Sywell Aviation Museum
Volunteer-run aviation museum at Sywell Aerodrome with cockpits, wartime exhibits, a Link Trainer and aircraft outside; free entry.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Sywell Aviation Museum began in 1998 as a volunteer group devoted to the history of Sywell Aerodrome and of aviation in Northamptonshire. Its first building opened in 2001, made from three Nissen huts that came from the former USAAF airfield at Bentwaters, where they had been bomb fuzing sheds. The honorary president, the wartime test pilot Alex Henshaw, who flew from Sywell, launched it.
Two more Nissen huts arrived from Derbyshire around 2010–11, where they had served as prisoner-of-war camp huts. The Paul Morgan Hall, with its cockpit collection and a Second World War Link Trainer, opened at Easter 2011, and a second hall with an enlarged American hall and a prisoner-of-war and Luftwaffe display followed in 2012. The first complete aircraft, a Hawker Hunter, was acquired in summer 2012.
The museum is run entirely by unpaid volunteers. Its halls cover the American airmen in Northamptonshire, the RAF, the Home Front and the Luftwaffe and Cold War, and outdoor displays include a Handley Page Jetstream, a Hawker Hunter and an English Electric Canberra.
Highlights
- American Hall with B-17 displays
- Cockpit collection and Second World War Link Trainer
- RAF Hall and Home Front exhibition
- Luftwaffe and Cold War Hall
- Chipmunk Experience
- Hawker Hunter, Jetstream and Canberra outside
- Founded
- 1998
- Operated by
- Sywell Aviation Museum Trust
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Entry is free; the museum relies on donations. Museum membership is available.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
A small ramp leads into the entrance hall and the walkways are wide enough for wheelchairs; volunteers will help on request. There are no toilets inside the museum.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
- Family tours & workshops
- Hands-on stations
Young Aviator Tours suit Beavers, Brownies and Cubs working on air activity badges, and children can sit in the Chipmunk cockpit as part of the Chipmunk Experience.
Getting there & parking
By car
Parking available
A car park is next to the Aviator Hotel; airfield events sometimes restrict access to the museum car park.
Sat nav postcode NN6 0BT. From Sywell village the museum is the third entrance on the left; from the Wellingborough direction it is the first entrance on the right, marked by the tail of the Jetstream above the hedge.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Café: not available
- Museum shop
- Wi-Fi
Free WiFi is available. There is no refreshment area in the museum; the Pilot’s Mess café is on the airfield near the control tower and the Aviator Hotel is across the car park. A small shop sells model kits, books and other items.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Groups can book guided tours: Young Aviator Tours for children’s groups on weekday evenings, daytime tours for older school pupils in term time, and tours for adult groups, often combined with a meal at the Aviator. Group bookings are taken on +44 7968 061708. |
