Temora Aviation Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Temora Aviation Museum

Established	1999
Location	Temora, New South Wales, Australia
Type	Aviation museum

The Temora Aviation Museum is an exciting place in Temora, New South Wales, Australia. It's a special museum all about airplanes, especially old military aircraft called "warbirds." The museum started in late 1999. It was created from a collection of amazing planes owned by David Lowy. Mr. Lowy is still the President and founder of this cool museum.

The museum is home to the Air Force Heritage Squadron's Temora Historic Flight. These aircraft range from planes used before World War II to those from the Vietnam War time. The museum often holds "Aircraft Showcase" events. These shows happen on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of most months. You can see some of their flying planes in action! Other historical aircraft and planes from the Royal Australian Air Force also visit the museum often.

History of the Temora Aviation Museum

A Spitfire Mk XVI at the museum in 2011.

The town of Temora has a really interesting past when it comes to aviation. During World War II, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) set up a big flying school there. It was called the No. 10 Elementary Flying Training School RAAF. This school opened in May 1941. It was the largest and longest-running school of its kind in Australia during the war.

More than 10,000 people worked at the school. Over 2,400 pilots learned to fly there. At its busiest, the school had 97 de Havilland Tiger Moth planes for training. The school closed on March 12, 1946.

After World War II, Temora kept its strong connection to aviation. The airfield was used for many activities. These included parachuting, gliding, and flying small, light aircraft. People also practiced aerobatics (fancy flying tricks) and flew model airplanes there.

Sydney businessman David Lowy decided to build his aviation museum in Temora. He chose it because of its rich aviation history. The area also has good weather and flat land. Plus, the local council was very helpful. The airspace below 20,000 feet was also open for flying.

The Temora Aviation Museum officially started in late 1999. Construction of the museum buildings began then. A special committee was also formed to guide the museum. The first hangar was finished in February 2000. Mr. Lowy then donated the first aircraft for the museum's collection. The museum officially opened to the public in June 2000. After that, more buildings were built. These included display areas, a small movie theater, and a gift shop. There's also a children's playground and a picnic area.

In November 2002, a third large hangar was completed. This hangar is about 1980 square meters (or half an acre) in size. It became the main place to display all the aircraft. The first hangar then became a workshop for restoring and maintaining the planes.

Temora Historic Flight: RAAF's Flying History

In May 2019, the museum made an exciting announcement. They had an agreement with the Department of Defence. This agreement meant that 11 important historical aircraft would be given to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). This change happened on July 1, 2019.

Under this agreement, the planes still stay at Temora. The same staff continue to take care of them. But now, the RAAF operates them as the Temora Historic Flight. Twelve of the museum's pilots joined the RAAF Reserve. They became Special Capability Officers with the rank of flight lieutenant. In February 2021, this flight became part of No. 100 Squadron RAAF. This squadron was reformed to fly the RAAF's historic warbirds.

Aircraft Collection

The Temora Aviation Museum has an amazing collection of aircraft. Some are part of the Air Force Heritage Squadron (Temora Historic Flight). Others are owned by the museum itself. Here are some of the incredible planes you can see:

Aircraft	Civil registration	ADF serial	Image	Notes
Air Force Heritage Squadron (Temora Historic Flight)
English Electric Canberra TT18	VH-ZSQ
Lockheed Hudson Mk III	VH-KOY
Cessna A-37 Dragonfly	VH-XVA
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VIII	VH-HET
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVI	VH-XVI
Gloster Meteor F8	VH-MBX	A79-851
de Havilland Vampire T.35	VH-VAM	A79-617
CAC Sabre	VH-IPN	A94-983
CAC Wirraway Mk 3	VH-BFF	A20-653
CAC Boomerang	VH-MHR	A46-122
de Havilland Tiger Moth	VH-UVZ	A17-691
Ryan STM	VH-RSY
Museum aircraft
Cessna A-37 Dragonfly	VH-DLO
Cessna O-2 Skymaster	VH-OII
Cessna O-1 Bird Dog	VH-LRE			On loan

Warbirds Downunder Airshow

A Hudson aircraft being maintained in September 2024.

A CAC Wirraway aircraft in October 2010.

The Temora Aviation Museum hosts a fantastic airshow called Warbirds Downunder. This big event happens every two years. It brings together the largest collection of warbirds in Australia. It's a two-day celebration of Australian aviation history!

The airshow features warbirds from private collections and other museums. For example, planes from the HARS collection often attend. You can see planes flying in amazing displays. There are also static displays where you can get a closer look at the aircraft on the ground. The Royal Australian Air Force often supports the event. This includes No. 100 Squadron and the RAAF's aerobatic display team, the Roulettes.

Temora is a small town with about 4,000 people. But for each Warbirds Downunder event, the town swells with visitors! The first show in 2011 had almost 10,000 people attend. Now, it's estimated that around 22,000 visitors come to enjoy the show.

The 2020 Warbirds Downunder event was planned for October 17-18. However, due to global events, it was postponed to 2021. The schedule then remained the same for 2022. This made 2021 and 2022 the first two years in a row that the event was held since it began.

See also

• List of aerospace museums
• Temora Airport