Like to hear from off airport museums

Glad you enjoyed the Namao airshow, it was a great one.

Traffic has been forced off the airport….long story but this is not a free market situation is the best way to describe it without getting winded.

There has been a tremendous amount of mis information and dirty politics around the issue and it has divided the city.

Edmonton was for most of the 20th century one of the busiest aviation centres in Canada, soon there will be nothing left of that great heritage, except what we can maintain.

Tom

Tom………….

Sad to hear the airport is closing. I visited relatives in Edmonton back in June 1988. Remember going to the excellent Namao Airshow. Met the Airport Manager ( Mr Temple ?? ) who arranged for me to have an airside tour including most of the hangars.

Guess all the traffic is moving out to the International (on road to Calary) airport. We flew into International but it very quiet in those days. Remember the down airport being pretty busy.

Planemike

Thanks everyone I am now researching the sites suggested to try and get additional information.

Tom

Morning Peter

The current plan for Blatchford Field (Edmonton City Centre Airport) is a phased shut down. The first runway closed a few months ago and the crash in usage has been frightening, I would expect it will collapse within the next 2-5 years and likely closer to the 2.

The final nail was the recent Municipal election which ended any chance of the decision being changed…so now we implement contingencies.

Shame to see this happen to Canada’s first licensed airfield to become just another sub division.

Tom

Doncaster Aeroventure (www.aeroventure.org) is another museum which is sited in the remaining buildings of a former working airfield and is doing reasonably well.

That said the airfield had been closed down for some time prior to the museum taking on the site.

Doncaster Aeroventure (www.aeoventure.org) is another museum which is sited in the remaining buildings of a former working airfield and is doing reasonably well.

that said the airfield had been closed down for some time prior to the museum taking on the site.

Answering for the de Havilland Museum, we have always been on a non airfield property. We are based in the grounds of a former de Havilland outstation (Salisbury Hall), on roughly the site once occupied by de Havilland, although we are still in former farm buildings in some cases.

We get a good throughput of visitors, though it is variable, and we do have to work to get people through the doors, but we have never seen the lack of an airfield as a particular issue, except when getting new exhibits!

It is our intention to inclrease the undercover display space now, and to develop the business plan, to encourage use of the facilities by more diverse activities. Time will tell!

Bruce

The RNZAF museum has suffered a similar fate in recent years. The museum is located on the site of the former RNZAF Base Wigram in Christchurch which closed in 1995. The aerodrome facility continued to be used by civilian operators until March 2009. A residential development is now planned for the site.

Tom, are the runways definately becoming non useable?

Thanks for the information everyone.

We have a tough row ahead and all information is helpful.

Tom

Cosford is another example – its a nightmare to reach on public transport, and about 15 miles from Wolverhampton (30ish from Birmingham). The airfield there is only used by the air cadets, a gliding club, and the LTF during the week.

Cosford is an active RAF station but of course not front line. Cannot agree about public transport. Rail station is about ten minutes walk and bus stop about fifteen minutes. It is quite practical to get here by public transport.

Planemike

NEAM was located at a small regional airport but at the time was itself a tiny museum. The closure of the airport ensured that NEAM became homeless and I believe that they shut for a few weeks while they re-located to a field outside of the airfield. Nissan UK moved onto the airport and the process of building the factory obliterated the site.

NEAM survived but have never had the funding or support in order to fully utilise the site, bearing in mind that they were a SMALL concern at that time. It has taken the best part of 25 years for them to gain support in sufficient quantity to expand further. NEAM is centrally located btween Sunerland and Newcastle and has a large catchment area.

Logistically, getting new exhibits into an off-airport site becomes harder – you can’t get anything flown in!

Elvington manage perfectly well with a disused airfield, and only the running aircraft woul be affected if the runway was to vanish. YAM is approximately 5 miles from York city centre.

Cosford is another example – its a nightmare to reach on public transport, and about 15 miles from Wolverhampton (30ish from Birmingham). The airfield there is only used by the air cadets, a gliding club, and the LTF during the week.

RAF Museum Hendon is on former airfield site but seems to operate OK in terms of visitor numbers: mind you it does happen to be in our capital city.

As well as Newark we have NEAM at Usworth, airfield well closed: now site of a Nissan car plant. Then there is deHavilland Museum, site has never truly been an airfield: site has great significance as the deH 98 was designed and built there. Museum is successful.

Of course there is the museum at Tangmere, on a long disused airfield. A museum I have nver visited but it has been there for at least 20 years.

There are four to be going on with.

Planemike

You should now have an email Tom – more to follow at a more convenient time! 🙂

Thanks

PM on the way

Tom

If you PM me an email address I’ll respond via email and that way I can send you some meaningful feedback; reports etc.

A brief timeline for the museum can be found here http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/museum_profile.html

The museum location has always been on a disused facility with no meaningful aviation infrastructure. 🙂

To be greedy as much as I can…

The airport closure is a major and we are hoping not fatal change to our operations.

We are not surprised and have been developing contingencies while the debate has raged, but nothing beats real world input from someone who is there or has been there.

Our current facility useage (total) is in the area of 150,000 to 170,000 per year. Museum attendance is 50,000 ish excluding special events and education programming.

Our education programming offers Kindergarten to Grade 12 programming (30 modules) and attracts roughly 8-10,000 students per year.

We run 25-30 special events per year.

Do as you can guess I’m trying to narrow down the real world effects of losing the operational runways.

Did your museum start off with an operating airport and then have it shut down?

Alternatively was it always unserviceable?

How far from a major centre are you located?

Rough idea on attendance? Paid or overall

Do you offer education programming? How has it been affected?

Appreciate any information and the link provided.

Tom

I guess this place might qualify http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/ 😀

Whilst located on part of a disused former RAF base (no longer serviceable runways) I guess it would qualify as being a non-airport location – what would you like to know?