Fly the Tube to Heathrow, by Wilson McLean, 1986

The original painting, Take Off, was one of a series commissioned by London Underground as part of the Art on the Underground campaign. It was painted by Glaswegian born artist Wilson McLean in 1986 who based himself in the US. The poster publicises the new Underground station at Heathrow, Heathrow Terminal 4. In the poster, a paper plane is pictured in flight above an idealised countryside of sheep and rolling hills. The plane is made from a folded Tube map.

Wilson McLean designed posters for London Transport in 1986.

Wilson McLean is a Scottish illustrator and artist who had no formal training but took a sign-writing apprenticeship. In 1966 he moved to New York. He generally works in oil on canvas and has won many awards in USA where he is regarded as one of the top illustrators working primarily in the field of advertising. Clients have included Esso, The Post Office, Time Magazine, Holland America (Shipping) Line and Barclaycard Visa.

*Important: Delivery to the United States is currently paused while we work to understand new rules around tariffs and imports from 1 September 2025.*

Please allow 3-5 working days for UK delivery from order date. Please note some items (such as posters) may arrive separately

(Please note UK delivery for limited edition and special edition prints is currently 15 working days)

During sale periods please allow up to 7 days for standard UK shipping.

UK standard delivery £5 per order.

UK next day delivery (orders placed before 12pm) £8 per order.

Please note, working days are classed as Monday to Friday only, excluding UK Bank Holidays and Public Holidays for UK deliveries.

For International delivery, please allow up to 21 working days. International delivery charges are variable (according the weight and region). The delivery rate will be displayed at checkout.

The below delivery information is for our general stocked products.

To make a return, please follow our instructions below:

1. Send an email to [email protected] within 14 days of receiving your goods to notify us of the return.
2. Return the item(s) to the address below within 28 days of receiving the item/s. Please make sure to include your order number. Clothing items which are being returned due to incorrect sizing can be returned opened as long they are unworn, and the tags are attached.
3. The return shipment cost must be paid by you and will not be covered by the London Transport Museum, unless the item is faulty. We would recommend that you use recorded delivery.
4. Once the returned item/s has been received and processed by our warehouse, we will issue you a refund within 14 working days.

Please send your order to (returns address for print to order prints and made to order furniture outlined further below):

London Transport Museum
PO Box 621
York House, Wetherby Road
York,
YO26 7NH

Faulty items

If you have received a faulty, damaged or incorrect item, please contact [email protected] with details and an image of the fault and we will advise you further.