RAAF Museum

The RAAF Museum is one of the top ten places to visit in Melbourne in my opinion.

It's very big and of a high quality but looks rather under-visited from my experience.........

........probably due to the lack of advertising - I can't remember seeing it advertised anywhere.........

........I only came across it after doing a lot of research.

RAAF Williams (where the RAAF Museum is located) has seen plenty of action.......

........It was the starting point for the first transcontinental flight in 1919.....

........the start and end point for the first circumnavigation of Australia in 1924.......

........and the site of the first international flight in 1926.

The museum really brings the airfield to life.

It starts from the very beginning when the airfield was just a sheep paddock.

You'll find good quality information and displays on all of Australia's wars and conflicts.......

......right up to the present day where they help with bushfires and rescues.

In fact RAAF Williams is apparently the oldest active military base in the world.

There are loads of old aircraft to see too.

The icing on the cake is the flying displays.......

........These displays of some of the aircraft are held on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 1pm.........

........I'm told they sometimes even have aerobatic displays.

I saw a Winjeel on my visit which was a 1950's training aircraft.

(You can see from the photo of the plane taking off that the museum isn't too far away from Melbourne city centre by the way).

Other aircraft regularly used for the flying displays are a Tiger Moth and a Sopwith Pup replica. I can't wait to see them in action. Visiting aircraft are also flown sometimes.

The displays include a 15 minute talk about the aircraft and a question and answer session at the end.

You can also arrange a guided tour of the museum. I didn't find out about this until near the end of my visit.....

......I was too late to book a tour but I'm sure it would be a good thing to do.

You can book the tour from Tuesday to Friday. Last available tour time is 1.30. I'm not actually sure how long the tours last - ask when you call to book on (03) 9256 1300.

Location: Address is RAAF Museum, RAAF Williams, Point Cook Road, Point Cook.

It's a 25 minute drive south-west from Melbourne along the Princes Freeway.

Take the Point Cook Road exit off the freeway. There are signs all the way from the freeway except at the end of the freeway turn-off! Turn right here from the left lane!! Then it's an immediate left turn and follow the signs.........

.........Check out where it is on the map below.

View RAAF Museum in a larger map

Everyone over 16 must bring along photo ID as the museum is located within an active military base.

You'll need to get out the car at the RAAF base to sign in and show your photo ID. They'll then direct you 700 metres to the museum further down the road.

It's open Tue-Fri 10am-3pm and weekends/public holidays from 10am-5pm. Donations are accepted.

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