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 keeping the history of flying alive in Gloucestershire, England. This amazing aviation museum is right next to Gloucestershire Airport, located between the cities of Gloucester and Cheltenham.
Inside, you'll find lots of real aircraft, powerful aero engines, and even parts like cockpits. The museum especially focuses on the early days of jet aircraft. You can discover how local companies like the Gloster Aircraft Company helped create these fast planes. They also have a huge collection of old photos about aviation.
Contents
History of the Museum
The Jet Age Museum started in 1986. It was created by people who wanted to save and share Gloucestershire's amazing aviation history.
At first, the museum opened in a temporary spot. This was at the old Brockworth aerodrome, which used to be an airfield. With help from grants and donations, the museum started collecting aircraft. They even had a temporary exhibit in a hangar next to Gloucestershire Airport. Sadly, this hangar had to close in 2000 because it was going to be taken down.
The aircraft were then moved to different places. Some were even stored outside for a while. In 2005, an Avro Anson plane from their collection was sold to be fixed up.
The museum really wanted a special building just for their collection. After trying for many years, their plans for a new building at Gloucestershire Airport were finally approved in January 2011. One year later, they got a 45-year lease for the land. This meant they could build their permanent home!
The museum first opened its doors to visitors on August 24, 2013. The official grand opening happened in May 2014. More planes joined the collection, like a Gloster Meteor in 2013. A Gloster Javelin was bought from RAF Leeming in 2014 and moved to the museum a few months later. With so many planes on display, the museum started a fundraising campaign in 2019 to build an extension.
Aircraft Collection
The museum has a fantastic collection of aircraft. You can see whole planes, parts of planes, and even planes that are being fixed up!
Aircraft on Display
These are some of the cool aircraft you can see right now:
- Gloster Gamecock J7904 – This is a reproduction, meaning it's a copy of the original.
- Gloster E28/39 – This is a replica of a very important early jet aircraft.
- Gloster Meteor F.8 WH364
- Gloster Meteor NF.13 WM366 – This plane 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 replica of a famous World War II fighter plane.
Aircraft Cockpits
You can even get up close to these cockpits:
- 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 Stored or Under Restoration
The museum also has planes that are being worked on or stored for the future:
- Airspeed Horsa – This is a replica cockpit of a glider.
- Armstrong-Whitworth Meteor NF.14 WS807
- English Electric Canberra B.2 WK126 – This plane is on loan.
- Gloster Gladiator II N5914
- Gloster Javelin FAW.4 XA634
- Hawker Typhoon Ia/Ib
See also
- List of aerospace museums
