The Bristol Babe was designed after World War I as a small aircraft to be used by ex-service pilots. Frank Barnwell, the designer, had envisioned that after the war private flying would take off. Three prototypes were built - two as biplanes and one as a monoplane. The first aircraft, G-EASQ, first flew in November 1919, with a 45 h.p. Viale engine. The other two aircraft had 40 h.p. Siddeley Ounce engines.

Development did not continue beyond the three initial aircraft, as many ex-service aircraft found their way into private hands after the war.

The example in the museum is a reproduction of the first Bristol Babe. It is fitted with a replica of the Viale engine, the original is now preserved by the Science Museum in London.

Canada was the biggest manufacturer of the Bristol Blenheim outside of the UK. They retained the name 'Bolingbroke', which was the original name of the Blenheim Mark IV. Most were built as trainers, but the first batches were used in the anti-submarine role. The Collections aircraft was built in 1941, and saw active service searching first for U-boats in the Atlantic and Japanese submarines in the Pacific.

After six decades of storage in Canada and California, the derelict aiframe and components of Bolingbroke 9048 arrived in Bristol in 2006. Since then, a complex restoration project has commenced, which will see the aircraft on display in its original colour scheme in a few years time.

The Brigand was a derivative of the Bristol Beaufighter, itself a derivative of the Blenheim. It was originally designed to be a three-crew bomber capable of carrying a torpedo. Although they entered RAF service after World War 2, they saw action fighting rebels in Malaya in the early 1950's, and were also used for meteorological research in Ceylon.

The Collections example, RH746, was discovered in a scrapyard in 1980 in a battered state, and is the only surviving Brigand fuselage in the world. It is in temporary store and currently not available for viewing.

Designed by a team lead by Raoul Hafner, the Sycamore was the first Bristol production helicopter. Production started at Filton, but in 1955 helicopter production moved the the Old Mixon factory at Weston-super-Mare, which was later taken over by Westland Aircraft Ltd.

The Collections Sycamore, XJ917, is a Mark 4, known in RAF service as the HR Mark 14. It is in the colour scheme of its last RAF operator, the Central Flying School, and was at one point based at nearby South Cerney. The Mark 4 Sycamore was the model used primarily by the RAF, and also by the armed forces of Germany and Belgium.

The Type 173 was the first British twin-rotor helicopter. The type 173 was developed into the Type 191 to fill a requirement by the Royal Air Force. Known as the Belvedere, it served with the RAF in many area throughout the world.

The Museums Type 173, XF785, is the original prototype, which first flew from Filton on 3rd January 1952. It continued as a development aircraft until the late 1950's, when it was placed in storage, and did not see the light of day until it was delivered to the Bristol Aero Collection on 3rd January 2002, exactly 50 years after its first flight.

The Britannia airliner was initially seen as a post-World War 2 medium to long-range airliner, capable of flying to all parts of the British Empire.

This particular aircraft, G-ALRX, was the second prototype, and first flew from Filton in December 1953. Just over one month later, it belly-landed on the Severn mudflats, following an in-flight engine fire. No-one was seriously injured, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair when the tide came in. The forward section was used as an instructional airframe for many years, finally being donated to the Britannia Aircraft Preservation Trust in 1995.

The Harrier was the first vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) production aircraft, and is still in service today. The Harrier is powered by a single Rolls-Royce Pegasus engine, with four directional jet nozzles. This example, XV798, served with the RAF, but was damaged early in its career. It was modified by Rolls Royce to test "Plenium Chamber Burning", which would have been used in a supersonic version of the Harrier. The trials were successful, but the supersonic VTOL project was cancelled.

This walk-through exhibit shows what the passenger cabin would have been like in a Concorde in the 1960's. It was part of a full size wooden mock-up used by BAC at Filton to demonstrate the cabin to its potential customers. It retains its original 1960's decor and fittings.

The Bristol Aero Collection also has on display several other Concorde artefacts, including a red flight suit worn by the test pilots during flight trials from Fairford.

In 2003, British Airways retired their Concorde fleet from service, and the Bristol Aero Collection was lucky enough to receive the last Concorde built - known as Concorde 216 - for preservation. This Concorde took off from Filton for the first time on 20th April 1979, and returned to Filton on 26th November 2003, making the last ever flight of a Concorde. Since its arrival, a visitors centre has been built at Filton, and tours are available, booked in advance.

Note that Concorde 216 is on Filton Airfield, and is not part of the Museum at Kemble.

The Jindivik is a pilotless drone aircraft, flown in the United Kingdom as an aerial target in missile tests. First Flown in 1950, The Rolls Royce Viper-powered Jindivik was flown by remote control from the ground. It was designed and built by the Australian Government Aircraft Factory (GAF) - Jindivik means "Hunted One" in Aborigine - and a team at Filton have been responsible for the design changes to the British examples.

A total of 267 Jindiviks have been acquired by the UK Ministry of Defence since 1960, and it was only in late 2004 that the last Jindivik was withdrawn from service. Most were shot down in the 1960's and 1970's, but the survival rate improved in later years. The Jindivik fleet was based at Llanbedr in Wales, and the final sortie was flown on 26th October 2004, shortly before the base closed.

Other aeronautical artefacts include:

- a wing and stabiliser from a Bristol Bulldog

- a tyre from the Bristol Brabazon prototype

- two Bristol Wayfarer noses

The Collection also contains many models of Bristol Aircraft including:

- a 1/10th scale Bristol Boxkite

- wind tunnel and drop-test models

-display models of many Bristol aircraft, from the early years right through to the Airbus A380