A Coventry Day Out for All the Family

Our headquarters here at Coventry has always been a great place to fly in old aircraft. OK, it was a bit oily here and there, but aviation fans always took that as part of the ambience.

But we've been working hard all winter, and earlier this year we proudly opened the gates on AIRBASE.

Now there's 35,000 square feet of indoor display, housing the gems of our collection. Outside there are lots more superb old aircraft, all cared for and cherished to preserve them for future generations. There's great, quick refreshments at the Canberra Café, or there's the superb DC-6 Diner, where you can relish fine food in the ambience of a real fifties airliner.

One important thing hasn't changed though. It's our mission to keep as many as possible of these vintage machines in airworthy condition. So there's every chance you'll see a Dakota, stalwart of the D-Day invasion, rumbling dopwn the runway. Or maybe it'll be the thunderous arrival of one of the classic jets, or even the sedate touch-down of the Prentice or Anson.

Best of all, you can actually climb on board several of them for an unforgettable classic flight.

AIRBASE now has its own site! Check it out on http://www.airbasecoventry.com/

Dine in Fifties Elegance

The DC-6 Diner is something unique. We've converted G-SIXC, one of our magnificent DC-6 Cloudmaster airliners, into a comfortable, unique restaurant. It captures the elegant, first-class style of fifties air travel, when dining on-board meant something more than the pre-packaged monstrosities of our present high-speed age.  We're open for lunch - when the focus is on great food to keep you going through your busy day, and dinner - when it's all about first-class food, excellent wine, and the time to relax and chat with your fellow "travellers".

High-Speed Taxi Rides in the DC-6

While we're on the subject of the DC-6.  Our other, fully functional Cloudmaster is here for you to experience the thrill of winging away to who-knows-where. When 10,000hp bellows its presence on each wing, and this great beast launches itself down the runway, you'll feel an exhilaration that's been lost in our modern, jet-propelled world.

For an even closer contact with early passenger flying, try a taxi run aboard one of our Dakotas. G-AMPY boasts comfy airliner seats, but that's as far as the luxury goes; in fact you'll see the overhead line and "Go" lights used by paratroopers. G-AMRA is fully lined and soundproofed, as she would have been for 40s-50s passenger service, but you'll still be struck by the angle of her floor as she sits, ready to go, on her tailwheel.  As either rumbles towards take-off speed, and you feel the tail lift, it's easy to cast your mind back 70-odd years to when the Dakota revolutionised air travel.