Aviation history

The question of "where and when was the first powered flight" is controversial; some say it was made in Kitty Hawk in 1903 by the Wright brothers on their Flyer (a catapult was needed, and witness report is scarce as the Wright brothers worked in secrecy and were afraid of industrial espionage); others give this honor to Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont and his 14-bis. On 23 October 1906, he took off under the aircraft's own power before a large crowd of witnesses, at the grounds of Paris' Château de Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne, for a distance of 60 m (197 ft) at a height of about 5 m (16 ft), the first powered heavier-than-air flight in Europe to be certified by the Aéro Club de France and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). This controversy is not meant to be a subject of a travel guide, but repays study to science and history aficionados.
However, this wasn't the first time man was flying. Otto Lilienthal experimented with gliders a decade before, and already in 1783 the Montgolfier brothers took off in the world's first manned hot air balloon. Even though "lighter than air" flight had thus been proved feasible in the 18th century, throughout much of the 19th century many people - including respected scientists like Lord Kelvin - doubted that "heavier than air" aviation would ever become possible. However, the brothers Wright proved the skeptics wrong and by the time World War I began, planes had become a military asset in reconnaissance if not necessarily in the fighting. While Zeppelins were an impressive feat of human engineering, their high up front investment cost and their initial technological problems that were only figured out by the time the Hindenburg disaster (owing due to highly flammable hydrogen being used instead of helium which at the time was almost entirely under US control) happened, stalled their development in the 1930s.
Today blimps, airships that unlike Zeppelins get their shape from gas pressure rather than an interior skeleton, are a minor factor in aviation and like balloons are a sideshow in today's aviation picture that is dominated by "heavier than air" to the point that flying is almost universally understood to mean airplanes.

Military aviation

Balloons had seen some occasional usage for reconnaissance during the 19th century. Austrian troops bombed Venice from the air in 1849 and the American Civil War saw reconnaissance balloons, which were however hampered by the lack of efficient long distance communication like radio. Aviation was however dismissed as a tool by many military experts even after the first practicable airplanes emerged. Aviation played a small role in the Great War but became a major contributor (and strategic component) in World War II. World War I produced the first "flying aces", pilots who were celebrated for their prowess in air to air combat and there was much mythology around the supposed chivalry of aerial combat compared to the increasingly brutal, senseless and industrialized slaughter in the trenches - however, most of those stories have little basis in fact.
An aerial attack on Pearl Harbor was a key step in the escalation of the Pacific War, while bombing of cities and civilian populations was widespread in World War II in Europe. Cities like Coventry, Guernica, Rotterdam (bombed after the Netherlands had already surrendered) and later Hamburg, Dresden or Berlin were leveled almost entirely by aerial bombardment and bear the scars of this new type of warfare to this day. Timber framed houses and a densely built historical old town used to be hallmarks of most cities in central Europe, but the bombing (and subsequent short-sighted urban planning) ensured that they would become a rarity in major cities. Aviation also revolutionized military logistics. While earlier an army had to chose between moving along supply lines or keeping to a deliberate pace while supply lines in their rear were ensured or "living off the land", by the time of World War II it became conceivable to supply an army by air and as the Soviets had to learn during the 1940s Berlin blockade, the same applied to entire civilian cities. While the common image of the "raisin bomber" has them delivering mostly food, as a matter of fact coal was the single most common delivery item and the planes even flew in an entire power plant for West-Berlin which had until then depended partially on the surrounding area for its power needs. In Southeast Asia, the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter would gain a fearsome reputation, as the outdated aircraft left behind by the British to defend their colonies were no match for the more advanced Japanese fighters. The tide of the war would eventually begin to turn against Japan in the Battle of Midway, June 1942, when the Americans sank Japan's four largest aircraft carriers and were thus able to gain aerial superiority for the rest of the war.
The Korean War and Vietnam War saw aerial bombardment on a heretofore unprecedented scale and there were more bombs dropped on the jungles of Indochina during that war than on the cities of Europe during World War II. There have thankfully been few symmetric wars since, but industrial powers often use aerial bombardment in asymmetric wars as it poses less danger to their own soldiers than ground fighting. However, it is harder to distinguish civilians from military targets from the air, a fact that insurgents, terrorist groups and others sometimes use as a military tactic and for propaganda efforts. Aerial superiority would once again prove crucial in the 1982 Falklands War, where the Argentine Dassault Mirage IIIEA and Douglas A-4 Skyhawk aircraft proved no match for the British Harriers, eventually leading to victory for the British and the surrender of the Argentinian occupation force. The huge distances involved also showed the limits of even a modern military to project its power as many airplanes had to refuel in the Azores and Tristan da Cunha on their way from the British mainland to the Falklands.

