On Monday December 8th, we headed out on the Tube to the RAF Hendon Museum. We were meeting up with some people who answered a post on a game forum that Brooke frequents. After a 10 minute or so walk we reached the museum and called Gary and Linda. They had arrived earlier and met up with another AH flier, Trevor. It was a really cool treat to meet such awesome people who were willing take time out of their busy lives to show us around. We started in a building that housed some of the aircraft from World War I. I was surprised at how sophisticated some of these airplanes looked. Other than materials, they looked very similar to a modern small airplane, which is astounding since the first Wright Brothers flight was in 1903. Some of these planes were making flights from England to Australia only fifteen years later.
Brooke, Trev, and Gary wandered around together and discussed in detail some of the planes available in their WWII air combat game. There was much sharing of “war stories” from the battles they have flown, especially when they fly in large scale scenarios (sometimes over 200 participants recreating epic fights, like the Battle of Britain). I had a lot of fun looking at the different planes, taking photographs and reading the history of some of the personal items located in the museum. The Milestones of Flight building housed a great range of airplanes and was really cool. They had very early planes like the Sopwith Camel (remember Snoopy versus the Red Baron?) to the modern jet planes used by the current British Air Force and Navy. If you are interested to see more photos and learn about the RAF museum and it contents, I highly recommend you check out Brooke’s RAF Museum page.
We took a break after a few hours at the museum and went to a local pub for lunch, The Beaufort. It was a very fancy place (a much better option than eating at the museum cafeteria, not only because they had a full bar) and had excellent atmosphere and food. Gary and Linda insisted on treating us all to the lunch and we appreciated it very much. Brooke ordered bangers and mash, I ordered steak and mushroom pie. I was too embarrassed to be a total dork and take pictures of my meal, but honestly I can say that the food was really, really good. The steak was of very high quality, the gravy sumptuous and the crust was marvelous. Brooke and I switched half-way through the meal and then I finished the sausage and mash. It was lip smacking good. We found out that Trev hails from the land of Newcastle ale. He says that he prefers the bottled version to that from a tap. We were surprised by this, but will heed his advice. Brooke and I shared a bottle of Bulmers Pear Cider, highly recommended by Gary and Linda.
Oh…my…god
it
was
really
freaking
good
We found out about more about our hosts, where they live, their jobs, have they ever visited in the US and what state, etc. We offered to host them any time they are in the Seattle area. I truly hope they take us up on it. I’d be excited to introduce them to our own excellent local brew, Mac and Jack’s African Amber.
After our excellent lunch and afternoon beverage, we all went back to the museum to explore the Battle of Britain Hall. This was my favorite part of the museum. In addition to the historic WWII aircraft there was information and displays of anti-aircraft guns, defense barrage balloons, bomb squads, RADAR, and personal items from soliders (letters, uniforms, medals). Every hour is a fabulous multimedia presentation called, “Their finest hour” which is a MUST see if you visit the museum. I took some more pictures in the building, including a few of Brooke, Trev and Gary in front of their favorite airplanes. We also checked out the bomber hall and the rest of the museum. After we closed the place down, we went back to the pub for a drink, but this gal was so jet lagged that I kept falling asleep in my chair. and didn’t even finish half of my pint of bitter. :-(
Again, what I recommend more than my paltry descriptions is to check out Brooke’s After Action Report on the RAF Museum. You can see my photos and comments on my RAF museum gallery.My collection are only a few extra items I found interesting, separate from and not mentioned on Brooke’s excellent page.
After visiting many museums this year that display technology advances throughout the 20th century, I am astounded at what and how much humans can achieve when they really put their minds and efforts to it. For anyone who is interested in the history of aviation in Britain, the RAF Museum is a great place to visit. Enjoy lunch at the pub and if you are lucky, meet up with some new friends.
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