Latest News

We’re much better at updating our Facebook page so this is a feed from there…
Cover for Sywell Aviation Museum
RED TOP ARRIVES! Just in time for our grand opening the Sywell Aviation Museum is very grateful to the Wartime Aircraft Recovery Group at Sleap airfield who have kindly donated this Red Top air to air missile (AAM) to the Museum.The Hawker Siddeley (later British Aerospace) Red Top was the third indigenous British air-to-air missile to enter service, following the de Havilland Firestreak and limited-service Fireflash. It was used to replace the Firestreak on the de Havilland Sea Vixen and later models of the English Electric Lightning.Amazingly the missile was in service from 1964-1988! This fills an important gap in our ordnance collection between our Firestreak and Skyflash AAMs. (Yes it’s massive, no we don’t know where we’re going to put it yet!🙂) See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
Coming up over the Easter weekend…– On Easter Saturday the grand opening of the Sywell Aviation Museum from 10.45am (early arrival and sturdy shoes recommended as the parking may be a stretch at this hugely popular event) then over to The Aviator lawn for the afternoon– On Easter Monday at the Air Raid Shelter Cafe and Tea Room for two fabulous afternoon tea sittings at 12 Noon and 2.30pm, booking advised! See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
Dear all, a shade over a week until the Sywell Aviation Museum Grand Opening on Easter Saturday 30th March 2024 …..so this is a public service announcement to avoid the 48,000 phone calls, emails, Facebook messages, carrier pigeons, morse code messages and telegrams we get (when we are extremely busy!) on the morning of the event asking about dogs….DOGS ARE WELCOME at the event and in the Museum and garden of the Aviator (but not inside the hotel or inside the Pilots’ Mess) if they are well behaved and on a lead. If they leave a present, please bin it or take it home with you (better presents will be available in the Museum shop and on the trade stands!)For any and all questions please see the FAQ section of the events page, LINK BELOW – we’ve done our best, really we have! www.facebook.com/events/1919626741801955/?active_tab=discussionHave a great weekend! See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
STRAIGHT SETS AT SYWELL- ANYONE FOR TENNIS?Not many people realise that the Northampton Aero Club Clubhouse, now the Aviator Hotel, not only had a bar, restaurant and dance hall but it also had two tennis courts!Erected around 1936 the fully fenced and surfaced courts only lasted a short period, all evidence of fences and court markings being removed by 1940 though the surface remained, presumably those with ‘egg on their hats’ were unimpressed at the students having such a luxury (and also the adjacent buildings were camouflaged so the court would have stood out a bit!). The bare site remained until at least 1947 and until sometime in the 1950s when several of the Blister type hangars dotted round the airfield boundary were moved on to the hardstanding and erected as one with an end wall and doors added. By the year 2000 it was somewhat dilapidated and was fully refurbished and reclad becoming the Hangar One conference venue which opened in summer 2001.The first two photographs have never been published before. They were taken around 1937 by Eric Roberts, note the 7 smartly arranged DH Tiger Moths belonging to Brooklands Aviation on the flightline.But cast your mind back to the heady days of the NAC in the 30’s, your Alvis or Bentley parked outside, the metal exhaust from your recently flown Moth ‘ticking’ as it cools and the gyros winding down…the words of Betjeman could have been written at Sywell….“…Love-thirty, love-forty, oh! weakness of joy,The speed of a swallow, the grace of a boy,With carefullest carelessness, gaily you won,I am weak from your loveliness, Joan Hunter Dunn.Miss Joan Hunter Dunn, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn,How mad I am, sad I am, glad that you won,The warm-handled racket is back in its press,But my shock-headed victor, she loves me no less.Her father’s euonymus shines as we walk,And swing past the [club]-house, buried in talk,And cool the verandah that welcomes us inTo the six-o’clock news and a lime-juice and gin…”From – ‘A Subaltern’s Love-song’ – Sir John Betjeman 1941. See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

3 weeks ago

Sywell Aviation Museum
SYWELL AIRSHO’ ‘80!We are very grateful to Gary Sutherland who has shared these images from the 1980 Sywell Airshow taken when he was a teenager living in Ecton. They include resident aircraft including airshow acts from over 40 years ago!1980 saw the Red Arrows first season flying the Bae Hawk which they debuted at Sywell. The Hurricane and Spitfire we believe must have been from the BBMF though we cannot make out their serials (Spitfire likely to be Mk.II P7350, Hurricane LF363)The Rothmans Display Team with their very smart Pitts Specials were a key component of any UK airshow from 1970-1980 – G-SOLO is shown here in its last season before being sold abroad. By repute she still survives in Germany.DH Tiger Moth G-AIXD was purchased by David Lloyd in 1946. He was to own her for some 39 years (until 1985) during which time she was mainly based at Sywell. She was extensively flown in air displays including with The Barnstormers Flying Circus and for various TV shows such as ‘The Late Late Breakfast Show’ and ‘Game for a Laugh’ when fitted with a ‘wing-walking rig’. Sadly she was destroyed near Rendcomb airfield in a non-fatal accident after hitting power cables in July 1995.1968 Beagle Pup G-AVZP was a Sywell resident too and belonged to Brooklands Flying Club.G-BETS is a Cessna A188.B Ag Truck. At this time she was operated by Plains Aerial Spraying and is likely visiting for fuel.We unfortunately cannot see the registrations of the Piper Cub (believed to be G-SCUB) or Bucker Jungmeister (believed to be G-AXIH) but we love the painted addition to the aircraft tug!Don’t forget the Sywell Airshow is back this year on 22/23rd June when the Reds will be returning to Sywell on the Sunday- some 44 years later! Get your tickets here:www.sywell2024.co.uk See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
Huge thanks to our visitors and traders who braved the weather to attend our book and model sale today it was an amazing success! In particular though special thanks to all those donors across the Country who have donated books models and more to help us raise funds- without you there would have been no event so our sincere thanks- without you too we couldn’t keep opening! ❤️See y’all on Easter Saturday for the Grand Opening!🫡All the best the SAM Team See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
Book and Model Sale is a GO! See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
In time for the Museum’s Book & Model Sale this Sunday – between 1000-1400- we decided to complete our annual health and safety audit and have added some new signage*Note that even if it’s tipping down on Sunday (and some traders may cry off) our own books, models etc will be placed around the inside of the museum and will be sold from inside the museum building 🫡*with thanks to Tettenhall Transport Museum 🙂 See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook