Living Cornwall Editor
A free flight of fancy back to aviation's heyday will be on offer this weekend as Cornwall's newest visitor attraction opens its doors to the public for the first time.
The Classic Air Force Museum, based at Newquay Airport, is waiving its admission fee from today until Easter Monday in order to give people across the South West a taste of what is on offer.
The collection, housed in a hangar once used for Nimrods, boasts an array of iconic aircraft. A total of more than 30 aeroplanes owned and operated by the Classic Aircraft Trust charity will eventually be on show. Among them is a 1930s art deco de Havilland Dragon Rapide biplane – similar to those that once plied the route between Land's End and Scilly – and a 1940s Percival Proctor. Beside them is an Avro Anson, Canberra, Dakota, Hawker Hunter, Vickers Varsity and Jet Provost.
Retired Group Captain Davie Paton OBE, who has been appointed chief executive of Classic Air Force, explained that as well as the static exhibits and aircraft under restoration, the big draw for visitors will be seeing planes in flight.
"Visitors will not only be able to see the aircraft, but hear them, smell them and even take to the skies in a variety of charismatic vintage aeroplanes," he said.
Volunteers have spent countless hours transforming the 63,000 sq ft Hangar 404, which forms part of the airport's Aerohub Enterprise Zone, into a visitor centre. One of the largest structures in Cornwall, it was originally built to house Nimrod anti-submarine aeroplanes. Ex-RAF personnel, aircraft enthusiasts, retired airport staff and Air Training Corps cadets have all had a hand in scrubbing, painting and preparing the facility.
With employment opportunities in a cafe, shop, cinema, gallery and Red Arrows flight simulator, as well as for pilots and runway marshals, it is hoped 30 paid jobs will be created at the museum.
However, its success largely rests on the shoulders of one man. Fortunately, Davie Paton is no stranger to aircraft, having spent 37 years in the RAF, his last post as commander of a Nimrod squadron. Retiring from the RAF in 2010, he bought a croft on Orkney but "soon missed flying, being involved with people, and having a responsibility".
"Then one day I saw an ad to run an air force," he said. "I immediately knew this was what I wanted to do. I have all the problems of running a conventional air force here. I need to think about the engineering, maintenance and administration, while at the same time I am operating a tourist attraction. I need to think about the pilots, the pleasure flying and the public getting what they want. I want us to create real dynamism here, with new aircraft arriving all the time. I am determined that people who visit in 2014 will not see what they saw in 2013."
For more details, visit www.classicairforce.com
