Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum

About the museum

The idea for a museum to preserve the aviation history of the region came from half a dozen enthusiasts in the Bungay area in 1972. The first public meeting of the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Society was held the following year, and the first display was in a Nissen hut behind Flixton Post Office, which had 5,500 visitors within a year. In 1975 the society moved to meadows and a barn behind the Buck Inn at Flixton and opened the new site to the public on 24 April 1975. By 1978 it had become the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum.

In 1984 the museum bought almost eight acres of meadow and began putting up buildings to hold the collection. The main hangar came from Matlaske in north Norfolk, the 1937 Boulton and Paul hangar was rescued from Ipswich Airport in 2000, and the Ken Wallis Hall opened in 2010.

The museum now shows more than 60 aircraft and 30,000 smaller items in hangars, linked buildings and themed buildings for Bomber Command, Air Sea Rescue, the Royal Observer Corps and the 446th Bomb Group USAAF, which flew from nearby Flixton airfield. Several aircraft and cockpits are displayed outdoors. The museum is run by volunteers.

Highlights

• More than 60 aircraft and 30,000 smaller artefacts
• Themed buildings for Bomber Command, Air Sea Rescue, the Royal Observer Corps and the 446th Bomb Group
• Cockpits and aircraft to sit in, plus a working Link Trainer and simulators
• Boulton and Paul hangar of 1937 and the Ken Wallis Hall
• Adair Walk, a raised boardwalk to the river

Permanent exhibitions

• 446th Bomb Group USAAF – A display about the American airmen based at nearby Flixton airfield during the Second World War, with artefacts from servicemen stationed there.
• RAF Bomber Command – A themed building on the role of Bomber Command in the Second World War.
• Royal Observer Corps – A display on No. 6 Group of the Royal Observer Corps.

Founded

1972

Visitors per year

approx. 40,000

Admission & discounts

Tickets can be bought online or at the museum on the day. Every ticket can be upgraded to an annual ticket free of charge, allowing unlimited visits for the following 12 months. A small donation is requested for a short flight in the WWII simulator.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• 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 main hangars and display buildings are on a single level, and wheelchairs can be borrowed. The three main hangars and the café area are under cover and linked together. Parking is on site with disabled bays close to the shop and main hangars. Toilets, including an accessible one, are beside the first hangar and the NAAFI. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome across the site and in most buildings, but not in the shop and the rooms beyond it.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Hands-on stations

Families are welcome. There are hands-on activities in the hangars, aircraft and cockpits to sit in, and a small sit-in aircraft and boat outdoors. A short flight in a WWII simulator is possible for a small donation when volunteers are in the Link Trainer Room. A family ticket is available.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the village of Flixton, behind the Buck public house, on the B1062 about 1.6 miles from the A144 turn-off east of Bungay.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

The NAAFI café area serves cakes, scones, crisps and hot and cold drinks. There are picnic tables. The Dove pub, about a mile away at the junction of the B1062 and A143, serves hot meals.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit