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NEWARK AIR MUSEUM
Our collection of aircraft, aero engines and aviation relics has been carefully gathered together over the years and now represents one of the largest non-profit making volunteer managed aviation museums in Great Britain.
The museum operates as a limited company and is also a registered charity (no.256434). The only major source of finance enabling the 3 museum to continue developing comes from public admissions and profits from shop sales.
A committee of volunteer directors manage the museum's affairs. Work on the various exhibits is undertaken by a small group of museum members who do the work in their spare time. The museum is always keen to attract new members and membership details can be obtained from the Museum Shop.
It is the museum's policy to continually improve and extend its collection of exhibits and small artefacts. Should you know the whereabouts of any item or items which you think the museum could include in its displays, please contact out Curator via the Museum Shop.
We hope you have an enjoyable visit today and would welcome your recommendation to friends and colleagues, so they might also pay the museum a visit.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF NEWARK (Notts & Lines) AIR MUSEUM LTD.
The history of the museum commences in 1963 when a group of enthusiasts salvaged the remains of a Westland Wallace discovered in woods near Cranwell. The Percival Prentice GIAPIY was the first aircraft to be based at Winthorpe when it was flown there in 1967.
In 1968 the group formed themselves into a Limited Company and also registered as a charity. Later that year Ecko Electronics presented the museum with Avro Anson G-ALIH and General Aircraft Monospar VH-UTH was acquired and placed in store at Newark.
By 1970 two further aircraft, Supermarine Swift WK227 and Gloster Meteor FR.9 VZ608 had been delivered to Winthorpe. With three aircraft on the Showground a permanent site was established. Planning permission was granted for a building to house the exhibits and this was erected by May 1971. Avro Anson G-ALIH was mysteriously destroyed by fire on 11th May 1971.
In 1972 Percival Provost WV606 was added to the collection and a replacement Anson acquired. Prior to the official museum opening on Saturday 14th April 1973DeHavilland Vampire XD593 joined the collection. The official opening was conducted by Sir Ralph Cochrane and our then President Air Commodore David Bonham-Carter.
The museum's first helicopter Bristol Sycamore XE3 17 arrived in 1975. On 1st April 1976 Vickers Varsity WF369 was flown to Winthorpe from RAF Finningley. During February/March 1977 museum members undertook their largest dismantling and reassembly project ever, when Avro Shackleton WR977 was moved by road to Winthorpe from RAF Finningley. By the Summer of 1977 Handley Page Hastings TG5 17 had been flown into Winthorpe.
With the expansion of the Agricultural Show the museum aircraft and buildings were moved to the current site during the Winter of 1977178. During 1978 three aircraft, North American F 100 Super Sabre 54-2223, Dassault Mystere No.83 and Lockheed T33 19036 were loaned to the museum by the US Air Force. The years acquisitions were completed with Westland Sioux XT2OO.
During a month's period in 1980 three helicopters were added to the collection, Westland Whirlwind XM685, Bristol Sycamore WT933 and SARO Skeeter XL764. In 1981 planning permission was granted for the restoration hall, and work was started. Gloster javelin XH992 was collected from RAF Cosford, and this was closely followed by Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF 12 W5692 and DeHavilland Heron G-ANXB. In the Summer of 1982 Saab Safir 56321 was flown to the museum from Norway by two Norwegian Air Force officers. Later in 1982 MARTSU delivered Fairey Gannet XP226 from RNAS Lee-on-Solent.
February 1983 saw the culmination of a tremendous effort by the members and the local people, when Avro Vulcan XM594 was flown into the airfield. The Vulcan was the first jet and the largest aircraft to land at Winthorpe. Before the end of the year Gloster Meteor F.4 VT229 and DeHavilland Sea Venom WW2 17 were added to the collection. Over the years aircraft have tended to come in twos and threes and 1984 was no exception with Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF 14 W5739 and DeHavilland Vampire XDS IS being collected from Misson, Sea Hawk WM9 I 3 from Fleetwood and the Zurowski helicopter from Burton-on-Trent.
In 1985 planning permission was obtained for the new shop/entrance hall complex and building work was started. The Summer of 1985 saw yet another influx of aircraft with the arrival of English Electric Canberra I 9 WH904, English Electric Canberra B( 1)8 WV787 and Gloster Meteor T.7 VZ634. At the end of 1985 initial work was undertaken in dismantling DeHavilland Sea Vixen XJ560 and the move of this aircraft was completed in 1986. A major Building Appeal was also launched during 1986 to raise funds to construct a new aircraft display hall.
Two new aircraft arrived during 1988 in the shape of Blackburn Buccaneer XN964 and English Electric Lightning XS4 17. A brace of DeHavilland exhibits arrived in the Spring of 1989, Dove G-AHRI and Venom WX905.
The Building Appeal initially launched in 1986 stepped up a gear in May 1989. Planning permission was obatined for a 200' x 100' Display Hall. Thanks to a substantial grant from Newark and Sherwood District Council and efforts by 5 members, building work started in November 1989. The project was completed during the Winter of 1990 and the first aircraft were moved into the 20,000 square feet of undercover display space in April 1990. A new undercover Engine Display was also opened in April 1990, with nearly 30 engines on display.
The museum won the 1990 Twite Award, presented by the magazine Flypast for a the construction of the Aircraft Display Hall. In May 1991 the RAF Museum Hendon loaned Airspeed Oxford MP425 and North American Harvard FE905 to the museum for two years. Meteor VT229 departed for America during Autumn 1991, and Hunter WT651 arrived in January 1992.
The period 1992/93 was very much one of consolidation with a number of major aircraft restoration projects being successfully completed, including: Anson, Heron, P.Provost, Prentice, Whirlwind and Shackleton.
1994 started another flourish of aircraft acquisitions. In February the Draken AR-107 was placed on loan, although flown to the UK very quickly it was June before it was delivered to the Museum. The Oxford and Harvard were returned to the RAF Museum, to create undercover display space. Other new arrivals were the Microlight G-MBUE, jet Provost XM383, Gnat Procedures Trainer and Flying Flea BAPC-43.
After a brief delay Tiger Moth G-MAZY joined the collection during june 1995, before being joined soon after by the Autocrat G-AGOH which flew in during july and thereafter the Desford G-AGOS.
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