About The Museum Few of the 20 or so people that enrolled as founder members of the Midland Aircraft Preservation Society at it's inaugural meeting on Wednesday 24th May 1967, could have imagined how the Midland Air Museum they created a few years later would look over 30 years on. Now, the efforts of these and the members who followed them have resulted in one of the leading independent air museums in the UK. That first meeting, brought about by a series of adverts in the Coventry Evening Telegraph, took place in a hired room at The Nugget Inn in Coventry. The Society, or M.A.P.S. as it became known, began amassing a collection of books, photographs, aircraft bits, engines and airframes and although the latter were generally small and easily stored there was an attempt, in December/January of 1967/1968, to save the second prototype Hawker Hunter from the scrapman at Solihull. With little resources and nowhere to put it the attempt was unsuccessful. The first airframe acquired was the remains of a Parnall Pixie IIIa - a two seat low-powered aeroplane built for the Light Aeroplane Trials at Lympne where it met with some success. The Pixie remains in store until the time, money and space are available to rebuild it. Next came the wings of an H.M.14 Pou de Ciel - better known as the Flying Flea that created an aircraft homebuilding craze in 1935/1936. Armed with a copy of Henri Mignet's book le Sport de l'Air members set about building a fuselage in a borrowed garage and acquired wheels, a rudder and other components for their first aeroplane restoration. The M.A.P.S., with no home of its own, exhibited at air displays, fetes, etc. to raise money for further acquisitions, transportation and storage, to attract new members and to publicise its desire to create a Midland Air Museum. Other aircraft acquired in the first four to five years included the Wheeler Slymph of 1931, a Miles Messenger, a de Havilland Fox Moth, a de Havilland Rapide, a Bleriot XI replica and several gliders. Some remain in store, some have been passed on to others for restoration and some are now on permanent display. In 1972 a de Havilland Vampire T.11 jet trainer ws acquired, quickly followed by a de Havilland Vampire F.1 and a Gloster Meteor F.4. The Meteor and Vampire were Britain's first and second jet types to enter service and established the nucleus of the present collection of early and important jet aeroplanes. In 1975, years of effort to find a home for the growing collection paid off when a lease was negotiated with Coventry City Council for a small piece of land on the northern side of Coventry Airport and members turned into amateur builders and civil engineers to establish a Midland Air Museum - a considerable change from attendance at air displays. Early in 1977 the Midland Aircraft Preservation Society officially changed into the Midland Air Museum, which just over 12 months later became a Limited Company. With just five aeroplanes on display the Museum admitted its first visitors on Sunday, April 2nd, 1978 when 67 people paid a total of £7.10 to enter. In early 1979 the Museum was granted charitable status. More recently the Museum achieved registered museum status under the Government's Museum Registration Scheme. A period of rapid expansion ensued, acquiring more airframes and engines to increase the interest for visitors who, it was now confirmed, would pay to view them. in a three-and-a-half year period up until autumn 1981, 12 additional aeroplanes were added to the collection and transported to the Museum. The Museum's collection continued to grow and with the purchase of the Avro Vulcan bomber in early 1983 the Museum site, already double its original size, was added to again. To secure further land and a longer lease the Museum moved off the Airport onto an adjacent site of 4.5 acres bordering onto Rowley Road. Caring for a collection of aeroplanes kept outdoors was becoming more and more difficult and an appeal for a hangar was launched. This eventually met with great success with the provision of a grant for £110,000 from the West Midlands County Council. This provided for the bare shell of what is now the Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre, in which are now based the starts of the two principal themes within the Museum - The Story of The Jet and Wings over Coventry. Galleries for these have been created on the ground and first floors respectively. Later a second hangar, the Robin Hangar, was erected where restoration work is now carried out away from the weather. Today the museum is still run primarily on a voluntary basis - although it does employ a full time Manager and two sales assistants in the shop. An active youth programme is in place to bring new people into the restoration scene and countless hours of unpaid work by juniors as young as 14 up to senior citizens in their 80s have gone into establishing, maintaining and improving this, the Midland Air Museum. Joining The Museum We welcome new volunteers, young and old. If you are interested in joining the Museum as a volunteer come contact the Museum Manager, Dianne James - see the Location page for contact details.