The Yorkshire Air Museum is cleared for take off.
Its team of volunteers have been working to re-arrange and clean aircraft and vehicles, repaint barriers, clean hangars and tidy the gardens before it reopens on Saturday (4 July).
The Halifax Bomber “Friday the 13th” now stands right at the front of the Main Display Hangar, aiming to give returning visitors the ‘wow’ factor.
A one-way route around the site has been introduced, and the museum’s new online ticketing system will allow people to pre-book their visit via the museum’s website.
Amazing effort
Museum director Barbara George said: “We have been very busy over the past four weeks preparing for our reopening.
“The ground work we have managed to achieve with the help of a handful of staff and a few volunteers is absolutely amazing and I am confident that our visitors are going to love our new display and the feel of our site.
“With our beautiful lawn, historic buildings and spectacular aircraft, people will love taking a stroll through our site: what a place for a family picnic!”
She singled out for thanks William Birch & Sons Ltd for sponsoring repairs to their Second World War buildings.
Picnic tables
The museum has been closed for 15 weeks and it has been a very challenging time with close to no income generation.
Without government or local funding, the museum is faced with a £50,000 shortfall in income and recently launched an appeal for support through donations.
Reopening its gates now to its supporters and new visitors is critical to its future sustainability.
Light refreshments will be available from the museum shop while the restaurant remains closed to the public. Picnic tables will also be located around the site.
The Yorkshire Air Museum will re-open on Saturday 4th July and Sunday 5th July, from 10 am to 5 pm. It will then open Wednesdays to Sundays and move to a 7-day opening from the start of the Summer School holidays towards the end of the month.