Britain’s Shuttleworth Collection

Not only is it home to the world’s oldest flying aircraft (a 1909 Blériot XI), but it is almost entirely a flying collection of operational aircraft dating from 1909 to about 1950 that are regularly flown from the grass strip in front of the museum. Everything from the Bristol Boxkite to the de Havilland DH.88 Comet is there and they all fly.

The museum started as a private collection in 1928 by aviator and race car driver Richard Shuttleworth. The Shuttleworth family had long manufactured steam engines and agricultural equipment and during World War I the factories were put to use building the Sopwith Triplane and Sopwith Camel. Years later when the collection built a replica triplane, Thomas Sopwith himself declared it a “late production model.” After Richard Shuttleworth was killed in a World War II training accident, his mother formed the Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth Remembrance Trust “for the teaching of the science and practice of aviation and of afforestation and agriculture.” In addition to airplanes, the museum features historical agricultural and steam exhibits, classic cars, motorcycles, bicycles, vintage buses, and carriages.

There is also a small agricultural college on the property as part of the trust, ornate Swiss gardens, and an Edwardian mansion. Visitors can stay in the mansion’s annex, which functions as an inn and conference center for the college, and although the accommodations are somewhat plain, they are only steps from the runway.

Shuttleworth is not just a place to look at airplanes, it is also a place to fly them. The 70-year-old Cambridge Flying Group, based at Old Warden, offers everything from sightseeing tours to primary training in their two World War II Tiger Moth biplanes. Both saw service during the war and G-AOEI is one of only two remaining airworthy aircraft from the Battle of Dunkirk. To fly such historic aircraft over the landscape where history was made is a spine-tingling experience. CFG flight instructor Bob Morcom gave me a tour over some of the local disused Allied airfields in the Moth when a Spitfire just appeared off our right wing. It is not the sort of experience you have every day!

On any given day you will also find an assortment of privately owned vintage aircraft visiting the aerodrome from all over the U.K.

But the best part of the visit is the chance to talk to the pilots. Visit the local pub and you will run into people like Stu Goldspink, considered one of the best early warbird pilots on the planet; he has flown every single airworthy Hawker Hurricane. Grab a pint and talk airplanes for a while. Bob Morcom flies as a demonstration pilot for the collection as well. He explained that you have to be invited to join that elite group and it is a demanding position. It may take years to get checked out in some of the aircraft “them that ask don’t get.” You must prove yourself first. Morcom can describe the characteristics of a given aircraft like a sommelier describes a wine.

Visit during one of the many airshows and events they host and see for yourself. 

Edwin Remsberg is a professional photographer, pilot, and offers tours of aviation and photography sites throughout the world.

shuttleworth.org