From the Cambridge News Online:
The Imperial War Museum at Duxford has unveiled major development plans as it approaches its centenary in five years’ time. CHRIS ELLIOTT reports.
To the 400,000 or so visitors who flock to it every year, it is pure gold.
In 2018, Duxford’s Imperial War Museum will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the airfield where it is based – and the giant site next to the M11, which houses more than 200 historic aircraft, aims to invest £15 million in a number of projects designed to improve what it offers visitors, and to secure its long-term future.
Plans include:
– A £2.5 million revamp of the spectacular American Air Museum building, in 2015-16;
– Construction of a hotel close to the AirSpace building;
– Opening of a new hangar where visitors can see work being carried out on historic aeroplanes;
– Conversion of the old RAF Duxford officers’ mess building for commercial use, as serviced offices;
– A £650,000 scheme to resurface the runway, the “stage” for the museum’s hugely popular air displays.
Speaking exclusively to the News, museum director Richard Ashton said: “In 2018, we will be celebrating our centenary – it was in 1918 that the original Duxford airfield came into being. These are exciting plans, and the intention behind them is to ensure that we are still here in 30, 40, 50 years’ time as an educational institution.
“In 2015, the American Air Museum will be 17 years old, and will have had 8.5 million people through its doors, so we are fundraising to take the glass front off, take all the aircraft out, check the aircraft and then spend £2.5 million on reinterpreting the museum, using the stories of people. The arrival of 250,000 young Americans in wartime Britain was the biggest invasion our country has seen, and we want to tell that story as well as displaying the aircraft.”
He said no hotel chain or other developer had been secured for the hotel scheme, but that the museum had let it be known it was open to approaches. It has a thriving conference business, and the hotel would support that.
The new hangar will be run by one of the museum’s partner organisations, and the public will be allowed in to see restoration work going on.
The officers’ mess building, on the north side of the museum site, is listed and is currently empty, and Mr Ashton said the idea was to bring in a developer who would create serviced commercial offices there.
He said: “There can be no extension or other major changes, because it is a listed building, and there will be discussions with South Cambridgeshire District Council and English Heritage. Essentially the scheme will allow the building to be preserved, with the old bedrooms being converted into offices.
“At present the building is empty and unused, and this is a way to bring it back to life.”
Other future plans for the site as a whole include improvements to the Land Warfare Hall, which displays historic artillery, tanks and other armoured vehicles.
Mr Ashton added: “The Duxford museum is essentially the biggest First World War exhibit in the world, and next year we will be very much involved in the commemorations. We are also looking ahead to our own centenary.
“People need not be concerned that anything is going to be done that will impact on the museum setting. When the museum took over the airfield, it happily signed up to planning constraints, and we and our trustees are foursquare behind the need to ensure the view stays the same.
“We are a historic airfield, and our staff, our volunteers and our partners are fantastic – without them we’d be nothing. The people who visit us are at the centre of everything we do. The plans we have are aimed at protecting that, and as grant aid from the Government is cut, we need to be more self-sufficient.”
The centenary of the beginning of the First World War in 2014 is set to produce at least one world first at Duxford – at one of the air shows, it is hoped to have a flypast by up to 20 First World War aeroplanes, a sight not seen before.
Brian
By: TwinOtter23 - 14th February 2013 at 16:11
….. To a man we couldn’t understand why the IWM didn’t turn it into a full-on hotel. Imagine the history! You could have themed guestrooms, an authentic mess bar and eat in the dining room…..
It’s being done successfully elsewhere – like the former Officers Mess at RAF Hemswell – I’ve been to some excellent conferences there as well.
Look out for some 31 Squadron paintings as you wander around!! 😉
By: Evalu8ter - 14th February 2013 at 15:43
I had my wedding reception in the Mess at Duxford; the staff were brilliant and were clearly thrilled to have loads of young (at the time) pilots cutting around the place in No1s and swords. To a man we couldn’t understand why the IWM didn’t turn it into a full-on hotel. Imagine the history! You could have themed guestrooms, an authentic mess bar and eat in the dining room. With so much parking available and the bridge to the south side right outside (as we use for conferences) it would be a unique facility. They could bundle it up with multi-day tickets, themed breaks and airshow specials. Out of season you could market it as a ‘travellodge’ style hotel for commuters and people visiting Cambridge. Please IWM, you have a piece of the RAF’s history in your hands, use it wisely but breathe some life into the place!!
