De Havilland Aircraft Museum — Attraction in Hertsmere

We are inside the bomb bay of a WWII Mosquito. This cramped space under fuel tanks didn't just carry military ordnance, it also transported VIPs. Incredibly, the famous Danish physicist Niels Bohr escaped to Britain in a Mosquito bomb bay like this one in 1943. This is just one of the extraordinary facts you learn at the de Havilland Museum, where Peter, the archivist (that's him on the right) showed my family and me around. Like most of the staff, Peter is a volunteer, and he was really generous with his time, giving us a detailed insight into this highly successful aircraft. The museum has the very first prototype, and as the second prototype was one of the planes my father flew in WWII, we had a special interest in it. But the other de Havilland planes were fascinating too. What a surprise to find ourselves in the cabin of a genuine Comet airliner! And to see a real British dambusters-type bouncing bomb (unexploded, but much dented). And to learn that the modern Airbus A320 is the great-granddaughter of a de Havilland design. Back in the 1950s, if you chose the RAF for your National Service and you had a bit of luck, the RAF would take you up to loop the loop in a Chipmunk trainer plane (at least, they did that for me, and I loved it). So what a joy to find a very smart Chipmunk on display. If we had booked early, we could have used the Mosquito flight simulator too (don't miss that if you have kids). We had come a long way to see this museum and it was worth every minute of our journey. Warmly...

Last day in the UK prior to returning to the USA and I went to visit this museum which I had driven past hundreds of times but never visited. It is brilliant. Firstly it has THE prototype Mosquito, lovingly preserved and almost miraculously saved from destruction by a philistine management at De Havilland. As well as that it has two more Mosquitoes, so three all in the same place. It has great volunteers who are knowledgeable. It also has a wonderful collection of Mosquito bits. I particularly liked the 6 pounder gun fitted in the Tsetse Mosquito, that is one nasty sting. Then there all the other planes, Dove, Heron, various Moths and above all the big radio controlled Queen Bee target plane. Try to get a volunteer to show you how the controls were actuated on that aircraft remotely using of all things a telephone dial. Yes, an old fashioned rotary phone dial was used to fly a plane. De Havilland were a pretty amazing company. The diversity of output is massive from Blue Streak, the UK's ill fated attempt at a ballistic missile for the Cold War to missiles, piston and jet engines as well as aircraft. Walk through the Comet fuselage, it evokes an atmosphere of more graceful travel, no taking your shoes off and your laptop out. I could have spent several more hours there but it was my last day in the UK prior to going home. One minor thing and not to detract from the five stars at all, no XL t-shirts at all. I would have bought a couple, so lost...

Really enjoyed my first visit to this museum. Having spent the morning at the RAF museum in Hendon, I noticed that it was only a 15 minute drive to pop over to the De Havilland museum so paying a visit was a no brainer. Very interesting exhibits, many of which have cockpit viewings on offer at no extra charge. This particular museum is home to my favourite jetliner, the Comet of which they have 4 on show! 1 being an original mark 1 full length fuselage (minus its wings) 2 are forward fuselage sections which are displayed outside and the final is the empty shell of another forward fuselage section which has been farmed for parts to help with the refurbishment of the Comet 1. Many other interesting aircraft, engines and weapons on display and a very well stocked shop and cafe, ample free parking and accessible toilets. The best part of my visit was meeting some of the lovely stewards who look after the museum. I had several very informative conversations and learnt a few things I didn't know before. I especially enjoyed chatting to Jason in the workshop, Rick in the Mosquito hangar and Colin who was looking after the Comet. Great bunch a guys and a museum that I will definitely be visiting again and would highly...