Commercial air travel

Commercial heavier than air air travel was born in the years between the two world wars, and saw flying become a viable transport option for travelling long distance. Some of today's global aviation icons, including Australia's Qantas, the Netherlands' KLM and Air France were founded during that period. Delta Air Lines can also trace its origins back to several companies founded in the 1920s. In the interwar period, Germany, which had been forbidden to develop military aviation under the Versailles Treaty developed a "civil" aviation program that just "happened to" include airplanes that were virtually identical in form, performance, payload capability, range and speed to then-current military models. In that era the first incarnation of Deutsche Luft-Hansa was founded, but the current company of that name is legally distinct from the modern day Lufthansa, which Lufthansa likes to point out when their 1932 PR flights for Hitler or wartime crimes are the topic of conversation, but likes to forget when old interwar airplanes are flown around in the name of tradition.
Numerous factors, not least of which military considerations and the fact that many high-ranking Nazis personally disliked Zeppelins (Göring had been a military pilot in World War I) as well as the fact that the US did not wish to deliver helium to Nazi Germany, causing Zeppelins to continue to be filled with flammable Hydrogen, led to a chain of events that ended the only notable passenger Zeppelin program. While airships of some forms continue to have certain military applications and are still used for their novelty value in sightseeing and advertising, overall the "golden era" of the rigid airship went up in smoke in Lakehurst in 1937.
The 1950s and 1960s became known as the "Golden Age of Air Travel", when flying was a privilege for the filthy rich, and airlines competed with each other to offer the most luxurious onboard service with the most attractive stewardesses. The introduction of the first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, in 1952 ushered in the jet age, which allowed aircraft to cover distances more quickly than ever before. Some icons of that era include Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) and Trans World Airlines (TWA) of the United States, which closed down in 1991 and 2001 respectively, and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), which was merged into British Airways in 1974. Among the most prestigious airline routes from that era are the London-New York and London-Sydney routes, which continue to be operated as the flagship routes of British Airways and Qantas Respectively.
In the 1970s, two iconic airliners were introduced into commercial passenger service: the Boeing 747, also known as the Jumbo Jet, in 1970, and the supersonic Concorde in 1976. The Concorde would cover the distance between London's Heathrow Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport in under 3 hours, shaving over 2 hours off the time taken by subsonic jets. However, due to its high operating cost, ticket prices on the Concorde were exorbitant (even more expensive than first class on subsonic airliners), making it a popular aircraft for celebrities, but otherwise unaffordable for much of the general public. The Concorde would cease to operate in the early 21st century, with British Airways retiring their last Concorde in 2003. While the Concorde was a limited commercial success for Air France and British Airways, it was never even close to recovering any of the development costs invested by the French and British states, driving Europe towards consolidation in aircraft manufacture. At the same time, the Soviet supersonic plane, the Tupolev Tu-144 fared worse, being withdrawn from service after only a few years. Other supersonic passenger jet proposals, including one by Boeing never went past the planning stage. The Concorde is one of the best preserved planes in history in the sense that a big portion of the total planes produced are still extant and can be visited. In a sense, the Concorde on the ground is more accessible to the average person than it ever was during its flying days.
At the end of the 1970s, deregulation of the airline industry started with the passing of the Airline Deregulation Act in the United States in 1978. This resulted in a fall in ticket prices, making air travel accessible to much of the middle class in developed countries for the first time. However, the advent of stronger anti-discrimination laws in Western countries during that period made it illegal to favour hiring cabin crew of a particular age or gender, marking an end to the era of young, attractive stewardesses. The lower ticket prices would also translate to a fall in service standards in economy class, as airlines were now able to offer less frills in exchange for better prices. In the 1990s, the European Union adopted an increasingly "open skies" policy, which - combined with privatization of the flag carriers, the advent of high speed rail and the fall of the Iron Curtain - led to an intensely competitive market which has still not settled into any sort of stable equilibrium.
In the 1990s, commercial aircraft manufacturing was consolidated into the duopoly of Boeing, based in the United States, and Airbus, based in the European Union. While the manufacturing of large commercial aircraft is still dominated by the two aforementioned companies, the market for smaller regional aircraft is more competitive, with the most notable manufacturers being Brazil's Embraer, Canada's Bombardier and France's Avions de transport régional (ATR), though the regional jet divisions of the former two have been acquired by Boeing and Airbus respectively. Chinese manufacturers (with the help and some outright owned by the Chinese government) are making an effort to enter the regional jet market and eventually even to challenge the Airbus-Boeing duopoly of bigger jets, but thus far they haven't been all that successful outside of China.
At the beginning of the 21st century, budget carriers expanded exponentially, the best known ones being Southwest Airlines in the United States, Ryanair in Europe and AirAsia in Southeast Asia. These airlines offer a no-frills service with rock-bottom ticket prices, with the option of paying extra for some of the frills offered in full-service airlines, making air travel finally accessible to much of the working class. This has shaken the airline industry to its core, resulting in the bankruptcy of many full-service airlines that were unable to compete, and many of the surviving ones cutting back further on service in economy class in order to offer competitive prices with the budget carriers. At the same time, many airlines are competing to offer the most luxurious first and business class products, with the introduction of lie-flat seats in long-haul business class. This has led to the modern trend where airlines are stripping more and more frills from economy class in order to cut costs, while at the same time offering more and more luxurious first and business class products.
However, low-cost airlines also take advantage of numerous subsidies and underhand business tactics. Airports like Hahn (Germany) never made a profit and can never hope to. If local politicians raise landing fees, the airline abandons the airport. Similarly, pilots are often with an airline for an exceedingly short time and paid much less than industry averages. Some airlines even go as far as implementing "pay to fly" where pilots have to pay for the "privilege" of accruing the flight hours necessary for keeping their license. In 2017 several things happened to Ryanair that called into question their business model, including strike attempts and a severe shortage of pilots not on holiday. Competition from high speed rail seems to be the only serious threat aviation as a mode of transport faces in the 21st century. Many routes in Asia and Europe where trains now take four hours or less from city center to city center have seen airlines forced to cut prices, reduce frequency or drop out of the market entirely. At the same time air rail alliances have ensured that some airlines are able to cut down on uneconomical feeder flights, replacing them with trains.

Australia

• Aviation Heritage Centre

  phone: +61 8 8947 2145
  The Aviation Heritage Centre has an impressive collection of aircraft and displays depicting the Territory’s involvement in aviation from the early pioneers to the jet age. The prize exhibit is a B-52 bomber on permanent loan from the United States Air Force, one of only two on public display outside the U.S. The centre is 8 km from Darwin city and is on the site of fierce air combat that took place overhead during World War II.

• Qantas Founders' Museum

  address: Longreach Airport
  It's not affiliated with Qantas, but it celebrates their early years in the town that they started from. A range of history and static exhibits. Offers expensive but interesting tours of an ex-Qantas 707 and 747-200 including wing walks and access to the under cariage. A worthy pilgrimage site for air enthusiasts.

Brazil

• Brazilian Aerospace Museum

  phone: +55 21 2108-8954
  address: Av. Marechal Fontenelle - Sulacap
  Opened as Campo dos Afonsos airfield, it is the "cradle of Brazilian military aviation" and site of the first aeronautical organization created in Brazil: the Aeroclube do Brasil (Flying club of Brazil), on October 1911. Nowadays, the area is one of the Brazilian Air Force's main airbases, with the adjacent museum, that houses a good collection of planes, engines, etc. including replicas of Santos-Dumont's main machines, the 14-bis and the Demoiselle.

• Cabangu MuseumThe house where Alberto Santos-Dumont was born, in his family's coffee farm, is now a museum dedicated to his childhood.

• Santos Dumont's house

  phone: +55 24 2247 5222
  address: Rua do Encanto, 22
  Nicknamed "The Enchanted", this chalet in Alpine style was Alberto Santos Dumont's summer residence. Having purchased a seemingly useless hillside lot, he smartly designed the house himself, allegedly to win a bet with his friends, who doubted it could be done; nowadays it's a museum showing his objects, books, letters and furniture, as well as some famous domestic inventions of his: an alcohol-fueled hot shower, and an entrance staircase with paddle-shaped steps, which can only be used starting with the right foot. There's also the Centro Cultural 14a, attached to the house, where you can watch a short film about him. The space has tactile models and accessibility for visitors with special needs.

Canada

• National Air Force Museum of Canada

  phone: +1 613-965-RCAF
  address: 220 RCAF Road, CFB Trenton (8 Wing)
  Dedicated to preserving the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Opened April 1, 1984 on the RCAF's 60th anniversary. Home to a large collection of RCAF aircraft and artifacts, including North America's only Halifax Bomber.

• Gander International Airport

  phone: +1 709-256-6677
  address: 1000 James Boulevard
  Once the main stopover point for trans-Atlantic flights between North America and Europe, it has since declined drastically in importance since advances in technology have led to longer range aircraft that can fly nonstop between the major European and North American cities. However, the 1950s terminal building survives, and Gander's air traffic control continues to play a crucial role in trans-Atlantic flights. On September 11, 2001 many flights were re-routed through the airport and the locals accommodated them in a great spirit of kindness that was celebrated in the news the world over as one piece of good news on a terrible day. Lufthansa (which is in the habit of naming planes after German cities) even named a plane after Gander in honor of the town and its citizens.

China

• China Aviation Museum

  address: Datangshan, Chanping District (昌平区小汤山)
  A must see for all aviation fans. It is probably better known by the name Datangshan. The museum hosts over 200 exhibits, many of them very rare.

Finland

• Suomen Ilmailumuseo

  phone: +358 9 870-0870
  address: Tietotie 3
  Near Helsinki-Vantaa airport. A museum with over 70 planes (both civilian and military) as well as plane parts, equipment and photos.

• The Aviation Museum of Central Finland

  address: Tikkakoskentie 125
  Small army airplanes and equipment inside a museum building, especially from World War II. Simulator hours (Saturdays; Messerschmitt Bf 109) must be booked in advance.

