I’m glad to hear that the RAF Museum do take note of this forum, perhaps I can be indulged with the conceit of airing some of my own personal ideas & wishes? Firstly, I wish the new appointee well, I know for a fact that my own CV gives no hint whatsoever of my interest in & knowledge of aviation, so I won’t make assumptions.
As to the museum itself, well, I’m what could be called a ‘frequent visitor’ as an enthusiast, as a researcher & as a parent. I’ve been going since the early seventies too, so have seen a few changes. Apologies for repeating others here, but Milestones of Flight… well it just isn’t really anymore. The genuine ‘milestone’ aircraft are elsewhere (Washington, South Kensington etc). It’s The RAF Museum, why not use the space for ‘The RAF Today & Tomorrow’ and go to town with all of the interactive stuff then? Personally, my big beef isn’t with The Battle of Britain Hall, I’m more or less okay with that although it could do with refreshing. The Bomber Command Hall however makes me almost weep. Since the Valiant left that whole top end has become a wasteland, often cut off from access (apparently there’s a Buccaneer up in the gloom somewhere, but every time I go I can’t seem to get near it). BC is about more than the Lancaster (an absolute jewel) & The Dams Raid. The Air Gunners’ Association display at Elvington is food for thought. A display of turrets etc could be produced out of those held in store, tell the story of all the bomber crews: pilots, a section on navigation, the gunners etc. Also, a proper display of nose art is cheap & easy to do, visually attractive & pretty self explanatory. Bunging Friday the 13th’s panels on the wall, in the dark, with no caption whatsoever is poor. Which brings me to the Halifax. I understand the ‘tribute to the fallen’ idea very well, but this is a ‘tribute to the restoration we started, it went a bit wrong, so we’ve sort of left it like this with all the fittings in boxes somewhere else’. There is a fine bunch of people up in the North East who work miracles with this sort of stuff, commissioning them, even if only as consultants if they are full to capacity, would be an excellent idea. Added to which the Halifax is modular, do it bit by bit (and borrow the IWM’s nose while that is away being fixed 😉 ). The Halifax also has local interest, they built them at Cricklewood & a couple of stops up the railway at Radlett, it deserves better.
Elsewhere, the uninformed visitor currently would have little idea how important Hendon was in the development of British aviation. Open up the galleries again, show how the RAF’s aircraft were produced over the last 100 years, the engineering & manufacturing side. Now, a bit of heresy if I may. the site at Hendon is getting smaller not bigger, time to have FEWER airframes perhaps? There is more to the RAF than the planes. Keep a smaller selection to illustrate the story & seek some more space at Cosford for the others? A shining example is the Heinkel He162 in the BC Hall. Why? What relevance has it? Send it to Cosford (or Berlin, the UK has another at Duxford). Some displays on the RAF Regiment perhaps and especially the return of the VC winners display, that IS stirring & thought-provoking. There is scope for audio visuals recreating the acts that won the medals, much better than the lame B17 videogame over the entrance to the BC Hall. The Grahame White Hanger, something I have family connections to so am quite fond of, also could do with more in the way of displays aside from the airframes.
I appreciate that everything costs money & many things that people ask for are also desired by the museum, but are unobtainable. There’s more I could say, but I’ve said enough for now!
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