Jet Age Museum facts for kids
Gloster Meteor at Gloucestershire Airport
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| Location | Staverton, Gloucestershire |
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| Type | Aviation museum |
The Jet Age Museum is a cool place where you can learn all about airplanes! It's run by volunteers who love aviation. This museum is in Gloucestershire, England, right next to Gloucestershire Airport. You can find it between the cities of Gloucester and Cheltenham.
The museum has many amazing things to see. You'll find real aircraft, powerful aero engines, and even parts of cockpits. It mainly focuses on the early days of jet aircraft. You can learn about the important work done by local companies like the Gloster Aircraft Company.
Contents
History of the Museum
The group that runs the museum started in 1986. They wanted to save and share the history of aviation in Gloucestershire.
The museum first opened its doors to the public at the Gloucester Trading Estate. This area used to be an airfield called Brockworth. With help from grants and donations, the museum began to collect aircraft.
The museum had a temporary display in a hangar near Gloucestershire Airport. But this hangar had to close in 2000 because it was going to be taken down. The aircraft were then moved to different places around Gloucestershire. Some even went to the old GAC factory at Bentham Works for a short time.
A workshop was set up at Brockworth Court. Eventually, the remaining aircraft parts came back to Gloucestershire Airport. They were stored outside for a while. In 2005, an Avro Anson plane from the collection was sold to be fixed up.
The museum tried several times to get money to build a special home. Finally, in January 2011, their plans for a new building at Gloucestershire Airport were approved. A year later, they got an agreement to use the land for 45 years.
The museum opened for visitors on August 24, 2013. It officially opened in May 2014. A Gloster Meteor jet was added in 2013. A Gloster Javelin jet, bought from RAF Leeming, moved to the museum a few months later in 2014. With more planes on display outside, the museum started raising money in 2019 for a bigger building.
What You Can See: The Collection
The Jet Age Museum has many interesting aircraft and parts. Here's a look at some of them:
Aircraft on Display
These are some of the full aircraft you can see at the museum:
- Gloster Gamecock J7904 – This is a copy of the original plane.
- Gloster E28/39 – This is also a copy.
- Gloster Meteor F.8 WH364
- Gloster Meteor NF.13 WM366 – This one is on loan to the museum.
- Gloster Meteor T.7 VW453
- Gloster Meteor T.7 WF784
- Gloster Javelin FAW.9 XH903
- Hawker Hurricane V6799 – This is a copy of the famous Hurricane.
Aircraft Cockpits
You can also see the cockpits (the part where the pilot sits) of these aircraft:
- Avro Vulcan B.2 XM569
- Gloster Meteor F.3 EE425
- Hawker Hunter F.4 XE664
- Hawker Siddeley Harrier T.2 XW264
- Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B 2321
Aircraft Being Fixed or Stored
Some aircraft are being worked on or are kept in storage for now:
- Airspeed Horsa – This is a copy of a glider cockpit.
- Armstrong-Whitworth Meteor NF.14 WS807
- English Electric Canberra B.2 WK126 – This one is on loan.
- Gloster Gladiator II N5914
- Gloster Javelin FAW.4 XA634
- Hawker Typhoon Ia/Ib
See also
- List of aerospace museums
