The Aviation Heritage Museum, Bull Creek

The Aviation Heritage Museum is located on an Air Force retirement village estate in Bull Creek and features over 30 civilian and military aircraft, thousands of aviation artefacts and aircraft replicas of aircraft that served in the Royal Australian Air Force.

The museum is predominately staffed by volunteers, most of which are ex-pilots and/or aviation enthusiasts! The volunteers are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable and more than happy to impart their knowledge to you as you make your way around the museum.

The museum is split over two wings. You enter through the South Wing which is home to the Museum’s smaller aeroplanes as well a couple of BIG standouts such as the PBY-5A Catalina which as a wingspan of 31.7 m. But Huey was definitely the highlight, Huey is a Bell UH-1H Iroquois Helicopter, the kids especially loved being allowed to jump in the pilot’s seat!

The South Hangar also features a Sopwith Camel Replica with a propeller that spins when you press a button.

You can even pretend to be at the helm of an old air traffic control desk.

Sugar Bird Lady was my favourite, I loved how interactive it was for the kids. They were able to control the lights on the wings and tail as well as control the direction of the aircraft by moving the flaps on the wings, not that they were really flying 😉

The North Hangar is where the adventure really begins! As soon as you walk you are faced with the monstrous Avro Lancaster, which is a heavy bombing aircraft, the aircraft is an impressive piece of history and is one of only 2 left in Australia. The kids thoroughly enjoyed standing beneath the aircraft pretending a bomb was about to drop on them.

Another standout is the Dakota C47, the military aircraft was used to transport troops, cargo, and the wounded. I’m not sure if there were more switches on the control board or ashtrays – the kids were shocked people were allowed to smoke on an aeroplane back in ‘the olden days’!

You can get a higher look at some of the huge aircraft from the Walkway and Viewing Platform.

What I really loved is that even although you can’t actually go into the majority of the planes you can get really up close to them. Most of the planes have steps up to the cockpit or an open door so you can still have a good look inside.

The museum also features book and photo libraries and has a small gift shop which stocks the largest selection of aeroplane models. You can also grab a cold drink or ice creams from the gift shop too.

We really enjoyed our trip to the museum, and there is so much to discover that you can’t see it all during one visit so I cannot wait to bring my little and big aviation enthusiasts back again!

The Aviation Heritage Museum

Air Force Memorial Estate, 2 Bull Creek Dr, Bull Creek

Click here for entry fees.

Open every day 10.00am to 4.00pm (except Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day).

www.aviationmuseumwa.org.au

For more information visit their website www.raafawa.org.au/museum/

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About Kellie Elliott

Kellie Elliott is a busy mum of four who enjoys adventuring around Perth with her children and sharing her journeys and experiences on Instagram at Perth Mum Adventures.