a cold misty day.
WW1 exhibition at Te Papa
SS Great Britain - Bath
Dauntless "as Found" display at Air Force museum.
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Post by aircraftclocks on Jun 23, 2018 16:23:22 GMT 12
The Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility. The former Smithsonian storage facility.
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Post by baz62 on Jun 23, 2018 16:41:09 GMT 12
That would be my Auster Dave...Johnny trying to insinuate my hangar has a museum feel about it.  |
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Post by Bruce on Jun 23, 2018 17:02:36 GMT 12
Really tough question! as a "Museum Junkie" there are so many great museums which I love, and I havent even been to the really big overseas ones. I also have an interest in all sorts of subjects, particularly industrial heritage, so some of my choices may not appeal to everyone. Narrowing down to 10 specific exhibits is really hard - putting them in order is even harder! as of now, my top 10 would be:
IWM Duxford Superhangar - Lancaster, Mosquito, Comet, York, Concorde, Hastings and more all in one building!
Museum of Science and Engineering Manchester - Engine hall. I have never seen a better display of industrial engines, over a better explanation of how they work.
RAF Museum Cosford, experimental aircraft hangar - so many rare prototypes including TSR2, and great interpretation of what was tested by each.
Matakohe Kauri Museum, Northland NZ - Reproduction sawmill. Incredible detail of lifelike figures explaining a full-size, operating mockup bush saw mill.
Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth. An incredible slice of tudor life recovered from an amazing shipwreck.
FAA Museum Yeovilton - "Carrier" exhibition. A walk through interactive representation of HMS Ark Royal operations in the 1970s.
Auckland War Memorial Museum, Military halls and Natural History Halls. great exhibits put together telling their stories incredibly well.
Coal Town Museum Westport. Mining and industrial history with the social history woven through. Dominated by the huge centre brake of the Denniston Incline and a Q Class coal wagon hanging at the angle of the incline.
Tank Museum, Bovingdon UK. Particularly the Word War 1 history hall. an unmatched collection of exceedingly rare WW1 tanks, with the story of the crews that drove them.
Tawhiti Museum Hawera. Incredible miniature and life sized dioramas of Maori and Pioneer history. A great "float Through" exhibit called "Whalers and Traders" is an effective mix of theme park and museum telling a forgotten part of NZ history.
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gtw
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 85
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Post by gtw on Jun 23, 2018 18:30:11 GMT 12
Being 1 K south of Perth airport when the Concorde departed of runway 20. And attending the Wellington Airport opening.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Jun 23, 2018 18:34:25 GMT 12
Coal Town Museum Westport. Mining and industrial history with the social history woven through. Dominated by the huge centre brake of the Denniston Incline and a Q Class coal wagon hanging at the angle of the incline. If you then take a drive up to Denniston, you can see a Q class coal wagon hanging over the edge at the real top of the incline, although the rails end just below the wagon. |
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Post by Bruce on Jun 23, 2018 18:49:51 GMT 12
Coal Town Museum Westport. Mining and industrial history with the social history woven through. Dominated by the huge centre brake of the Denniston Incline and a Q Class coal wagon hanging at the angle of the incline. If you then take a drive up to Denniston, you can see a Q class coal wagon hanging over the edge at the real top of the incline, although the rails end just below the wagon. Yep, did that too! The illustration in the Museum is an impressive way of visualising the angle though! |
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Post by oj on Jun 23, 2018 19:51:05 GMT 12
I have been hardly anywhere but did have the privilege of looking over the spruce goose when it was still in San Diego in 1985. John Scott and I took a shuttle bus down from LA international. We got there just as the gate was closing for the day. We pleaded our case about being aircraft engineers on a special trip from NZ. They allowed us in. We had about 25 minutes of unobstructed access with no public and only a couple of really decent security guards accommodating us.
Absolutely fascinating.
It was dismantled shortly after that and moved to Seattle.
So that was unique.
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