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72,000 and Rising

The Yorkshire Air Museum is preparing itself for another bumper year, after figures show it welcomed a record number of visitors in 2023. The museum at Elvington near York saw around 72,000 people come through its gates last year, a rise of 12,000 on the previous twelve months. This comes at a time when many visitor attractions are struggling to cope with the lingering aftereffects of Covid, as well as the cost-of-living crisis.

The Museum’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Jerry Ibbotson said,

‘We had just over 60,000 visitors in 2022, which was itself a really great way to come back after Covid. But in 2023 that figure has jumped to 72,000 people, which broke not only the levels of recent years but also smashed the targets we’d set ourselves.’

During the Covid lockdown in 2020, the Yorkshire Air Museum lost 90% of its income and its survival hung in the balance, until it was awarded emergency funding from the National Heritage Lottery Funding, and an Arts Council Recovery Grant. It’s now back with a bang.

In 2023 it staged a season-long exhibition on the Cold War – ‘Minutes to Midnight’ – which saw a freshly repainted RAF Buccaneer jet as its centrepiece. The Museum also open its first permanent children’s playground, adding to its appeal for family groups, and moved its ticket hall and shop into one combined space. It also took delivery of a new aircraft, a Sepecat Jaguar jet kindly donated by the RAF.

Jerry Ibbotson said,

‘There was also a World War Two weekend, ‘We’ll Meet Again’, staged over the Coronation weekend that drew in large crowds to relive the spirit of the 1940s.

The Museum then held a ‘Cold War Car Show’ in the summer, where vehicles from the 1960s, 70s and 80s were displayed alongside aircraft from that era.

In October we hosted our first Thunder Day since 2019, with aircraft firing up their engine,. This drew in nearly 1000 visitors, with numbers only limited by parking space!

It shows how popular the Museum is with all our audiences, from hardcore aviation enthusiasts to families looking for a great day out.’

2024 looks like being a busy year, with a diary of events planned, including another Thunder Day and We’ll Meet Again weekend.

‘We’re also going to see the arrival of the Avro Shackleton from Coventry Airport. This is being dismantled and will come to us in pieces and take several months to reassemble. It will be a great addition to our collection,’ Jerry added.

‘With the great results from last year, the bar is set very high for 2024 but we’re all working hard to do even greater things over the next twelve months.’

The Museum’s Chair of Trustees, Rachel Semlyen MBE paid tribute to the Museum team.

‘Looking ahead there’s much more to come but nothing could have been achieved without the commitment, passion and hard work of all our staff and volunteers. I want to wish all our supporters a very happy and successful new year and to thank you so much for your interest, encouragement and enthusiasm for what we do at the museum to commemorate service, celebrate innovation and inspire present and future generations.’

If you are a journalist and require more info about this story don’t hesitate to email pr@yorkshireairmuseum.org

Blackburn Mercury Monoplane 1911 (Replica) AH (BAPC) 130 YAM Jan.1995

The Blackburn Mercury Monoplane is regarded as the first truly successful aircraft made by Blackburn at their factory in Leeds. The Mercury I, powered by a 50 hp Isaacson radial engine, was displayed at the Olympia Aero Show in March 1911 and made its debut flying from the beach at Filey with the newly formed Blackburn Flying School. In May 1911, it flew from Filey to Scarborough and back in 19 minutes at an average speed of 50 mph, reaching an altitude of 1200 feet.
This aircraft crashed the next day when the engine seized and the propeller flew off! The Mercury I was followed by two Mercury II aircraft powered by 50 hp Gnome engines, and six Mercury III aircraft, with a number of different engines. Sadly, a Renault powered Mercury crashed at Filey in December 1911, killing an instructor and passenger.
The Museum’s replica was built for Yorkshire Television in 1979 for the Edwardian drama series ‘Flambards’, and was taxied with a car engine. It came to YAM on 10th January 1995 and after a long period in storage it was painstakingly restored to a superb display standard, and was unveiled in June 2000 by Professor Robert Blackburn, grandson of Robert Blackburn, the aviation pioneer.

AVRO 504K ‘H1968’ (Replica) AH (BAPC) 42 YAM Oct. 1994

The Avro 504 first flew in 1913. In the opening phases of the First World War, it served with front-line squadrons in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service for bombing and reconnaissance, but from 1915 onwards the aircraft entered the training role for which it is most celebrated.

Over 8,000 Avro 504s were built. In 1918, the Royal Air Force had about 3,000, of which 2,276 were trainers.

The Avro 504 was stationed at many Yorkshire airfields, including Tadcaster near the A1/A64 junction, where a period hangar can still be seen.

The Yorkshire Air Museum’s replica was built by apprentices at RAF Halton and appeared at the Royal Tournament in 1968 to commemorate what was then fifty years since the end of the First World War. The aircraft was refurbished in early 2015 to be transported to Thiepval, Northern France, for the Somme Centenary commemoration event, on request of the British Government. In May 2018, it was also displayed at the impressive Hotel Les Invalides in central Paris for a joint RAF / French Air Force event to mark the Centenary of the Royal Air Force and over 100 years of British and French Air Force collaboration.