By: Rlangham - 14th February 2013 at 15:21
Be nice to see a bit more focus on WW1 – the Airco DH9 is superb, but the RE8 is horrifically displayed from the roof, the only original RE8 with RAF engine in the world, and the Bristol Fighter could do with a refurb – believe there’s no engine in it, also it’s in Home Defence markings but carrying cooper bombs and no Lewis gun for the Observer?
By: Mike J - 14th February 2013 at 09:38
……..which I am sure will be celebrated in an appropriate manner by the RAF Museum.
By: AMB - 14th February 2013 at 09:23
They appear to have completely overlooked a much more important anniversary that they could have capitalised on -1918 will be the 100th Anniversary of the RAF!
By: DragonRapide - 13th February 2013 at 22:33
Work on Duxford airfield started in October 1917 and although uncompleted, opened in February 1918 as a Training Depot Station. RAF Duxford officially opened September 1918.
Thanks Brian – sorted out my confusion!
By: Mike J - 13th February 2013 at 22:28
How much do they need to raise to do that this time?
Almost certainly a whole lot more than the cost of cranking open the doors of AirSpace every time they need to have a reshuffle there.
By: David Burke - 13th February 2013 at 22:07
50K was the sum about fifteen years ago I recall -I guess its more now!
By: 92fis - 13th February 2013 at 21:34
Is this the third time that the glass will have been taken out? How much do they need to raise to do that this time?
By: mmitch - 13th February 2013 at 21:32
I would have thought that the officers mess would make an ideal hotel because wasn’t that the role it played originally? I don’t like the idea of another new building on the historic part of the site.
At least there is no mention of a high tower with historic aircraft hanging from it. :rolleyes:
mmitch.
By: Mike J - 13th February 2013 at 21:20
So what would you do?
I see nothing of vision in this release. It is simply a list of the maintenance work required, trotting out the hackneyed old hotel plan yet again (with seemingly no substance behind it) and a bit of piggybacking on the plans of a private organisation to invest further in the site.
The previous regime at Duxford gave us visionary projects such as the Superhangar (and its later development into AirSpace), the Land Warfare Hall, and the American Air Museum. In addition, there was a constant programme of additions to the exhibits, although this obviously slowed over the past couple of decades as the hangars filled up.
All we have seen over the past few years is the virtual cessation of restorations and additions to the collections, and substantial, often controversial, divestments.
What would I do? This is a plan for the next five years, to 1918. I would put in place planning to add another building to the site in this timeframe. With the upcoming 100th anniversary of the site, this could be the theme of the new building. It could contain types relevant to the history of Duxford. For example, the Casa 2111 could be restored to BoB film markings, and used to represent this aspect of Duxford’s history, rather than being bodged to represent a pseudo-Heinkel. The P-47 could be removed from the AAM and repainted into 78th FG markings, and be replaced in the AAM by the Lambeth P-51, also in new markings. The plastic P-51 could then go into the new Duxford hangar. A replica of one of Duxford’s inter-war types could be commissioned in the intervening 5 years, to represent this era of the station. Imagine a Grebe, Siskin, Bulldog, Gauntlet or Snipe. Add the Bristol Fighter, Meteor and Javelin (thinking outside the box, even arrange an exchange with Cosford for their fighter Javelin in exchange for Duxford’s test example) from the existing collection and a Spitfire (real or replica). With suitable displays of artifacts, models, add appropriate interactive displays, and this could result in a worthy addition to the site.
The type of vision that enabled the site to develop into the world-class museum that it is today does seem to be lacking in this press release outlining the view for the next five years. 🙁
By: Pen Pusher - 13th February 2013 at 21:14
Work on Duxford airfield started in October 1917 and although uncompleted, opened in February 1918 as a Training Depot Station. RAF Duxford officially opened September 1918.
Brian
By: DragonRapide - 13th February 2013 at 21:04
I was under the impression that RFC Duxford actually opened (unfinished) in October 1917 – but I may be wrong!
By: pagen01 - 13th February 2013 at 19:51
What saddens me when I see news releases like this, is that there is a huge opportunity here to open up and make the most of an old RAF station with many superb period buildings and a rich history from RFC days, through the expansion era, and early cold-war fighter command, the best chance in this country possibly, and again it’s being spent on corporate ideas of new hotels and offices for conferences etc – how many conferences do we need!
