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York museum to mark milestone with special flying display

Yorkshire Air Museum are marking a milestone anniversary with a flying display by three classic aircraft.

The museum in Elvington will be celebrating their 40th birthday on Monday 11 August – exactly 40 years since the Yorkshire Air Museum and Allied Air Forces Memorial was incorporated as a charitable Trust and held its first open day.

The special day of celebrations will include a flying display by three vintage aircraft – including one that flew over the Museum on its first day in 1985.

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The highlight display will feature: a Blackburn B2 biplane, a Miles Messenger and a Bucker Jungmann. Each aircraft will put on a display of around seven minutes.

The B2 took part in a display as part of the Museum’s inaugural event 40 years ago, flown by one of the original trustees, Robert Sage (now sadly deceased). He’d learned to fly on this type of aircraft and went on to pilot a Halifax bomber from RAF Elvington in 1943.

There will also be vintage cars from the 1980s and a new exhibition telling the story of the Museum.

It’s a normal admissions day – no special tickets are required – but to mark the occasion, anyone born in 1985 will be allowed in at the 1985 ticket price of £1.

Yorkshire Air Museum communications manager, Jerry Ibbotson, said: “After very humble beginnings, literally being built from the ruins of an old airbase, Yorkshire Air Museum has grown over the last four decades. This is a way to celebrate that past, just as we are looking forward to the Museum’s future.

“We hope people will join us on August the 11th to enjoy the flying display, as well as the new exhibition on our own history.

“It’s also a chance to see what we’re up to in 2025, with recent acquisitions such as the Tucano trainer, as well as the freshly repainted Victor.”

To find out more and to pre-book your admission tickets, visit the Yorkshire Air Museum website here.