France

• Musée de l’air et de l’espaceLe Bourget, London's Croydon and Berlin's Tempelhof were "the trio of Classic European airports" whose design influenced all others that came later. It's famous as the landing site for Charles Lindbergh's historic solo transatlantic crossing in 1927, and as the departure point two weeks earlier for the French biplane The White Bird (L'Oiseau Blanc), which took off in its own attempt at a trans-Atlantic flight but then mysteriously disappeared (the only known remaining piece — the jettisoned main landing gear — is kept here). Now, besides hosting the biannual Paris Air Show, it's France's main state-owned aviation museum. Its highlights include a Concorde prototype, and remnants of the unarmed P-38 flown by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on his last mission, recovered from the Mediterranean Sea.

• Bagatelle fieldSite of Santos-Dumont's first flight. A monument was built to commemorate this achievement.

Germany

Germany was among the forefront of lighter than air flying for the first third of the 20th century and the name of Count Zeppelin still stands for a rigid, skeleton based airship (as opposed to frameless blimps). Germany also saw aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal conduct more and more audacious experiments until one finally killed him, in part due the then insufficiently understood phenomenon of stall. After Germany lost World War I, the Treaty of Versailles stipulated tight limits on armament, among them the prohibition of an air force. However, even during Weimar times, the government tried to avoid following the rules and the aid to private and civil aviation during the 1920s and 1930s was one way the various governments circumvented those prohibitions, which led both to passenger airlines of high repute (Lufthansa in its first incarnation among them) and an air force (Luftwaffe) in good fighting shape come World War II, which together with new and improved tanks revolutionized warfare, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. When the Nazis got in power they also encouraged gliding as a hobby to build a stock of young men familiar with aerodynamics and the basics of flying "on the cheap" and again circumventing prohibitions of the Versailles Treaty. Today the remnants of the companies that pioneered German aviation form the core of Airbus, one of the two largest plane manufacturers in the world and even the Zeppelin company is still around building small semi-rigid airships (basically blimps with a keel) as a side venture.

• Dornier Museum

  address: Claude-Dornier-Platz 1
  Everybody can be a pioneer – this is the central message of the Dornier Museum Friedrichshafen, opened in the summer of 2009, offering a 100 years of aviation and aerospace history as a fascinating experience. The extraordinary architecture accommodates almost 400 exhibits on 5000 m², including 12 original aircraft, 7 exhibits from space travel and a full-size model.

• Zeppelin Museum

  address: Seestraße 22
  Situated in the historic harbour station building, this museum presents the world‘s largest collection on the subject of airship history, construction and travel. Under the same roof you can visit an important collection of art dating from the late Middle Ages to the present day. The main attraction is the 33 m long reconstruction of part of the LZ 129 Hindenburg in its original size, which visitors can board just as the original passengers did in the 1930s. The authentically fitted passenger rooms give an impression of how people travelled during the period of the “silver giants”. Two entire storeys of the Zeppelin Museum are dedicated to different aspects of Zeppelin history and technology. In addition to the permanent exhibition the museum organizes special events and temporary exhibitions. The Zeppelin company also offers tours with a modern airship produced by Zeppelin albeit not a Zeppelin in the technological sense (i.e. the structure is not held up by an interior skeleton although it does have a keel) starting at €200 a pop.

• Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr

  address: Flugplatz Gatow 33
  At a former Luftwaffe and Royal Air Force (RAF) airfield, RAF Gatow, which served as West Berlin's third airport until 1994. The museum's focus is on military history, particularly the history of the Luftwaffe of the Bundeswehr, with a collection of more than 200,000 items, including 155 aeroplanes, 5,000 uniforms and 30,000 books. There are also displays (including aeroplanes) on the history of the airfield when it was used by the RAF. Aircraft include reproductions of Otto Lilienthal's gliders, of World War I planes such as the Fokker E.III triplane, and World War II planes such as the Bf 109 and Me-262, as well as at least one aircraft of every type ever to serve in the air forces of East and West Germany. Most of those postwar aircraft are stored outside on the tarmac and runways, however, and many are in bad condition. There are long term restoration projects, including a Focke-Wulf Fw 190.

• Auto & Technik MuseumHas interesting displays of many vintage and historic cars, motorcycles, other machinery, and an extensive collection of aircraft, including a Russian Tupolev 144 and Anglo-French Concorde.

• Otto Lilienthal Museum

  phone: +49-3971-245500
  address: Ellbogenstraße 1
  Set up on Lilienthal’s birthplace, founded in 1927. On exhibition are various objects belonging to the life and work of Otto Lilienthal, essays, documents, including a photo archive, replicas and models of all known gliders and aircraft of Lilienthal, and a large collection of hang gliders and models of aircraft. Moreover, it shows the history of brothers Otto and Gustav Lilienthal, very prolific inventors of steam engines, toys, as well as initiators of numerous social and cultural projects.

