World's 14 Best Aviation Museums

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henryk
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World's 14 Best Aviation Museums

#1

Post by henryk » 12 Feb 2014, 21:05

From CNN
Panel of aviation experts helped us pick the best museums
(abstracts):
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/07/travel/be ... n-museums/
World's 14 best aviation museums
By Tamara Hinson and Tara Donaldson, for CNN updated 4:54 PM EST, Fri February 7, 2014
1. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (Washington, D.C.)
2. Imperial War Museum Duxford (Duxford, UK)
3. National Museum of the United States Air Force (Dayton, Ohio, United States)
4. Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing Tour (Everitt, Washington, United States)
If you want to design your own jet or sit in a simulator to experience a Battle of Iwo Jima dogfight, this is the place to go. The main attraction is a tour of Boeing's enormous assembly plant, housed inside a factory the size of Disneyland. "The museum is unique because most exhibits are designed to be touched," says director Sandy Ward. "The most notable exhibits are a one-piece composite test barrel of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the largest airplane engine in the world, which is a GE 90 Boeing 777 engine.
"The center's claim to fame, though, is the Boeing jumbo jet assembly plant tour where the jet maker builds 747, 777 and 787 Dreamliners."

5. French Air and Space Museum (Le Bourget, Paris, France)

6. State Aviation Museum of Ukraine (Kiev, Ukraine)
This museum houses one of the world's biggest displays of aviation technology. The museum is operated by Ukraine's National Aviation University, which uses the site for training and education. The majority of the aircraft are ones built by the Soviet Union and exhibits include supersonic bomber planes, transport planes and nuclear missile carriers.
One of the most impressive exhibits is the Tupolev-104. "On September 15, 1956, a very important event for civil aviation occurred," explains Professor Felix Yanovsky, head of electronics at the National Aviation University. "The world's first jet airliner, the Tupolev-104, made its first passenger flight between Moscow and Irkutsk. This plane is now in the State Aviation Museum of Ukraine, and it's the oldest surviving aircraft of this type."

7. Pima Air & Space Museum (Tucson, Arizona, United States)
Pima Air & Space Museum is the largest non-government funded aviation museum in the United States.

8. Polish Aviation Museum (Krakow, Poland)
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 9#p1854859

9. China Aviation Museum (Beijing)
More than 200 aircraft are collected at China's flagship aviation museum, including Chinese fighter jets, a replica of the "Wright Flyer" and the plane that was once Chairman Mao's personal transport. The setting is spectacular -- part of the museum is housed within a cave that was originally part of the underground bunker system of China's Shahe airbase.

10. Canada Aviation and Space Museum (Ottawa, Canada)
Home to more than 130 aircraft from around the world, highlights here include the nose section of an Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow (one of few remaining parts of the Canadian-built fighter jet) and a flight simulator. In summer, visitors can take short flights in a 1939 Waco UPF-7 biplane. "Our collection features original aircraft as opposed to reproduced versions," points out Stephen Quick, the museum's director general. "Only in Ottawa can you see Professor Junker's first all-metal aircraft from 1917, an HS2L flying boat resurrected from Canada's lakes and the prototype de Havilland Canada Beaver."

11. Red Bull Hangar-7 (Salzburg, Austria)
Owned by Red Bull founder and billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, Red Bull Hangar-7 is one of the world's most beautiful aviation museums. The main building -- made from 1,200 tons of steel and 380 tons of glass -- contains Red Bull's fleet of Flying Bull stunt planes, a rare Cessna C337, a Boeing PT-17 (known as the Harley Davidson of the sky) and three 1,000-kilometer-per-hour Alpha jets, which were purchased by Red Bull's stunt team from the German air force.

12. Royal Flying Doctor Service Museum (Alice Springs, Australia)
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) museum is housed inside what was once the RFDS radio house. Visitors can peer inside a Pilatus PC12, the aircraft used by the service. There's also a display of historic radios and medical equipment.

13. Central Museum of the Air Forces (Monino, near Moscow, Russia)
A shrine to Cold War aviation, this museum 24 miles outside of Moscow is considered Russia's best. "The whole thing does have a unique charm that is rather difficult to quantify," says aviation author and researcher Andy Saunders. Outdoor exhibits at the once operational air base showcase Russian jets from the 1960s and '70s. There are military Mikoyans (MiGs), Tu-142 bombers, Tu-22 bombers and a Tu-144 supersonic passenger plane.
The flight uniform Francis Gary Powers wore when his U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union during a reconnaissance mission is on display.

14. Palm Springs Air Museum (California, United States)
Palm Springs Air Museum is small, but that's a good thing. It's one of the few where you can climb inside the exhibits, talk to a pilot or enjoy a biplane ride. "We love to bring in temporary exhibits -- our fleet of aircraft are not static, and there are no ropes to prevent visitors from getting up close," says managing director Fred Bell. Exhibits include the SR-71 Blackbird (the world's fastest spy plane), a B-29 Superfortress and the world's smallest biplane.

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hucks216
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Re: World's 14 Best Aviation Museums

#2

Post by hucks216 » 13 Feb 2014, 19:10

RAF Hendon won't be pleased!


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JKindred
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Re: World's 14 Best Aviation Museums

#3

Post by JKindred » 14 Feb 2014, 22:31

Bit surprised the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola was not on the list.
Books: The original search engine.

Interested in original M1918 BAR and M1917A1 BMG related items.

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