Welcome to Bournemouth Aviation Museum

Moving to a new site.
You may be aware that plans are well under way to move our own collection of aircraft and cockpits to a large section of the car park at Adventure World, just over the road from the airport perimeter. Our new site will be in a large fenced compound behind the boundary hedge and adjacent to the main road. It will be completely separate to Adventure Wonderland and will face all the 130,000+ visitors they expect each year as they drive in to the main car park. (See the "Present" page for an idea of what is should look like from the air).

There will eventually be a number of portable buildings on site for a ticket booth and shop, office accommodation and volunteer's workshop. We also need ones to display a limited number of exhibits and one where visitors can rest - or shelter from the weather! Over the next year we plan to re- erect the viewing platform we had in the Engineering Hangar on top of one of the cabins to provide visitors with a superb view over the airfield and runway.

Perhaps the most important factor is that we are being welcomed with open arms by the owners of Adventure Wonderland. Their facility is most suited for very young children and ours for older ones and adults. (We have been considering some collaboration with them, and were just starting to explore it, before we received our marching orders). Even if we just get just a small percentage of their visitors then we should make substantial funds to go towards improvements and our future plans for the Aviation Heritage Centre.

Planning and organising the move has been another thing. Our aim was to move to the new site and be up and running by the Bournemouth Air Festival at the end of August, especially as Adventure Wonderland will be one of the park-and-ride sites for the event. In terms of planning approval it is an extremely short and optimistic timescale. But we have had various helpful discussions with the (past) Mayor of Christchurch and senior Council executives who were keen to help. On their advice we engaged a Planning Consultant and have been working closely with her and her assistant on a planning application which has now been submitted. That sentence neatly dismisses a months' hard work gathering lots of information, countless discussions, emails and telephone calls and having to make decisions that affect our future and finances that we never imagined we would be forced to do at this stage. We have also been in touch with the Chair of the Hurn Parish Council to make her aware of our plans and have a delegation of councillors coming to see our aircraft soon and will be providing a formal presentation to them and local residents at their next Parish meeting.

Storing the aircraft and cockpits has also been a very contentious issue, particularly moving them into a temporary holding place. In fairness to the Airport and MAG we have now had an extra 6 months on site RENT FREE. Some may not consider it much of a concession but, in the official terms of our lease, we think that it has been generous. Our great concern has been finding a temporary site on the Airport to save the time and tremendous cost of transporting them to other sites, or Aviation Museums, then hauling them back. At one stage we managed to negotiate a small patch of unused land at Hangar 603 and were then refused permission to move them across the runway or along the taxiways. In the last few weeks we have finally reached the agreement to leave most of our aircraft where they are (in our "Air Park") until the end of August and move the cockpits to spare land on the Industrial Estate in the NW sector. It has been a very tough and anxious time negotiating this agreement but we are happy and relieved to have done so, especially as it will - hopefully - mean just one move for most of them.

We have, unfortunately, had one casualty. We had to make the very tough decision to dispose of the Herald. It would have been great to have retained this magnificent aircraft in our collection. The Trustees decided that the problems of getting it across the road in the timescale were too great. Dismantling and reassembling it was not viable and no one else on the Airport was prepared to store it for us, even if we were allowed to move it there. We tried repeatedly to persuade the Airport authorities to let us use spare ground on the airfield but received a final refusal a week ago. As it has to be off site by the 11th July, it just had to go. This already has created a certain amount of controversy amongst some Herald enthusiasts and aviation heritage concerns. But they were not in the very difficult position of being responsible for removing such a large aircraft from site in such a short timescale. We also explored the VERY few offers of help relocating our aircraft to other sites received since the Museum closed. None offered to take the Herald. But, of course, it is now: "if only we had know then we could have…"

Someone should have…
The above also reminds us of another phrase we often hear: "Someone should have…" If we had a pound for every "should have" we have heard, the Museum could have been very rich. Try to remember that the Trustees are part-time volunteers, most with "day jobs". There are a limited number of things they can do. Over the last six months they have dedicated a very significant - or most - of their spare time to keep the Museum alive. Up to now they have worked the odd minor miracle here and there but they ARE human and do have other lives to lead. There have been lots of suggestions and good ideas but, despite having a large following, it is very rare for someone with the ability, drive and spare time to say: "I'll do that". All too often it's: "Someone should have…" and guess who ends up doing the work? Correct! So, please step forward if you have talents and time you can offer. Your Museum needs you.

Bournemouth Air Festival
We are providing our Lightening cockpit and large Concorde model in the main square during this event to raise funds for the Museum and make the public aware of our new site. We are also providing large model aircraft and the sit-in flight simulator for the Charity Ball. Two of our volunteers have agreed to manage these events. If you would also like to help, please contact us on 01202 580858 or our email address baman@onetel.com

And finally… We have all been through a very difficult and testing time with many problems still ahead. So much depends upon our planning application being successful within a ridiculously short timescale. Please write to the Planning Department to show your support. Every letter counts. Even so we hope that luck is also on our side. If not then we will just have to adapt to the new circumstances and keep trying.

Richard Edwards
For the Trustees