NASAM and Suffolk Live
The following is reproduced with the permission of Suffolk Live and is an article from the 12th November 2021 by their reporter Daniel Defalco
Our thanks go to Suffolk Live for allowing us to reproduce this article and the video clip below.
We visited the tiny Suffolk village where old fighter jets go to retire
The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum is home to all kinds of disused aircraft
The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum is home to some fascinating fighter jets (Image: Suffolk Live)
If you’ve ever driven along the B1062 between Bungay and Homersfield, your attention on the road may have briefly been distracted by an unusual sight, just before The Buck Inn pub.
The majority of the B1062 is flanked by rolling fields and farm houses, but just off the eastbound carriageway at Flixton you’ll see a field full of fighter jets.
The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, a couple of miles outside of Bungay, is home to 66 aircraft, with many visible as you approach the front gates.
I’d visited the museum a few times as a child, but never as an adult, so I was looking forward to immersing myself into decades of aviation history.
My last visit must’ve been nearly a decade ago, but I remember being fascinated by by the two huge jets dominantly guarding the front of the museum.
The front of the museum (Image: Suffolk Live)
That ‘wow’ feeling was still there as I walked through the front gates as a 21-year-old.
The Gloster Javelin – a former RAF jet – and North American F-100D Super Sabre – previously part of the US Air Force’s fleet – are certainly an effective way to capture visitors’ interest from the off.
My first question to Steve Bell, the museum’s chairman, focused on how so many fascinating aircraft came to sit in a Suffolk field.
Mr Bell, who’s been involved with the museum for 11 years, said: “They’ve been sourced through a variety of ways. About 12 of the aircraft are on loan and the rest we own.
“They are, for the most part, donations. Some were donated by the Royal Air Force and others by early museum members, so they’ve been given to us by several different people and places.”
A Bloodhound MK1 surface-to-air missile (Image: Suffolk Live)
Mr Bell described running the museum during the Covid lockdowns as “depressing”, but its testament to the determined trustees that, despite several months without visitors and no revenue generated, the museum finds itself in November 2021 open for business.
The museum’s outdoor exhibits, featuring fighter jets and helicopters, are undoubtedly the museum’s most popular attractions, but some are nearly 70 years out and don’t take too kindly to the winter conditions.
Currently, the museum generates revenue from means such as membership and gift shop sales, but Mr Bell says that an entry fee could be introduced in 2023 to ensure the exhibits can develop and to cover maintenance costs.
“There are a few aircraft that have been based locally, like Jaguars and Tornados, that we’d like to have copies of on-site. But at the moment, the only way to get one of those is to purchase one,” he said.
The museum is likely to start charging admission in 2023 to fund development projects (Image: Suffolk Live)
The museum celebrates its 50th birthday next year and will rely on the generosity of its circa 20,000 visitors a year to stay open for decades to come.
Even if you’re not an aviation history buff, I can assure you that a visit to the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum will be well worth the effort and leave you wanting to return and discover more.
Daniel Defalco
Video from Suffolk live
Would You Like To Help
There are a number of ways you can help the museum in these difficult financial times, especially for a volunteer-run charity organisation such as the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum. If you wish, you could become a Museum Member by paying a small fee each year, or you could make a one-off donation to help with our running costs.
To become a Museum Member or a Volunteer Member please click on the appropriate button below to see the details on our main website.
Click to see how to becomeMUSEUM MEMBER Click to see how to becomeMUSEUM VOLUNTEER
To make a donation please click the donate button below to be taken to our donations page.
For all other details on the museum please go to our main web page by clicking on the picture below.
Good piece of reporting.