Boscombe Down Aviation Collection - Salisbury
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The Boscombe Down Aviation Collection (BDAC) was formally opened by Air Commodore Colin Cruickshanks on 1st April 1999, but was behind the ‘wire’ until it moved to Old Sarum and opened to the public on the 1st of July 2012. It became a Private Not For Profit Company limited by guarantee in May 2007, and then a registered Charity in June 2011. The Collection is based on aircraft, vehicles and artefacts historically associated with the Boscombe Down site. We are expanding this to flight in the Wessex area. The Collection is run by the Members and is staffed by volunteers. Mission The Boscombe Down Aviation Collection (BDAC) tells the history of Boscombe Down and explains the place it has in the history of flight and flight test. In essence the aim is to the preserve the past for the future. Military flying began at Boscombe Down in 1917 and continues to the present day. Experimental operation began in 1940 and the site remains at the forefront for testing as the UK’s and Western Europe’s only dedicated military flight test centre. Boscombe Down has played a major role in the history of flight and flight test. Our aim is to bring this story to life by restorations, replicas and allowing people to experience sitting in our powered cockpits. | |||||||||||||||||||||||