Flying Legends Air Show 2009 - Duxford (Great Britain)

Important note

Photos provided on this website are not an endorsement of any political idea or of war. War is one of the most regrettable human activities.

All photos on this page are copyright Robert Mary and may only be reproduced with my express permission. You may contact me here

Historical information

The former Battle of Britain fighter airfield at Duxford is now home to one of the world's largest collections of preserved military and civil aircraft.

The military aircraft come from the Imperial War Museum's extensive collection while the civil airliners belong to the Duxford Aviation Society. In addition, an increasing number of private warbird and vintage aircraft operators have chosen to base their aircraft at Duxford. These include the B-17 Flying Fortress 'Sally B', The Fighter Collection, Ray Hannah's The Old Flying Machine Company, and the Aircraft Restoration Company/British Aerial Museum with restored and operates the well known Bristol Blenheim. Original World War I hangars stand in contrast to the new American Air Museum and it's glass front wall.

Elsewhere on site can be found the Land Warfare Exhibition for military vehicle enthusiasts, and a restored Battle of Britain Operations Room. Flying displays are held during the summer season and prove extremely popular, while pleasure flights are available on most weekends.

The Air War Museum and Air Show

AirSpace

The story of British and Commonwealth aviation, with over 30 military and civil aircraft and a fun, interactive Exhibitions Gallery
.
Hangar 2 – The Flying Museum

See Duxford's partner organisations prepare their historic ‘warbirds’ for flight.

Hangar 3 – The Maritime Collection

The exhibits in Hangar 3 show how submarines, torpedoes and aircraft changed the nature of war at sea.

Hangar 4 – The Battle of Britain

Inside Hangar 4 is the story of Britain’s finest hour. See how the Battle of Britain was won, and find out about the air defence of the nation from the First World War to the Cold War.

Hangar 5 – The Working Museum

Here you can see conservation staff and volunteers actively preserving our aviation heritage.

Historic Duxford

Duxford is one of the finest-preserved examples of a First World War, Second World War and Cold War airfield.

The American Air Museum

The American Air Museum exhibits the finest collection of American combat aircraft outside of the United States, telling the story of American air power and its effect on the modern world.

The Land Warfare Hall

The Land Warfare Hall houses Duxford's collection of tanks, military vehicles and artillery. It shows the technological advances in twentieth-century warfare..

The Museum can be contacted here..

The official website of the Imperial War Museum Duxford stands here.

More information about the museum is available here.

Some other photos are here and this website provides a list of aviation museums.

Location information

Imperial War Museum Duxford
Cambridgeshire
CB22 4QR

Please note that some Sat Nav systems do not yet recognise our new postcode CB22 4QR but do still recognise the old postcode CB2 4QR

Telephone: +44 (0)1223 835 000

Fax: +44 (0)1223 837 267
Ticket enquiries: duxfordtickets@iwm.org.uk

Opening times:
Open daily except 24, 25 and 26 December.

Winter 2008/2009 (26 October 2008 to 13 March 2009 inclusive)
10.00am - 4.00pm (Last admission 3.00pm.)

Summer 2009 (14 March to 24 October inclusive)
10.00am - 6.00pm (Last admission 5.00pm.)

It is recommended that visitors enter the Museum by 3.00pm (in Winter) and by 5.00pm (in Summer). There will be no free admission after this time.

Personal note

I only visited 3 hangars out of 5.
I entered the site at 10.00 AM and left at 6.30 PM.
After 30£ entrance fee (fees vary depending on the existence of an air exhibit or not and the type of exhibit) you have to pay extra 4£ to get access to the airfield (in order to make photos of the airfield on the ground)
You cannot make photos of planes on the airfield then during the air show then visit all the Halls then visit the numerous shops (especially those with scale models), you need two days...
You must make a choice: either visit exclusively the Halls (5 museums in fact) when there is no air show foreseen (entrance is 22 £) or go to Duxford during an air show and stick to it.
In all cases it was a marvellous experience I can recommend to any WW2 aircraft enthusiast!