Air Publication 118 · Hub

Museums with
open cockpits

Stations listing cockpit sections, nose sections or open-cockpit experiences in the gazetteer inventory.

54
Tagged

Stations listing cockpit sections, nose sections or open-cockpit experiences in the gazetteer inventory. 54 stations currently tagged.

Amenity tags last verified 2026-08-31. Facilities change — confirm on the museum website before travel.

How many UK aviation museums match this list?

54 museums are currently tagged for museums with open cockpits in the gazetteer amenity survey.

Which of these aviation museums are free?

11 have free adult admission: Cranwell Aviation Heritage Museum, East Essex Aviation Museum, Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum, Halesworth Airfield Memorial Museum, RAF Coltishall Heritage Centre, Robertsbridge Aviation Society, Royal Air Force Museum London, Royal Air Force Museum Midlands, Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group, Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum, Manston, Sywell Aviation Museum. A further 3 museums ask for a donation.

What should visitors check before travelling?

Check whether cockpit access is included, separately ticketed or limited to event days; an aircraft containing a cockpit is not necessarily an invitation to climb into it.

List

Museums with open cockpits

MuseumCitySerialEntryAirframes
Airworld Aviation Museum Caernarfon WA-02 £7 10
Avro Heritage Museum Stockport NO-02 £9 10
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection Salisbury SW-03 £13.50 9
Bottisham Airfield Museum Cambridge EA-09 £6 2
Bournemouth Aviation Museum Christchurch SW-01 £10 31
Boxted Airfield Museum Colchester EA-26 Donation 1
City of Norwich Aviation Museum Norwich EA-08 £9 29
Cornwall at War Museum, Davidstow Camelford SW-06 £7 7
Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre Newquay SW-07 Check website —
Cranwell Aviation Heritage Museum Sleaford MI-14 Free 2
De Havilland Aircraft Museum St Albans LD-03 £12 47
East Essex Aviation Museum Clacton-on-Sea EA-22 Free 1
East Midlands Aeropark Derby MI-07 £5 33
Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum Farnborough SE-06 Free 13
Fleet Air Arm Museum Yeovil SW-02 £21 40
Gatwick Aviation Museum Gatwick SE-02 £12.50 14
Halesworth Airfield Memorial Museum Halesworth EA-30 Free 2
Highland Aviation Museum Inverness SC-05 Check website —
Hooton Park Hangars Ellesmere Port NO-09 £9 25
Hucknall Flight Test Museum Nottingham MI-21 By appointment 1
IWM Duxford Cambridge EA-01 £29 98
Jet Age Museum Gloucester SW-08 Donation 15
Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre Lincoln MI-08 £8 2
Midland Air Museum Coventry MI-02 £11 53
Morayvia Forres SC-03 £8 16
Newark Air Museum Newark MI-03 £12.50 99
North East Land, Sea and Air Museums Sunderland NO-06 £7.50 28
Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre Pembroke Dock WA-03 £7 1
Polish Bomber Squadrons Centre, RAF Ingham Gainsborough MI-12 £8 1
RAF Air Defence Radar Museum Norwich EA-07 £14 2
RAF Burtonwood Heritage Centre Warrington NO-08 Donation 1
RAF Coltishall Heritage Centre Norwich EA-23 Free 2
RAF Defford Museum Worcester MI-11 £18 1
Robertsbridge Aviation Society Robertsbridge SE-18 Free 6
Rolls Royce Heritage Trust Derby MI-16 By appointment 1
Romney Marsh Wartime Collection Romney Marsh SE-10 £8 5
Royal Air Force Museum London London LD-01 Free 87
Royal Air Force Museum Midlands Shifnal MI-01 Free 55
Runway Visitor Park, Manchester Airport Altrincham NO-03 £6–£15 5
Shoreham Aircraft Museum Sevenoaks SE-12 £5 1
Solent Sky Southampton SE-01 £14 33
South Wales Aviation Museum Barry WA-01 £10 32
South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum Doncaster NO-07 £7.50 27
Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group Aerodrome NO-10 Free 8
Spitfire & Hurricane Memorial Museum, Manston Ramsgate SE-05 Free 3
Spitfire Visitor Centre, Hangar 42, Blackpool Blackpool NO-04 £12 3
Stoneykirk Aviation Museum Stranraer SC-04 £6 9
Suffolk Aviation Heritage Museum Ipswich EA-12 £5 5
Sywell Aviation Museum Northampton MI-09 Free 6
The Helicopter Museum Weston-super-Mare SW-04 £15 59
The Vulcan Experience (XH558) Doncaster NO-11 £12 2
Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre Lincoln MI-10 £7 2
Wings Aviation Museum Haywards Heath SE-08 £13 15
Yorkshire Air Museum York NO-01 £17 45

See also free museums, regional hubs, and the full gazetteer.