Fantastic place to go if the weather is bad (Yeovilton Air Arm Museum)

Member Name: soutram

Product:	Yeovilton Air Arm Museum
Date:	29/06/09 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Takes a whole day to see, very educational

Disadvantages: none

My partner recently had a week off work and the weather was terrible so after spending 3 days staying at home getting very bored I decided to search the internet for somewhere to visit that was suitable for when it was raining.

I cam across the Fleet Air Arm Museum website, I had herd a lot about this place before but had never been, so we jumped in our car and off we went.

On our arrival we parked up in the free car park and headed to the entrance (I just happened to notice a few young men in uniform guarding the airbase lol), you head up a flight of stairs to get in and as soon as you step in the door you are surrounded by pictures of the displays etc and you get the feeling straight away that is going to be a good day.

Entrance prices are £11 per adult & £8 per child or two adults and three children for £35, I didn't think the price was to bad, seemed about average for a attraction these days.

Once you make your way into the first hall you see a collection of experiments, they are glass cases with planes in and they show you how the various parts of a plane work (you turn different wheels and it operates the flaps etc), its a nice way to start the tour, the children get to have a play but are also learning whilst they are doing it.

Then you move onto hall one, this had all the old world war one planes in it, each plane has its own section where you an have a good look around it and read lots of information about the engines it has and guns etc, I could not believe that half if these things would actually fly let alone fight other planes. There are also lots of glass cases with old guns, medals and uniforms etc in them. Having a look at the website it looks like this hall is being redeveloped at them moment so there may not be much in here now.

You then move onto hall two containing World War Two planes and planes from the Korean War, again its pretty much like hall one, each plane is in its separate section so you can have a good look around and read lots of info on them. You can go inside some of the planes and some have steps up to the cotpit allowing you a good look inside. There is also a exhibit on the WRNS (Women's Royal Naval Service).

Now I loved this next bit, to get into hall three you have to get on to a Wessex helicopter, basically you get into the helicopter through the side door and then the door shuts, you the hear radio transmissions, hear the engines fire up & it starts vibrating as if you where actually flying, the kids would love this its a great way of capturing their imagination (you can skip this section if you don't fancy it). Once the helicopter stops the opposite side door opens and you find yourself on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

There are 10 aircraft on this display and two massive video screens at each end, one has a plane in front of it and every so often they show you how they launch the plane and the other shows a rescue involving a helicopter, its a brilliant display, very well thought out.

Once you have looked around the flight deck you then make your way into the ship, you get taken on a tour of the various rooms, you wait at a door & a light will come on telling you to enter the rooms then you will hear a recording of what the room is and what each person is responsible for in that room. This was an excellent display, it gave you loads of information and its incredibly educational for children (and adults, I was surprised at how much I learnt).

Finally you move onto hall four which has the first British built Concorde in it, you can head up the steps at the back and go inside this plane (I couldn't believe how small it was inside), you get to see all of it inside including the cotpit. This hall also has various other aircraft to look around.

The viewing are is also a good idea, you can head here to see which planes and helicopters landing and taking off, the museum is based at RNAS Yeovilton so being a military air station there is usually something going on for you to look at.

This was a fantastic day out, both me and my partner really enjoyed ourselves and cant wait until our daughter is old enough to appreciate it.

If you think you may head here more than once in a year then they do a season ticket, its £16 for an adult, £13 for a child or £40 for two adults and three children.

They have a website www.fleetairarm.com, this gives you pretty much all the information you need to know & gives you directions etc so you wont get lost finding it.

Summary: Brilliant day out with lots to see and do, ideal place to visit if the weather is bad