Boscombe Down Aviation Collection

After our morning at Stonehenge we took a drive down to Amesbury and then on to Sailsbury for a bit of shopping...but en-route we made a chance discovery and took a little diversion to see the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection. The original museum was created in 1999 but moved to its current site in 2012 and tells the history of Boscombe Down. 

Inside one of the hangers at the museum. There are several full aircraft and dozens of cockpit sections, many of which you can climb into (not me, too big!)

Meteor Mk D16 - This complete aircraft was used to chase target drones.

This Jaguar GR1 served in the RAF and the IAF before being used for explosives testing. It had now been largely restored.

A Hawker Sea Harrier. This one has a side panel removed to show the complex wiring running through the wall of the plane.

Auster AOP Mk 4/5. This aircraft was deployed in Normandy in 1944 and is being restored in its Overlord paint scheme. 

A replica BE2B. 

There is also an extensive model plane collection. 

This is a nice little museum although I would describe it as an enthusiasts museum, it helps if you know a lot about the exhibits on display. I like the hands on nature of the museum and most of the aircraft cockpits are open and, if your small enough, you can climb in a get a pilots eye view of the insides.  Not a bad discovery, especially as it wasn't planned and was very much a happy accident coming across it. 

Tomorrow I'm going back to Bovington Tank Museum while the girls do Monkey World just down the road (got to keep everyone happy).  I'm looking forward to my visit, even though I have been here dozens of times.