£2.5m to check exhibits and ‘reinterpret’ the space sounds steep, it would be great to see all of this funding going into the old station and looking after the artefacts on display, it must be time for a new hangar for the long term display of the airliners outside?
£650k isn’t a lot for a new runway suface, would be interesting to see what they get for that.
By: alohha1234 - 13th February 2013 at 19:09
‘The new hangar will be run by one of the museum’s partner organisations, and the public will be allowed in to see restoration work going on’
:– Presumably by the ARC i think this has been aired on this forum last year or even 2011 so that they can service the bigger BBMF aircraft but i may be only guessing ?
In 2015, the American Air Museum will be 17 years old, and will have had 8.5 million people through its doors, so we are fundraising to take the glass front off, take all the aircraft out, check the aircraft and then spend £2.5 million on reinterpreting the museum, using the stories of people. The arrival of 250,000 young Americans in wartime Britain was the biggest invasion our country has seen, and we want to tell that story as well as displaying the aircraft.”
:– Not to mention that a vast majority of the 8th USAAF were stationed in East Anglia and that nearly 28000 or so didn’t return home, revamping the AAM without disposing of ANY of the displays to me is a must. It has become stale and tired. The glass panels on the path serve as a reminder to how many died but their is little information on what they are or why there. On air show days you wouldn’t even enter from the main entrance so don’t even see them. I even overheard one visitor calling them a nice decorated wind break ! Careful use of modern technology with lighting, sound and visual effects would be fantastic at the moment inside is just a large grey wall ! One thing i would perhaps do would be have a nose art wall with an explanation each piece ie where, when, why
A £650,000 scheme to resurface the runway, the “stage” for the museum’s hugely popular air displays.
:– So long as it will allow jets with afterburners to land/takeoff again maybe pie in the sky but an extension obviously non M11 end to allow bigger aircraft to land ?
Construction of a hotel close to the AirSpace building;
:– Not sure about this one can see some benefits for corporate events, but it would only come into its own on weekend airs how days and then would be booked well in advance by visiting/display pilots
The officers’ mess building, on the north side of the museum site, is listed and is currently empty, and Mr Ashton said the idea was to bring in a developer who would create serviced commercial offices there
:– only a revenue generator not of any real use to the jo public
Mr Ashton added: “The Duxford museum is essentially the biggest First World War exhibit in the world, and next year we will be very much involved in the commemorations. We are also looking ahead to our own centenary.
:– Perhaps they would like to have a look at what stowmaries are creating and incorporate some of the ideas
The centenary of the beginning of the First World War in 2014 is set to produce at least one world first at Duxford – at one of the air shows, it is hoped to have a flypast by up to 20 First World War aeroplanes, a sight not seen before.
:– I visited Duxford in the 90’s and there was a wonderful diorama set up in one of the hangers of a WW1 aircraft and service are but it soon seemed to disappear ?
So in conclusion stop disposing of their assets that Jo public would recognise, increase the descriptions and story boards of what they have, ‘on an airshow visit i had to explain to a confused customer what the peice of Berlin wall was’ invest in better sound & lighting within the hangers and a big investment of the airfield PA system to rid the unsightly lamp posts with speakers on
By: ozplane - 13th February 2013 at 18:08
So what would you do?
By: Mike J - 13th February 2013 at 17:10
That press release shows a remarkable lack of imagination
A new hangar provided by a private operation
Yet another refurb of a fairly new building, seemingly reducing (rather than adding to) the number of aircraft on show (aren’t they planning on disposing of the B-25 and TBM? Also IIRC the T-33 and plastic toy SPAD?)
Regular R&M on the runway (and I hope they do a better job of it than the previous resurfacing fiasco) – self-funding from airshow revenue and landing fees (no operational runaway = no airshows)
Some private offices on a part of the site that is not generally open to the public, so has no bearing on the museum trying to “improve what it offers visitors”. Incidentally, I wasn’t aware that the Museum had failed with its previous use of the Mess for weddings, conferences etc.
An as-yet unfunded hotel. Improving the visitor experience? This idea has been kicking around for the past quarter of a century.
Have I missed something?
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February 13, 2013 at 4:24 pm