Visiting the Vickers Vimy Exhibition | Review

The Vickers Vimy, one of Australia’s most important pieces of aviation history is free to see and located at Adelaide Airport!

Review by Angelica-Hazel Toutounji

The Vickers Vimy is a remarkable piece of aviation history that is located right here in Adelaide. Whilst small in size, the exhibit is intriguing, inspiring and a perfect pit stop for aviation enthusiasts!

If you have never heard of the Vickers Vimy but enjoy teaching your children about history and are looking for a small excursion to pique their interest and provide a learning opportunity, this is it! Located at Adelaide Airport, directly behind the Atura Adelaide Hotel, is this gem of an exhibit.

Moving past the stone statues of the crew and through the revolving doors, the first thing that strikes you about this exhibition is the darkness and the sheer size of the biplane. There are brochures and learning stations dotted throughout the building, including interactive computers which map out the flight path. Once you have had a good look at the plane and taken in the information, you can walk towards the back and sit down to listen to a video playing commentary. There is also the opportunity to take the stairs or lift to the next level, which houses some interesting artefacts from the Vickers Vimy, including the crew’s good luck mascot, Maduk. The upper level also provides a seating area and large glass windows for viewing the Vickers Vimy from a different vantage point.

Without spoiling the story or giving too many details away, it’s important to know exactly what this exhibition is about if considering a visit. The Vickers Vimy is a British twin-engine heavy bomber aircraft that was designed as a strategic bomber to attack German cities, but arrived too late for service in World War I. The Vickers Vimy became legendary as it completed the first non-stop transatlantic flight from England to Australia. It was powered by a pair of 360-horsepower Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines and built from spruce pine and covered in Irish linen, with 25 women sewing the huge fabric sleeves for the wings, stitching 10,000 knots.

What makes this exhibition and story even more exciting is that the pilot Ross Smith and his navigator brother Keith were born in Adelaide, as was Wally Shiers, the mechanic, and Jim Bennet, the other mechanic, was from Victoria. Seeing the Vickers Vimy for yourself and learning about its voyage is one thing but also hearing about the connection to Adelaide, really hits differently.

Visiting the exhibition with children aged 5 and 7 we found that they were occupied and interested for the first 20-30 minutes. They got excited seeing the big biplane and its unique design, they also liked being able to see inside the cockpit via the giant mirror hanging from the ceiling. As our youngest child has recently started school and is learning to read we got the children involved by having them take turns to read the information provided. They also liked being able to navigate on the computer screen and see the plane from above.

We stayed at the nearby Atura hotel so didn’t need to worry about parking, however if you are travelling specifically for this exhibition there is a way to access an hour of complimentary parking. All you need to do is a grab a ticket when you enter the car park and call past the information booth on level one of the airport (right under the escalator). If you ask the staff, they will provide you with a QR code which pays for an hour of parking, and you simply head towards the northern side of the terminal towards the hotel to enter the exhibition. Whilst one hour isn’t a very long time, the exhibition is small, and we found this to be ample time for a visit with the kids.

So if you are seeking an educational activity that combines aviation and history, we definitely recommend you check out the Vickers Vimy Exhibition. 

What we like about it

• Being able to see such an iconic piece of aviation history in a free exhibition and also learning about their journey and their South Australian roots
• The free parking is an added bonus
• Free exhibition

Things to Consider:

• This exhibition is small but great for a side-trip if you’re in the area, or visiting the airport.
• You are right next to Atura and Adelaide Airport to parking and toilets are within easy access.

Our favourite nearby coffee spots/cafes:

• We diner and stayed at the Atura and had great coffee and food

Location:

Atura Cct, Adelaide Airport 

For more information and all enquiries please visit the (add website and URL link).

At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.

As per all our Play & Go reviews, this is not a sponsored post and our review is done completely independently. All photos are by Play & Go (unless specified).

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