National Museum of Flight

About the museum

The National Museum of Flight is part of National Museums Scotland and stands on the former RAF East Fortune airfield in East Lothian. The aircraft collection goes back to 1909, when the Royal Scottish Museum acquired a glider designed by Percy Pilcher, the first aircraft collected by any museum in the United Kingdom. As the collection grew in the 1970s, a Spitfire and other aircraft were stored at East Fortune, and the museum opened to the public there on 7 July 1975.

The museum uses the original wartime buildings of the airfield, one of the best-preserved Second World War airfields in the United Kingdom, and the whole site is a scheduled monument. Major additions came in the 1980s with the purchase of aircraft from the Strathallan Collection, the arrival of a de Havilland Comet and an Avro Vulcan, and in 2006 with a donation of aircraft from the British Airways collection, including a Boeing 707 forward fuselage. Two hangars from 1940 were insulated and heated in a project completed in 2016.

Today the museum covers military, civil and recreational flight. Its best-known exhibit is Scotland's only Concorde, which visitors can board, along with a hands-on science gallery, a recreated wartime parachute store and displays about the history of the airfield. Aircraft such as the Vulcan and the Comet stand outdoors on the airfield.

Highlights

• Scotland's only Concorde, open for boarding
• Concorde Experience and Jet Set exhibitions with a Boeing 707 cabin
• Avro Vulcan bomber on the airfield
• Fantastic Flight hands-on science galleries
• Civil and Military Aviation hangars
• Wartime parachute store and Fortunes of War display

Permanent exhibitions

• Concorde Experience and Jet Age – Board Scotland's only Concorde and visit exhibitions on supersonic flight and on the Boeing 707 and the 1960s jet set.
• Fantastic Flight – Three interactive galleries where visitors learn how aeroplanes fly, how they are built and what pilots need to know.
• Military Aviation hangar – The story of military aircraft from the first air-to-air weapons in 1914 to drone warfare today.

Founded

1975

Operated by

National Museums Scotland

Admission & discounts

Prices are for advance online booking; tickets cost £1 more on the day (adult £16.00). Tickets can be booked up to six weeks ahead. Members of National Museums Scotland and National Art Pass holders enter free. A 10% discount is given on showing a bus ticket or a cycle helmet at the ticket desk, except during special events.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The site is wheelchair accessible and the hangars have ramped access, but Concorde, the Comet and the Boeing 707 can be boarded only by stairs. A lift serves the viewing platform in the Military Aviation hangar. Wheelchairs can be borrowed free of charge but cannot be booked in advance. Accessible toilets are in the Museum Shop, the Concorde Experience and Fantastic Flight, and there are no Changing Places toilets. Induction loops are at the ticket booth, the information desk and the Concorde audio guide desk. Accessible parking spaces are spread across the site, and visitors with mobility difficulties may wish to drive between buildings. There is no seating between buildings, though picnic tables are placed around the site. Sensory backpacks can be borrowed, a visual story is available to download, and monthly Relaxed Mornings are held. Assistance dogs are welcome; other dogs are allowed outdoors only, on a lead.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area

Fantastic Flight has three hands-on galleries on how aeroplanes fly and how pilots work. Free downloadable family trails exist for under-fives, ages 7 to 11 and other topics, and half-term and holiday activities are held. An outdoor assault course with a zipline and climbing frames serves as an adventure playground, which children must be supervised on. The café is accredited by Kids in Museums and has highchairs, and baby changing is available on site.

Getting there & parking

By car from Edinburgh, leave the A1 south at Abbotsview Junction, take the A199 towards East Linton and turn left onto the B1347 about 1.5 miles later, following the signs. A secure cycle rack is provided, and the site is reached by Cycle Route 76 and the A199 and B1347. Visitors who arrive by bus or bicycle get a 10% discount on admission.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

The Aviator Café has ramped entrances and highchairs. Indoor and outdoor picnic areas are provided, including a packed lunch room near the Military hangar. The museum shop sells gifts and books and holds the information desk. Free public WiFi covers many locations on site. A limited number of lockers are in the shop, and tokens are collected at the information desk.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

The museum offers its Concorde Experience as a venue for events such as gala dinners, conferences, meetings and receptions. Enquiries go through National Museums Scotland venue hire.

Plan your visit