Aviation Heritage Museum (Western Australia) facts for kids
 |
|
| Established | Error: first parameter is missing. |
|---|---|
| Location | Bull Creek, Western Australia |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Official name | Aviation Heritage Museum of WA |
| Reference no. | 12166 |
| Assessed | 10 August 2018 |
The Aviation Heritage Museum is a cool place in Bull Creek, Perth, Western Australia. It's run by the RAAF Association of Western Australia. This museum shows off many amazing aircraft. You can see military planes, civilian planes, and even aircraft engines. Many of these have been used by the Royal Australian Air Force. Others are important to the history of flying in Western Australia.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's History
How did this awesome museum get started? It began with a special plane! In 1959, the RAAF Association got a Supermarine Spitfire from England. They put it on a pole outside their main building in Perth.
Growing the Collection
Then, in 1962, they got an Avro Lancaster bomber from France. Over the next few years, they collected many more interesting items. These were things that people interested in aviation would love to see.
Building a Home for History
The Western Australian Government helped with money to build a museum. This first building opened in November 1979. It was built at the Association's Memorial Estate in Bull Creek.
Expanding for Big Planes
The Avro Lancaster and a Douglas Dakota were very big planes. So, the Association raised more money to build a second museum building. This larger building opened in December 1983. Since then, more smaller buildings have been added. These include a huge library with 48,000 books. There's also a photo lab, a workshop, and a place to fix model planes.
What Can You See at the Museum?
The museum has many cool things on display. You can see real aircraft, replica planes, and powerful engines.
Amazing Aircraft on Display
Here are some of the real aircraft you can explore:
- AerMacchi MB-326H
- Auster J-5 Adventurer
- Avro Anson
- Avro Lancaster B VII NX622 (a famous bomber!)
- Bell UH-1H Iroquois (a helicopter)
- Bensen gyrocopter
- CAC Wackett
- CAC Wirraway
- Consolidated PBY Catalina (a flying boat)
- De Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth
- De Havilland DH-94 Moth Minor
- De Havilland Vampire
- Douglas Dakota
- English Electric Canberra (built in Australia)
- McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 hornet
- Gardan GY-80 Horizon (called "Sugar Bird Lady")
- General Dynamics F-111C crew module (the part where pilots sit, that can eject!)
- Link Trainer (an early flight simulator)
- McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet A21-101
- Mignet Pou-du-Ciel (also known as the "Flying Flea")
- Panavia Tornado GR4
- Parasol
- Percival Proctor Mk. III
- RotorWay Scorpion helicopter
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk. 22 (a famous fighter plane!)
- Tandem unmanned aerial vehicle (a drone for mining)
Cool Aircraft Replicas
The museum also has some awesome replica planes:
- Bristol Tourer
- Hawker Hurricane (a 5/8 scale model)
- Santos-Dumont Demoiselle
- Sopwith Camel
- Bede BD-5
- Sandhawk missile & launcher
- Supermarine Spitfire (a replica outside the entrance)
Powerful Aircraft Engines
You can also see many different types of aircraft engines:
- Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major
- Armstrong Siddeley Genet Minor
- Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah
- Blackburne Tomtit
- Blackburn Cirrus
- Pratt & Whitney Wasp
- Rolls-Royce Avon
- Rolls-Royce Dart
- Rolls-Royce Derwent
- Rolls-Royce Griffon
- Rolls-Royce Merlin
- Sunbeam DYAK 1 (the first engine used by Qantas!)
- Wright Whirlwind
- Wright Cyclone
- Wright R-3350
- Armstrong Siddeley Mamba
- Rolls-Royce Nene
- Rolls-Royce Viper
- Turbomeca Turmo
One special R-3350 engine on display came from a NASA Super Constellation plane. This plane flew to support the Apollo space program!
Space Artefacts
The museum even has pieces from the NASA Skylab space station. These pieces were found in Western Australia after Skylab came back to Earth in 1979.
Gallery
-
Main entrance
-
Aviation Heritage Museum
-
Spitfire memorial
-
Spitfire Mk. 22
See also
- RAAF Museum
- RAAF Wagga Heritage Centre
- List of aerospace museums
