East Kirkby Air Museum — Lancaster NX611 Just Jane

Lancaster NX611 'Just Jane' — taxi runs and rides

Avro Lancaster NX611 'Just Jane' is the reason most people come. She does not fly, but on published event days she runs down the East Kirkby strip on all four Merlins, and seats aboard the aircraft for those taxi runs are sold in limited numbers. Both the run days and the rides sell out well ahead — book from the official site rather than turning up hopefully.

The centre grew around the aircraft: Fred and Harold Panton bought NX611 and built the museum on the wartime bomber station as a memorial to their brother Christopher, lost over Nuremberg in 1944. Mosquito NF.II HJ711 also runs here, and a B-25 Mitchell, a Percival Proctor and a Handley Page Hampden under restoration share the site.

Lancaster bomber museum / Lancaster air museum — same place

Searches for Lancaster bomber museum, Lancaster air museum, Lancaster aeroplane museum and Lincolnshire air museum almost always mean East Kirkby. This is the working Bomber County station where a complete Lancaster still moves under its own power; the flying BBMF Lancaster lives at Coningsby, and the memorial without an airframe is the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln.

If your plan is to stand next to a Merlin-engined Lancaster that taxis — and optionally ride in one — this is the page, and the booking that matters is a published Just Jane taxi-run day.

Opening times, tickets and event days

The heritage centre is normally open Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 5pm, with standard adult admission around £13.50. Lancaster taxi-run and engine-run days are ticketed separately and cost more; winter opening is reduced. Confirm the current calendar, prices and last-admission time on the official website before you travel — this is a volunteer-supported site and dates move.

Where is East Kirkby air museum? Location and directions

The museum occupies part of the former RAF East Kirkby bomber station at East Kirkby, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, PE23 4DE — on the A155 in the fens between Coningsby and Spilsby, roughly 25 miles east of Lincoln. There is on-site parking, and the original control tower, NAAFI and blast shelters are part of the visit rather than a backdrop.

Bomber County weekend — what to pair with East Kirkby

A classic day is East Kirkby in the morning (book a taxi day if you can) then the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln in the afternoon. For a weekend, add a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight hangar tour at RAF Coningsby when PA474 is home, plus Thorpe Camp or Cranwell. Full regional routing lives on the Lincolnshire aviation museums guide.

Hibaldstow / North Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre near Brigg is a different airfield and a different visit — do not confuse it with East Kirkby when you set the sat-nav.

Also searched as Lincs Aviation, Lincoln aviation centre and East Kirkby museum

The official name is the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, but visitors search for it as East Kirkby air museum, East Kirkby aviation, the Lincolnshire or Lincs air museum, lincsaviation, Lincs aviation museum and the Lincoln aviation centre. They are all the same place. It is not the same as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RAF Coningsby, about 10 miles west, nor the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln — though all three make one very good Bomber County weekend.