Every child has dreamt of being a fighter pilot right?! Zipping through the sky and of course, doing massive loops where the passengers fall out at the top and then land back in the plane right?

Well if you have, which I assume everyone has, then the RAF Museum can definitely bring up some childhood memories. A large, spread out museum. housed in six old hangars which were actually use by the RAF in the past, the sheer number of iconic fighter jets here is a highlight in itself.

What: Museum chronicling the history of the Royal Air Force, from WWI (before it was the RAF), through to the current era. The museum is split between six hangars, although 3,4, and 5 are all conjoined so four hangars would describe it better. Hangar 1 is a general exhibition on the engineering behind the planes and the other aspects that make up the air force. The rest of the hangars are mostly the planes themselves with the story of their use in battle. Hangar 2 is WWI, Hangars 3-5 are WWII until the late 70s, and Hangar 6 is the 80s until the modern era.

On a side note; to be honest, as good as this museum is in general, it is not well set up in my opinion, with their being basically zero route to follow. It feels like they organised their exhibits by hangar, and once they decided which hangar an exhibit was in, they didn’t care where they put it within the hangar. That’s my only real complaint with the museum, but for me that’s the second most important thing in a museum after the content itself.

Where: The museum is on Grahame Park Way in Colindale, an area in Barnet, North West London. The closest train station is Colindale on the Northern Line, which is a 15 minute walk from the museum.

When: Daily from 10 am to 5 pm

Who: All ages. The museum has something for everyone, Hangar 1 has many interactive displays which all ages (besides the very youngest) will enjoy, and in the other Hangars, though not as interactive, the massive planes and trucks will definitely capture any kids eye. For the youngest kids, there’s an air force themed playground outside. For adults, well, the entire museum is fascinating.

How Long: Depends on how much of a plane person you are, but two-three hours should be a reasonable amount of time to experience this museum.

Interactives: Hangar 1 has many interactive games and challenges where you can try your hand at tasks in the RAF. Many of these games have difficulty settings for both children and adults. Throughout the hangars, many of the planes have raised platforms leading to the cockpit, and for a few of the larger vessels, you can actually go inside!

Cost: Totally free!

Highlights: There are some seriously iconic planes on display here, including the Kittyhawk, the Messerschmitt, and of course, the legendary spitfire. Talking of the spitfire, there’s also a Spitfire experience where you can actually sit in the Spitfire’s cockpit! A must for any aircraft enthusiasts, the experience costs a pretty penny at $25. There’s also a 4D Cinema Experience and a flight simulator for $5 each. Another highlight has to be walking through the interior of the Sunderland, a large sea plane, in Hangar 1.

Events: The museum has daily tours for $10 at 11 am and 2 pm. They also host many lectures as well as sporadic artistic events you can find over on the RAF Museum official website (I’d add a link but for some reason it’s not going through).

Nearby: Being further out of the city than most other London museums, there isn’t really anything else of interest near the museum.