• Tempelhof Airport

  address: Berlin/Central-South
  The "mother of all airports", according to Sir Norman Foster, is a huge relic of the pre-war era. First flights on what was then a parade ground were already undertaken in the first decade of the 20th century, before it became a full-on airport in the 1920s with such dignitaries as president Friedrich Ebert among the first passengers. Tempelhof was one of the first airports to feature a major terminal building (at the time the biggest building in the world before being surpassed by the Pentagon), the first to be linked to the urban rail network of its city (the Berlin U-Bahn) and was a major hotspot of the cold war, including a flight operated by Polish LOT intended for (East-) Berlin-Schönefeld being hijacked and abducted there to escape from the East to the West. The iconic terminal building (built during the Nazi era) was the hot spot of the Berlin airlift (Berliner Luftbrücke) in 1948-49. In 1951 a monument was added to its entrance square - then renamed "Airlift Square" - to commemorate the airlifts over the Berlin Blockade. The airport was featured in movies like Billy Wilder's One Two Three. Tempelhof closed as an airport on October 30, 2008. Nowadays, the airfield is a spacious park with many visitors in summer and fall. The terminal building is still fascinating - the halls and neighbouring buildings, intended to become the gateway to Europe, are still known among the largest built entities worldwide. The terminal building is used as a venue of fashion weeks or fairs. Tempelhof has been subject to a lot of local politics in recent years. First a ballot measure to keep it as an airport failed and a few years later a ballot measure to keep new construction on its outskirts from happening was successful, thus preserving the urban open space at the cost of an exacerbated housing shortage.

• Cargolifter HallThis is one of the remnants of one of the most curious chapters of semi-rigid airship history. During the 1990s and early 2000s it seemed as if rigid airships were making a comeback for cargo. Zeppelin actually started building airships again (though none with a full interior skeleton) but all eyes were on a startup that promised to do great things with a new cargo airship and collected investor money to make that dream a reality. However, after building a scale model and a gigantic airship hall in the nowhere of rural Brandenburg, the company had to acknowledge that they had vastly underestimated the costs of their endeavor and as no more money was forthcoming, the company shut down in 2002. But all was not lost, as an investor bought up the airship hall; not to store airships, mind you - there's surprisingly little demand for that - they built one of the biggest indoor swimming pool / landscape attractions. After that venture went through some financial trouble it seems to have stabilized for now and while it does not really promote its airship-related history, the hall is nonetheless impressive and visitors can get a glimpse of the vast scale of the airship that never was.

• Hamburg Finkenwerder AirportAirbus, as a European company with various European states being stakeholders, produces their aircraft all throughout Europe, but Finkenwerder is where customers get their new planes. The airport is also used for flights by the Airbus company, and you can get a guided tour.

India

• Indian Air Force MuseumThe display gallery contains historic photographs, memorabilia, uniforms and personal weapons of the Indian Air Force, from its inception in 1932. This gallery leads to a hangar exhibiting small aircraft and Air Force assets like anti-aircraft guns, vehicles and ordnance. Larger aircraft are exhibited outside the hangar, along with several war trophies, radar equipment and captured enemy vehicles.

• Naval Aviation MuseumThis museum contains exhibits that showcase the evolution of the Indian Naval Air Arm over decades. It's divided into two main parts, an outdoor exhibit and a two-storeyed indoor gallery. This is a great place to see vintage aircraft like the Sealands, Doves, Alizes, Seahawks, Vampires, a Super Constellation and Hughes helicopters, along with the relatively newer Sea Harriers. It claims to be the only one of its kind in Asia.

Italy

• Italian Air Force Museum

  phone: +39 0699887509
  address: Vigna Di Valle
  A superb collection of planes housed in the hangars of Italy's first seaplane base. Exhibits range from the pioneers of flight and World War I fighters up to Italian military planes of the present day. This is one of the largest collections of its type in the world, really well displayed.

• Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology

  address: S.Vittore Street
  Hosted in a former monastery, San Vittore al Corpo. The Air Transport section exhibits several airplanes, including a Farman 1909 replica and an original Macchi MC 205 V used during World War II. There are also modern military aircraft, like an Italian Fiat G.91, a North American F-86K and a Republic F-84F Thunderstreak.

• Gianni Caproni Aeronautical Museum

  phone: +39 461-944 888
  address: Via Lidorno, 3
  Italy's oldest aviation museum, and the country's oldest corporate museum, established in 1927. Just outside the museum and airport, a Lockheed F-104G Starfighter is pointed to the sky, and stands as a gate guardian.

Japan

• Museum of Aeronautical Science

  phone: +81 479 78-0557
  The Museum of Aeronautical Science displays relevant artifacts to the aviation history of Japan, including aircraft. Also of note is the observation deck on the fifth floor, with views over Narita Airport. From here you can watch aircraft landing and departing, log numbers, and take photographs.

