A Night At The (Fleet Air Arm) Museum

Museums are notorious for their don't touch policy, but, for one night only Fleet Air Arm Museum has opened its doors allowing people to climb up into some of the precious exhibits!

Serious enthusiast were able to take a closer look at some of the Yeovilton attraction’s gems, like the Seaking, which flew in both the Falklands War and Afghanistan and the first jet to take off and land on a Royal Navy Carrier, flown by the legendary pilot, Captain Eric Winkle Brown.

It’s a real enhancement to the visitor experience.

It’s not just the planes and helicopters that are an attraction to the evening, visitors also get quality time with the museum's volunteers and they are able to pick their brains for more knowledge on the aircraft.

Marc Farrance, the General Manager at the Museum, says they get a lot of enquiries from enthusiasts and those that have an affiliation to the collection to be able to get a closer look at the exhibition, but this is something they can't facilitate on a daily basis so its great to open for the evening to allow visitors to get "up close and personal" with the aircraft.

David Morris, Curator of Aircraft echoed the exclusivity of being able to get so close to the aircraft:

"just to be able to get that extra little bit of detail, that few steps closer to actually peer into where the Pilot or the Air Crew are in the aircraft, look at the knobs, the buttons, the switches, look at the environment, the tight space they have to work within, just that extra little bit of detail that you wouldn't normally get".

30 people attended this special access event, the first run by the museum for several years.

Judged a success by organizers, it’s hoped more such evenings can follow.