Aviation Heritage Museum (Western Australia) facts for kids
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| Established | 17 November 1979 |
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| 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 an exciting place in Bull Creek, Perth. It's where you can see many cool aircraft! This museum is run by the Air Force Association of Western Australia. It shows off military and civilian planes, aircraft models, and engines. These aircraft have either served in the Royal Australian Air Force or are important to aviation in Western Australia.
Contents
Discovering the Museum's History
How the Museum Started
The idea for the museum began in 1959. The Western Australian Air Force Association brought a special Supermarine Spitfire plane from England. This Mark 22 Spitfire was placed on a pole outside their main building in Perth.
Then, in 1962, the association got an Avro Lancaster bomber from France. Over the next few years, they collected many more interesting items for people to see.
Building a Home for the Planes
With help from the Western Australian Government, a museum building was built. It opened in November 1979 at the association's memorial estate in Bull Creek.
To fit the huge Avro Lancaster and a Douglas Dakota plane, a second building was needed. People helped raise money, and this new building opened in December 1983. Since then, more smaller buildings have been added. These include a large library with 48,000 books, a photo lab, and workshops.
New Additions to the Collection
The museum keeps growing! In 2022, a Panavia Tornado jet joined the collection. Then, in 2023, a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet also found its new home at the museum.
Gallery
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Main entrance
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Aviation Heritage Museum
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Spitfire memorial, located on the southern side of the south wing
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Mark 22 Supermarine Spitfire, housed in the north wing
Amazing Aircraft on Display
The museum has many different types of aircraft and related items. You can see them up close!
Real Aircraft
- AerMacchi MB-326H
- Auster J-5 Adventurer
- Avro Anson
- Avro Lancaster B VII NX622
- 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 (made by Government Aircraft Factories)
- Gardan GY-80 Horizon (called Sugar Bird Lady)
- General Dynamics F-111C crew module (an "ejectable cockpit")
- Link Trainer (an early flight simulator)
- McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet A21-101
- Mignet Pou-du-Ciel (also known as Flying Flea)
- Panavia Tornado GR4
- Parasol
- Percival Proctor Mk. III
- RotorWay Scorpion helicopter
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk. 22
- Tandem unmanned aerial vehicle (a drone for mining)
Aircraft Replicas and Models
- 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
- 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 engine, the R-3350, came from a NASA C-121G Super Constellation. This plane flew between Geraldton and the Carnarvon satellite tracking station. It helped support the Apollo space program!
Other Cool Artefacts
- The museum also has parts from Skylab, a NASA space station. These pieces were found in Western Australia after Skylab fell back to Earth in 1979.
See also
- RAAF Museum
- RAAF Wagga Heritage Centre
- List of aerospace museums
