Midland Air Museum — Attraction in Warwick

This is a spectacular and interesting museum next to Coventry Airport with a wealth of Aviation History & Aircraft to see and learn about. The museum starts off with a wonderfully informative tribute about Sir Frank Whittle dubbed 'The Father of The Jet Engine' detailing his life, his career in the RAF and his efforts to get the first jet engine made and into aircraft and the barriers overcame to get there all of which is very interesting and intriguing stuff to learn about. There is some interesting aircraft to see in the museum hall such as The Gloster Meteor, CMC Leopard, Lockheed Shooting Star and the De Havilland Vampire F2 and all of these aircraft are in brilliant condition and there are information displays next to each of the aircraft detailing them and their flying history, which is very interesting and useful. Inside the museum there are a range of fantastic artefacts to see such as Pilot Uniforms, Model Aircraft, Trophies, Portraits and Photographs to see and there is a lovely small display about the local RAF airfields that were set up around before The Second World War and finished a short time later, which is very interesting and fascinating to learn about the local area and it's aviation contribution to the War Effort. There are some displays about the history of Civil Aviation from the start through to the modern era and some models of the aircraft which are wonderfully displayed. There are some interesting engines to see, which are in great condition. On the first floor you can learn about Armstrong-Siddeley and its contribution to Aviation which is very enlightening & useful and information about the Whitley Aircraft. There is also some further fantastic displays about WWII pilots and also some War artefacts to see in the display cabinets which are in in wonderful condition. There are a range of aircraft to see on the external part of the premises such as The Vulcan, Gloster Javelin, Hawker Hunter and Armstrong Whitworth Hawker Sea Hawk which are well displayed and are awesome on the eyes to see. Visitors can also be shown on tours of the inside of a Vulcan which is one of the best elements of this place and learn about how it operated on flying missions during the Cold War and also during the Falklands War, which is pretty exciting and stepping inside the Vulcan and looking at the cockpit and how the co-pilots worked you can get a real flavour of how it functioned and the difficulties and the volunteers are extremely knowledgeable when providing this information and really know their stuff, which is great. There is a small cafe at the site selling a range of refreshments at very reasonable prices and also a gift shop with a nice range of souvenirs at very reasonable prices. Overall this is a thoroughly marvellous and magnificent place to visit which makes for a very enthralling and riveting day out to learn about Aviation and it's history and step inside a well renowned aircraft. Well worth a visit whilst in the...

The trouble with living relatively near to these places is that you keep putting visits off. I've lived in Rugby for well over thirty years, and I'm a regular visitor to Coventry Airport both through work and as a member of one of the several flying clubs situated nearby and never seemed to find the time to get around to it. I visited the Midland Air Museum on the August Bank Holiday Monday, and for £10.50 entrance fee, it was money well spent. The exhibits are well laid out with plenty of room to walk around them and get a good view all round. However, as a lot are outside bearing the full brunt of the British weather, some are in need of some TLC. I found the F-4 Phantom and the Mil24 Hind D particularly interesting. There's plenty to see inside the main building, although when it gets busy, I think you'd be saying 'Excuse me, can l get past please' a few times as the passageways tend to be a bit narrow in places, It was a hot day too, so I found it a bit warm and stuffy inside. I'm not sure if there is a cafeteria here but there's a well stocked souvenir shop with lots of new and used books, aviation themed goods and plastic kits which you can use without actually paying to go inside the museum. I got chatting to a really interesting elderly chap by the name of Gordon, who at ninety-seven years of age was building a scale model of the Fireball XL5 space rocket, for those of us who are old enough to remember the Gerry Anderson kids TV series. All the staff there I found pleasant and welcoming, and photography is allowed. I would strongly recommend spending at least six hours here to take it all in, particularly the exhibits...

A hidden gem on the periphery of Coventry Airport!

The Midland Air Museum houses an interesting selection of exhibits ranging from engines; cockpit sections, model aircraft, all the way through to complete Airframes from both sides of the former Iron Curtain. The assembled collection is diffuse and it is remarkable how much the museum has managed to accommodate within it's relatively compact footprint.

The Museum incorporates the Frank Whittle Centre, which forms the entry point for visitors before accessing the broader collection. The indoor collection ranges from jet pioneers such as the Gloster Meteor; Saab Tunnan and a Rover W.2/700 jet engine, before leading onto the external exhibits incorporating Cold War legends such as the Avro Vulcan; Hawker Hunter, Sea Harrier, and the much-lamented Panavia Tornado GR4.

If the above exhibits do not whet your appetite, the collection also incorporates a stunning MiG 21 SPS; F104G Starfighter, MiL attack helicopter, and an F4 Phantom are perhaps also worthy of mention.

This museum affords a real opportunity to get up close to the exhibits. Indeed, the option to climb aboard the Vulcan for a cockpit view, or, the opportunity to visually inspect the interior of the MiL helicopter, (subject to Covid-19 precautions), are highlights worthy of note.

In conclusion, the Midland Air Museum represents incredible value for money and offers a relatively inexpensive day out suitable for the whole family.

The staff are friendly and the volunteers are knowledgeable. The gift shop caters for the majority of tastes ranging from bargain books through to model kits. Parking is...