Duxford visit

Called in at Duxford today for an hour or so to see what has been happening since my last visit in September 2025.There is still a lot of change underway which will ultimately lead to a new mainly Cold War related display in the main hangar come next year and the promise of a WWII display in hangar 3 come 2028. Since my last visit a Phantom has moved to the main hangar and the front of the main hangar was open again and the Lancaster was still here along with the Javelin. One of the Tornados was in this space as well along with a number of trucks which will be moved in time.

I do actually feel sorry for anyone visiting for the first time as some of the display areas are not currently great. A couple of former resident aircraft moved last year and a couple of new residents such as P-51 Tall in the Saddle were elsewhere today and the Mosquito was tucked away so that it could barely be seen as were the Swordfish and Lysander.

The new Locker Room and Briefing Room displays were open, the latter including a regular film show which is worth a look and since my last visit the American Air Museum now has a 'shield' over the whole of the glass frontage meaning that you can no longer see in from the outside although it was lighter inside than I expected. This new innovation is designed to keep harsh light off the exhibits and also cool the museum on hotter days.

Elsewhere, work continues on the Shackleton and the Heinkel Salamander fuselage has received some initial paint. I'm wondering if the wing is going to be left displaying the RAF roundels which came to light as part of the restoration process.