The founding aim stated in the museum’s Articles of Incorporation was: “The preservation of the country’s aviation heritage and to display a collection of aircraft and exhibits to the local public”.
Whilst this aim still forms part of the museum’s core philosophy, registration / accreditation with the Museums and Galleries Commission resulted in the Museum adopting a more structured definition of its Collecting policy.
“The trustees will seek to acquire items to illustrate the history and development of aviation both military and civilian with specific interest in the following areas:
Aircraft used in a Training role, this because of our local connections with Flying Training;
Aircraft which show the development of the Jet Fighter / Bomber from the Post War period;
Aircraft flown by the Royal Navy;
Aircraft flown privately if they are significant to the development of the type and represent unique examples which otherwise would be destroyed;
This will include material evidence in the form of Engines, internal and external components of same, uniforms, aviation artefacts and aviation memorabilia;
Equipment used for the maintenance of aircraft and for the running of airfields, both military and civilian including fire prevention equipment;
Items relating to the history of both RAF Winthorpe, RAF Balderton and both Maintenance Units situated in the town of Newark during and after the Second World War;
A limited amount of comparative materials relating to aviation in other areas for display purposes”.