Bournemouth Aviation Museum will be holding a cockpit day on Saturday 19 September from 10am to 4pm for all those interested in coming along to see a variety of military and civil cockpits displayed by their owners. Anyone wishing to display a cockpit are welcome to attend (contact paul.j.rushton@btopenworld.com).

Visitors will be charged £3 entrance fee. There will be various stalls open selling memorabilia and aviation items. There will also be a display of military vehicles, and the museum’s regular collection of aircraft.

Malaga Airport in the south of Spain has finally provided an official spotting location. You can find it at the aviation museum near the original terminal. To reach it, from the main terminal area, head towards the city but turn right at the first roundabout.

The location is fenced in, and overlooks the threshold of Runway 32, as well as the light aircraft and biz jet parking ramp. Sadly it faces into the sun.

It is open Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, and on weekend mornings.

The museum has a number of preserved aircraft, including a DC-3 (EC-ABC), Beech 18 (EC-ASJ), DH Dove PH-VLA, Convair 440 N8042W and nose section of an Iberia DC-9 (EC-CGO).

Great news today. Bournemouth Aviation Museum is to re-open this Saturday (18 October 2008), 10 months since it was closed by the airport due to them requiring the land for other purposes.

Now the museum has been relocated alongside the Wonderland Family Adventure Park and the exhibits have been reassembled ready for the museum’s reopening.

In addition to this, the museum intends to erect a viewing platform from which visitors can watch and photograph the movements at Bournemouth Airport, which is very welcome.

Eventually an Aviation Heritage Centre is planned for the site, which was once home to the manufacturing plant of the BAC 1-11 amongst other aircraft.

The museum’s website is at http://www.aviation-museum.co.uk/frameset.htm

Budapest Airport has an excellent little museum outside Terminal 2. It houses a collection of former Malev and Soviet airliners.

It costs 800 HUF for admission to the museum.

Inmates include:
HA-MOA Ilyushin IL-18, Malev
HA-MOG Ilyushin IL-18, Malev
HA-LCG Tupolev TU-154, Malev
HA-LBE Tupolev TU-134, Malev
HA-LIQ Lisunov LI-2T, Malev
04-RED Ilyushin IL-14, Soviet Air Force
HA-MHI Antononv AN-2M
HA-BCB Mil MI-2

All aircraft can be seen and logged from the approach road to Terminal 2 without actually entering the museum.