Team-BHP
(
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)
Point Cook is the birthplace of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) as well as the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The
RAAF Museum was established in 1952 at Point Cook as a repository for the preservation of aircraft, documents and memorabilia, and was opened to the public in 1972. There is a huge assortment of aircraft & memorabilia in the museum dating as far back as 1914. The museum was placed on the National Heritage List in October 2007. There are almost 30 aircraft & helicopters on display in the museum's hangars, with several others displayed externally.
Entry to the museum is free on production of a photo ID. My daughter and I drove there on a bright and sunny day, and were a little apprehensive about whether non-Australians would be allowed in, but the guards at the entry point just checked our driving licences, issued us a visitor pass, and let us in.
The Training Hangar: The Pie Cart The de Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth, and behind and above, the CT4A Airtrainer The CT4A Airtrainer The Maurice Farman Shorthorn The Aermacchi MB 326H (above), and the de Havilland Vampire T Mk 35 (below) Avro 504K CAC CA-25 Winjeel Trainer (1955)
The Technology Hangar: The de Havilland Vampire F-30 and its Hawker Siddeley Adder Jet Engine The Supermarine Seagull V / Walrus The Douglas A-20C Boston The Bell UH-1B Iroquois. This particular helicopter was involved in the Battle of Long Tan, Vietnam The Dassault Mirage IIIO The Royal Aircraft Factory SE 5A A Royal Aircraft Factory BE 2a replica
Thank you for sharing this. I visited this place in April/May 2018. Its a hidden gem and you get up close view of the air show with very less crowd. Those vintage fighters have been maintained well to fly out twice a week for the show.
Just an FYI. The nearby Avalon airport also had an Air show in March 2019
Regards
Diesletuned
Thankyou for putting together this delightful thread and those neat photographs. With no disrespect to the IAF I can't understand why their museum at Palam can't be done like this (funds?) And why all those aircraft have to be caked with dust. The Bristol Freighter and Supermarine Walrus are very rare now even by museum piece standards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by V.Narayan
(Post 4625413)
With no disrespect to the IAF I can't understand why their museum at Palam can't be done like this (funds?) |
Same thoughts here sir. Besides visiting the Smithsonian aviation museum in the US many times, I once visited the New England Air Museum (Connecticut, US) on Veteran's day in 2017 and got to sit in the cockpits of F-104 and a Super Sabre. What's more, the actual airmen who had flown those jets were seated nearby to weave tales of their exploits with those machines. I paid a neat sum of money for that experience!
I often find myself thinking why the IAF cannot do the same...
Quote:
Originally Posted by locusjag
(Post 4625420)
Same thoughts here sir. Besides visiting the Smithsonian aviation museum in the US many times, I once visited the New England Air Museum (Connecticut, US) on Veteran's day in 2017 and got to sit in the cockpits of F-104 and a Super Sabre. What's more, the actual airmen who had flown those jets were seated nearby to weave tales of their exploits with those machines. I paid a neat sum of money for that experience!
I often find myself thinking why the IAF cannot do the same... |
I visited the IAF Museum at Palam a few years back, one of the people at the reception was an ex-Mig-27 pilot. Unfortunately he was not the kindest person there :D but I recognised his occupation by his flight suit and the Mig symbol on it. I was able to get some information about his about career in the IAF and the bases he served at.
Coincidentally I have also visited New England Air Museum (Connecticut, US) as a child in the late 1980s and relatively recently in 2014. I think its all about the funding, some of the planes in the 1980s were in horrible condition and left to rust outside the hangers. Later they were restored and new bigger hangers built and put on display indoors.
Beautiful photos SS-Traveller. Thoroughly enjoyed going through them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by V.Narayan
(Post 4625413)
Thankyou for putting together this delightful thread and those neat photographs. With no disrespect to the IAF I can't understand why their museum at Palam can't be done like this (funds?) And why all those aircraft have to be caked with dust. The Bristol Freighter and Supermarine Walrus are very rare now even by museum piece standards. |
Agreed. Its purely because the babus & the political class simply do not value the sacrifices the fighting men make daily.To a great extent, ignorance in military matters and lack of will to maintain them also is responsible for such a sorry state of our military museums. They do not realise the value of preserving our military heritage and the historical significance these machines hold.
It is kind of sad that we do not have any fully restored examples of the first supersonic jet that served with the IAF - the Type 74 MiG-21F-13.
Recently I saw a Polish friend posting pics of an aviation museum in Krakow, Poland. I was simply blown by the care and attention that old military aircraft have been given in such a small country like Poland. There were beautifully restored Iskras, Harriers, MiG-21s, and an actual Spitfire that flew with the famed 303 RAF Polish Sqdn in WW2 with etc. While, we, as a country that has such a rich military heritage, have left jets to rot in museums, parks and roundabouts with other than a few exceptions, absolutely no maintenance at all!!!!
I hope some day the thought changes.
All times are GMT +5.5. The time now is 06:07. | |