TheUlster Aviation Society (UAS) is a charitable organisation run entirely by volunteers with a wide interest in aviation, with a focus of "furthering a public interest in the history of aviation". It has a Heritage Collection based atLong Kesh,Lisburn,Northern Ireland. housing around 40 military and civil aircraft and rotorcraft along with vehicles and a large number of related items.
The UAS started in 1968, originally located atNewtownards Aerodrome, and had moved to the disused airfield ofRAF Langford Lodge by 1994,[1] occupying buildings including the control tower and half a hangar as their Heritage Centre.
The UAS Wildcat at Newtownards Air Show in 1984
An early member was Ernie Cromie, who was the society’s chairman from 1982 until handing over to Ray Burrows in 2012, and was awarded theBritish Empire Medal for his efforts. Cromie and Burrows were keen researchers into aircraft wrecks in Northern Ireland. They would examine records of crashes and, with other interested members of the society, visit the crash sites, often recovering aircraft parts to build their collection.[2] The society's first full airframe, acquired in 1984, was aGrumman Wildcat, known by theRoyal Navy as the Martlet, which, with the help of other groups and aBritish Army helicopter, had been recovered from a nearby lake,Portmore Lough.[3] Its restoration has been slow and painstaking, but was nearing completion in 2024.[4]
The collection moved toLong Kesh in 2005/6, where it occupies the old airfield's only remaining hangars, which, during WW2, were used byShort Brothers for the production ofShort Stirling bombers. The huge hangars are scheduled monuments.[5][6] The society's early years at the new location were dogged by doubts about its lease and use of the site (it is on part of the site of the formerMaze prison)[7][8] but these were resolved in early 2024.[9]
Registered as a charity (registered number NIC100128) in 2014,[10] the society was awardedThe Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2018,[11] at which time it had over 670 volunteers.[12] Chairman Ray Burrows was awarded theMBE in the 2020New Years Honours list, "For services to the Ulster Aviation Society, Heritage Sector and to the community in Northern Ireland".[13]
Panavia Tornado GR.4 ZG771 in 2016, gifted to UAS in 2021
In the early 2020s the UAS has been very active, acquiring several new exhibits, especially from the British armed forces. The society has developed a strong relationship with theRAF, with several RAF aircraft having been acquired for no charge, except for transport.[9] The volunteers work on numerous projects, and also are available to guide visitors, encouraging them to sit in cockpits and touch most of the exhibits. For this reason they prefer that the facility is called a collection, avoiding the more formal title of museum. The volunteers take items such as cockpit sections to outside public events, and there are also open days at the Long Kesh site.
The society has a large collection of aviation-related material, including cockpit sections from a Tornado, a Canberra, and ade Havilland Devon, a restoredtail-gun turret, and aLearjet 45 test airframe (built by Short inBelfast). There are also several themed display rooms, a library, and advanced PC-based flight simulators withVR capability and controls for fast jets, helicopters, and propeller aircraft.[14]
As there are no formal staff, casual public walk-in visits are not allowed, and all visitors must pre-book to ensure that volunteers are available and gates and hangars are open. There is no charge for visits, but donations are welcome.[15]
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