• Tokorozawa Aviation Museum

  phone: +81 4-2996-2225
  address: 1-13 Namiki
  Japan's first airfield, which started operations in 1911 with a flight by Yoshitoshi Tokugawa. The original single runway is still visible and has been incorporated into the larger multifunction Tokorozawa Aviation Memorial Park, adjacent to the museum. It contains aircraft and other displays (many of which interactive), and an IMAX theatre.

Latvia

• Riga Aviation MuseumBored at the airport? Check out the Riga Aviation museum, which contains several rare aircraft.

New Zealand

• Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre

  address: 79 Aerodrome Rd, Blenheim (New Zealand)
  Collection of World War I planes lovingly restored and captured in realistic settings. Part of the attraction is the association of Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings fame) and Weta Workshop with the display. His team has turned what could be just a collection of planes into a drama enjoyed by even those with little interest in aviation or military history. Worth it. Has a cafe.

Poland

• Polish Aviation Museum

  phone: +48 12 640 99 60
  address: al. Jana Pawła II 39
  A museum consisting of a new pavilion (good contemporary architecture) and few hangars filled with over two hundred historic gliders, aircraft, helicopters and more. Among them is a collection of 22 extremely rare antique planes that once belonged to Hermann Göring. The museum stands on the grounds of the Rakowice-Czyżyny airfield, one of the oldest military airfields in Europe.

Russia

• Museum of the Great Patriotic War

  address: Ploschad Pobedy (Площадь Победы), 3
  Impressive museum, features an external section with displays of vintage Soviet aircraft flown in World War II.

• Memorial Museum of Astronautics

  phone: +7 (495) 683-7968
  address: Prospekt Mira (просп. Мира), 111
  A museum in Moscow, dedicated to space exploration.- The museum contains a wide variety of space-related exhibits and models which explore the history of flight; astronomy; space exploration; space technology; and space in the arts. The museum's collection holds approximately 85,000 different items.

• Central Air Force Museum173 Russian and Soviet military planes and 127 engines, including rarities and prototypes, are on display in the Central Air Force museum. In addition you can see uniforms, weapons and other air force equipment. Descriptions of exhibits are for the most part in Russian only, with some English translations available. The museum is on a military base, so there's identity check on entry (foreigners no longer need a special permit). Check if the museum is open before visiting, it was planned to close for an unspecified time in the summer 2016 but it has still received reviews in September 2016.

Singapore

• Kallang Airport

  address: 9 Kallang Airport Way
  Singapore's first purpose-built civil aviation airport, opened in 1937 and regarded as one of finest in the British Empire at the time of its opening. It was a major stop on the "Kangaroo Route" between London and Sydney for both Qantas and BOAC. Malayan Airways, the precursor of today's award-winning Singapore Airlines, was founded here in 1947. It was closed in 1955 after the completion of a new airport at Paya Lebar, though the Art Deco terminal building still stands, and the former runway survives in part as a public road known as Old Airport Road. British Airways and Qantas continue to operate their London-Sydney flights with a stop in Singapore, albeit using the much bigger and more modern Changi Airport.

Sweden

• Scandinavian Airlines Collection

  phone: +46 8-593 600 33
  address: Kabinvägen, Hangar 4 airside
  Aircraft, uniforms and furnishing from early Scandinavian aviation.

• Swedish Air Force Museum

  phone: +46 13-495 97 00
  address: Carl Cederströms gata 2
  The museum in the suburb of Malmen features over a hundred aircraft from the early 20th century to the modern age.

Ukraine

• Ukrainian State Aviation Museum

  phone: +380 44 241-2583, +380 44 461-6485, +380 44 451-8314
  address: Medovaya str., 1
  Many impressive Soviet civil and military aircraft on display, including an An-2, Tu-104, Il-62, Il-76, an Il-86 and constantly improving. The museum is opposite to the airport terminal, which is an industrial zone. To get there, you can either take Trolleybus #9 from the main train station - Kiev Passazhyrskyi (South exit)/Vokzalna metro stop or #22 from Shuliavska (Шулявська) metro station, both until Sevastopolska Square. From there, take the minibus 220 that will take you straight to the museum (last stop). Walking in the surrounding area after dark is not advisable as the area is poorly lit and stray dogs are present.

United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force Museum London

  phone: +44 20 8205-2266
  address: Grahame Park Way, London NW9 5LL
  A nationally important collection of military aircraft, including a few that served with the RAF's foes.

• Imperial War Museum DuxfordThis World War II airfield, the main filming location for the famous Battle of Britain movie with Michael Caine, nowadays houses the Imperial War Museum's aircraft collection, and is the largest aviation museum in Europe, featuring a fleet of lovingly mantained Spitfires and Tiger Moths that fly almost daily. As well as military aircraft, it houses a large collection of non-military aircraft including a Concorde. There is also a land warfare museum attached that has many examples of armoured vehicles from the First World War onwards. A proper visit needs a full day. Bus Citi 7 takes about an hour to get there from the city centre or the bus station. Make sure that you board the Citi 7 bus that says Duxford as the Citi 7 bus also goes to two other places. Also note the time of the last bus to leave the museum as later buses go to the village of Duxford but not out to the museum. Flight shows are sometimes held; these days will be very busy.

• Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum

  phone: +44 1252 375050
  address: Trenchard House, 85 Farnborough Road, GU14 6TF
  The birthplace of British aviation, Farnborough was used for research and development of balloon technology as early as the 1880s. After the first powered flight in Britain in 1908, the town became heavily involved in the aerospace industry, and saw many landmark moments throughout the 20th century. The FAST Museum charts this history, and you can also visit other sites and monuments connected to the industry around town.

• The Shuttleworth CollectionCollection of vintage aircraft.

• National Museum of Flight Scotland

  address: East Fortune Airfield EH39 5LF
  4 hangars of aircraft, including Concorde G-BOAA.

United States

• Wright Brothers National Memorial

  phone: +1-252-441-7430
  address: 1000 North Croatan Highway
  Celebrates and explains the first successful controlled, sustained, powered, heavier-than-air flights, which the Wright brothers performed here in 1903. The visitors center has a model of the original aircraft, and interpretive talks. Outside, stone markers show the start and ending points of the first four flights. The adjacent First Flight Airport (KFFA) offers a 3000' runway for day use, with tie-downs but no fuel or other services. Compared to the time of the first flight, Kill Devil Hill has shifted south a short distance due to wind, and is planted with grass to keep it in place. It is topped by an art deco monument to the Wright brothers, and Orville attended its dedication. Follow US Highway 158 to mile 7.5, turn west into Memorial

• National Air and Space Museum

  phone: +1 202 633-1000
  The most-visited museum in the U.S., with over 8 million visitors per year, this impressive repository covers the history of human flight, rocketry and space flight. It contains thousands of impressive artifacts, including the Wright brothers' 1903 Flyer, Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, Apollo 11's command module Columbia, and the simulated bridge of an aircraft carrier.

• Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center - National Air and Space Museum

  phone: +1 202 357-2200
  address: 14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway
  This branch of the Smithsonian museum opened in 2003 to house many illustrious air/spacecraft that would not fit into the 1976 museum in the Mall. The Udvar-Hazy collection includes the SR-71 "Blackbird" spy plane, the Concorde supersonic jet, the B-29 Enola Gay of Hiroshima fame, the Super Constellation, and the space shuttle Discovery. In addition, the museum contain an observation tower and an IMAX theater.

• National Museum of Naval Aviation

  phone: +1 850 452-3604
  address: 1750 Radford Blvd
  The Naval Aviation Museum is the most popular tourist destination in Pensacola, and it offers a comprehensive look at the history of flight in the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. The 150 beautifully restored aircraft are the biggest draw here; make sure to check out the Blue Angels jets hanging in the atrium, and the only C-130 Hercules to have ever landed on an aircraft carrier. Kids will enjoy the flight simulator, and the IMAX theater shows a visually stunning documentary, the History of Flight. Practice demonstrations by the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, may be viewed from the museum most Tuesday and Wednesday mornings between March and November. These practices are weather permitting, and a tentative practice schedule may be viewed on the Blue Angels’ website.

• National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

  phone: +1 937 258-1218
  address: 1100 Spaatz St
  The world's largest military aviation museum with over 300 aircraft on display from the earliest days of aviation to modern prototypes. It is well maintained and interesting even for non aviation buffs. Highlights include the B-2 stealth bomber, a Mercury space capsule, and the very cool V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor craft.

• Patuxent River Naval Air Museum

  address: Route 235 and Pegg Road
  Patuxent River Naval Air Station is the Navy's primary aircraft test facility. Virtually every aircraft flown by the Navy since World War II has been tested at Pax River. The base is, of course, not open to the public, but you can visit the Naval Air Museum without coming onto the main base. It includes a large collection of jet-age Navy aircraft, including the F-4J Phantom II, the F-14A Tomcat, F/A-18A Hornet, S-3B Viking, E-2B Hawkeye, AV-8B Harrier II, and the two experimental aircraft that competed for the Joint Strike Fighter contract, the Boeing X-35C and the Lockheed-Martin X-32B. Visitors can walk up and touch the aircraft. Museum exhibits also include flight motion simulators.

• Pima Air & Space Museum

  phone: +1 520-574-0462
  address: 6000 E Valencia Rd
  Features over 300 historic aircraft on an 80-acre site with five hangars, two of them devoted to World War II. Veterans and volunteers are often on hand to answer any questions, and there are daily walking tours of the grounds. There is an onsite restaurant.

• Tram Tour

  phone: +1 520-574-0462
  As the grounds are so large, a tour tram is offered for those who do not wish to walk. The guided tour lasts one hour and covers 1½ miles and more than 150 planes. Departure times vary, so it is best to call ahead or inquire at the entrance.

