Museums are ranked by how many modern airframes their inventories list, cockpits and replicas included. Each museum page has the full checklist.
Where to go
Northern England: museums with modern aircraft
| Museum | modern airframes | Adult entry | Airframes | Examples | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Yorkshire Aircraft MuseumDoncaster, South Yorkshire | 4 | £7.50 | 109 | Hiway Skytrike microlight G-MJKP Mainair Triflyer microlight G-MMDK Whittaker MW5-K Sorcerer microlight G-MVNT |
Doncaster's South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum sprawls across the old RAF Doncaster site: dozens of airframes and helicopters, strong… |
| Hooton Park HangarsEllesmere Port, Cheshire | 3 | £9 | 45 | Ultralight Flying Machines Easy Riser BAPC.652 McBroom hang glider BAPC.204 Miles Wings hang glider BAPC.310 |
Hooton Park's 1917 Belfast-truss hangars — among the finest WWI aviation buildings surviving — hold aircraft, buses and a printing museum… |
| North East Land, Sea and Air MuseumsSunderland, Tyne and Wear | 2 | £7.50 | 46 | British Aerospace Sea Harrier F/A.2 ZD582 AES Lone Ranger G-MBDL |
NELSAM in Sunderland mixes Vulcan XL319 (flew in when the airport still existed), a Pucará from the Falklands, trams, buses and a… |
| Yorkshire Air MuseumYork, North Yorkshire | 2 | £17 | 54 | Europa prototype 001 Mainair Demon |
Halifax 'Friday the 13th' — the world's only complete Halifax reconstruction, honouring the type that flew from this very field —… |
| Runway Visitor Park, Manchester AirportAltrincham, Greater Manchester | 1 | £6–£15 | 5 | Avro RJX85 G-IRJX | Concorde G-BOAC, British Airways' flagship (the 'OAC' registration was no accident), enthroned in her own glass hangar with tours from… |
| Solway Aviation MuseumCrosby on Eden, Cumbria | 1 | £8 | 21 | BAe Sea Harrier F/A.2 ZE697 | Vulcan XJ823 with pre-bookable crew-compartment visits; a Phantom, Lightning and Canberra (whose three-crew cockpit reviewers describe as… |
The era
Modern, 1990–present
Solway Aviation Museum near Carlisle has Sea Harrier ZE697, and the North East Land, Sea and Air Museums at Sunderland has ZD582. The Yorkshire Air Museum keeps the Europa kit-plane prototype, 001. The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum has four microlights, and Hooton Park two hang gliders. It is a short list, and an honest one: the newest aircraft are mostly still at work.
- Solway and NELSAM also hold Vulcans, so the modern exhibits come with a bigger day out.
- South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum’s buildings are unheated.
What to see
Modern types on display in Northern England
Questions
Frequently asked
Where can I see a Sea Harrier in the North?
Solway Aviation Museum (ZE697) and the North East Land, Sea and Air Museums (ZD582).
Are there microlights in northern museums?
Yes: the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum has four, including a Hiway Skytrike.
How many northern museums have modern aircraft?
Five in the gazetteer hold at least one airframe from 1990 onwards.