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The Brooklands Museum is located south of Weybridge in Surrey.
Brooklands was the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit, which was built in 1907, and birthplace of British motorsport and aviation. Brooklands-based aircraft companies such as Bleriot, Hawker, Sopwith, Martinsyde, and Vickers were key players in the early years of aviation and were crucial to its early development.
History
Brooklands was a major centre for aircraft design, construction and flight testing for most of the 20th century. From A V Roe's first trials here in 1907-08, through many decades of manufacture by such companies as BAC, Bleriot, British Aerospace, Hawker, Sopwith and Vickers, no other place in Britain, possibly even in the world, has seen such achievements. Some 18,600 new aircraft of nearly 250 types were first flown, manufactured or assembled at Brooklands.
Brooklands Museum was first opened regularly in 1991 on 30 acres of the original motor-racing circuit. It includes four Listed buildings: the 1907 Brooklands Automobile Racing Club Clubhouse and Members Hill Restaurant buildings, the 1911 Flight Ticket Office, and a 1940 Bellman aircraft hangar.
Wellington IA serial number N2980 is on display at Brooklands Museum. This aircraft was built at Brooklands and took part in the RAF's daylight bombing raids on Germany early in the Second World War but later lost power during a training flight on 31 December 1940 and ditched in Loch Ness. The aircraft was recovered from the bottom of Loch Ness in September 1985 and restored in the late 1980s and 1990s.
A major new visitor attraction, 'The Concorde Experience', opened in August 2006.
Some of the museum exhibits:- the flyable Bleriot XI and Sopwith Camel replica are maintained in 'live' condition and perform regular engine running demonstrations at museum events during the year.
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