This website will open up Lincolnshire’ aviation heritage to young people.

Bastion in the Air explores the role of Lincolnshire in the First World War. The resources are suitable for teaching at Key Stage 2 and are designed to support visits the The Collection Museum and RAF Scampton.

Take Flight looks Lincolnshire’s role in the Second World War. Resources are focused on Science, History, English, Art and Design and ICT and are for use with young people at Key Stages 1,2 and 3. Teachers may find some of the Keys Stage 3 activities are appropriate for use at Key Stage 4.

The venues participating in Take Flight are:

• Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Visitor Centre
• Cranwell Aviation Heritage Centre
• RAF Digby Sector Operations Room Museum
• Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre (LAHC)
• Grantham Museum
• Newark Air Museum
• Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre
• RAF Scampton Historical Museum
• Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre
• RAF Waddington Heritage Centre

To bring the subject to life teachers may choose to put children in role for the different activities. Young people can explore different aspects of aviation in the roles of:

• Pilot
• Air traffic controller
• Air or ground crew
• Crash site investigator
• Time traveller to the home front (land girl, home guard, evacuee)
• A Red Arrow.

Why Lincolnshire?

Lincolnshire has a great aviation history. Ruston Proctor and Co Ltd built aircraft here from 1915 to 1919. In the Second World War the county was home to 46 military airfields, 80,000 RAF personnel and 1,000 aircraft. Today there are only a handful of airfields with RAF Coningsby and RAF Waddington being the only two flying, operational, military airbases. RAF Cranwell provides initial officer training and advanced pilot training and it also houses the Officers and Aircrew Selection Centre (OASC). The Red Arrows are based at RAF Scampton which was home to 617 Squadron, the Dambusters, during the Second World War.

So why has Lincolnshire played such an important role in aviation history?

Lincolnshire is the perfect place for flying and for military airbases. The prevailing south-west wind makes taking off and landing easier on the Lincolnshire Edge and the Wolds. The ground isn’t too muddy and it has a firm limestone foundation which is ideal for heavy aircraft to land on. The land also drains well so makes a good foundation for landing strips.

Venues at a glance

All of the venues have links to air bases that were active during the Second World War and each has a different story to tell. All the activities have a historic or scientific focus. Literacy and numeracy have been embedded into activities wherever possible. There are also opportunities for cross-curricular work.