• Aerospace Maintenance and Regentation Center

  phone: +1 520-574-0462
  A separate, very interesting tour can be booked to see the Aerospace Maintenance and Regentation Center, located nearby on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, where 4200+ aircraft are stored. As the facility is an active military base, an ID is required (all nationalities welcome). Visitors are not permitted to leave the bus, and non-essential backpacks/camera bags are not permitted (storage is available at the museum). These tours are very popular and cannot be reserved ahead; tickets are sold only on the day of the tour on a first-come basis, so it is best to arrive early.

• Edwards Air Force Base

  phone: +1 661 277-3510
  address: 1 S. Rosamond Blvd
  Edwards AFB is very famous as the American military flight test center, home to Chuck Yeager and co. in the 1950s and 1960s, the scenario to nearly all the action seen in famous movie The Right Stuff: a massive testing and training ground for the USAF and NASA. The Air Force Flight Test Museum is inside the base, and tours are available. See the website for details. Note that this is an active military base so ID will be required and visitors may be required to submit to a search. Edwards AFB is best known for being similar to Area 51, but usually most of the time, test and experimental aircraft will come out of the hangar to experiment. This Air force base was built in 1933 and opened for use in 1948, for the USAF and NACA. In 1958, NACA has been changed to NASA, making Edwards a NASA base. The site of the first Space Shuttle landing, it became a back-up site to the prime landing location, the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

• NASA Armstrong Flight Research CenterKnown as the Dryden Flight Research Center until the name was changed in 2014, this center has played an important role in the history of flight. Before NASA, NACA ("National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics") operated and tested the transsonic Douglas Skyrocket. The center also conducted the Controlled Impact Demonstration in 1984, a test in which a Boeing 720 aircraft was remotely piloted and intentionally crashed in order to study fuel additives meant to reduce fires in the case of a crash. Other experiments have included "aerospike" engines and supersonic rockets. Five lunar landing research vehicles were tested at the base, one of which is available for viewing.

• Aircraft on displayThere are a lot of iconic aircraft, such as Balls 8, NASA's venerable B-52 Stratofortress, famous as the X-planes' mothership, on display at the base's North and West gates. Take a lot of pictures of these planes when you are driving or walking in Edwards AFB.

• Rogers Dry LakeDry most of the year, the hard surface of the lakebed provides an extension for runways at Edwards, and is home to approximately 16 runways. Many notable aeronautic achievements have taken place above.

• Blackbird Air Park

  phone: +1 661 274-0884
  address: 2503 E. Avenue P
  The Blackbird Airpark Museum is an extension of the Air Force Flight Test Museum at Edwards AFB, right next door to the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark (formerly Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark). Both are manned by retirees who had previously worked in the aerospace industry, some actually having worked on the aircraft displayed at the two parks. All of the aircraft have been carefully restored for public display. View and walk around retired SR-71A (Blackbird), A-12 and U-2 aircraft.

• Museum of Flight

  phone: +1 206 764-5720
  address: 9404 E Marginal Way S
  Consists of an indoor area that is further divided into the history, jet age, airport operations, and space travel, and an outdoor section where you can sneak inside retired airplanes. The collection includes 131 aircraft and spacecraft ranging from wood and fabric crates to the SR-71, Space Shuttle Trainer, a retired Air-Force One and a Concorde. Tours to the vicinity of the airport inside a van are available, but most spots do not allow cameras for security purposes. The Museum offers a large educational outreach program including weekend family workshops, the Aerospace Camp Experience (ACE) summer day camp, and an aviation high school.

• Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour

  phone: +1 425-438-8100
  address: 8415 Paine Field Blvd., Mukilteo, Washington
  Boeing's Everett factory is the world's largest building by interior volume. It is where the Boeing 747, 767, 777, and 787 airliners are made. The factory is viewed from an observation floor, leaving you a few hundred yards/meters from any aircraft, and the tour can be rather bland and commercial. No cameras or electronics allowed on the tour, not even your cell phone! Tours start from the Future of Flight Aviation Center, which has a gallery and theatre presentations which are fairly interesting, but don't take very long to view. On the observation deck of the museum, you can watch planes land and take off from the runway, with air traffic control audible on speakers; aircraft are often being tested before delivery to Boeing's customers. At Paine Field, there are the Boeing tour and these adjacent independent museums. However, if you only have time for one aviation museum on your trip, you might consider skipping this in favor of the Museum of Flight in Renton, which is much larger and engaging than the Boeing tour.

• Historic Flight Foundation

  phone: +1 425 348-3200
  address: 10719 Bernie Webber Dr
  A collection of the most important aircraft produced between 1927 and 1957 (e.g. P-51 Mustang, B-25 Mitchell, Spitfire mk. IX)—all restored and airborne again.

• Flying Heritage Collection

  address: 3407 109th Street SW
  Microsoft founder Paul G. Allen's collection of rare military aircraft of the 20th century, which comprises artifacts from Germany, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Collection opened to the public in 2004.

• The Museum of Flight Restoration Center

  address: 2909 100th St. SW

• Museum of Flying

  phone: +1 310-398-2500
  address: 3100 Airport Ave
  Centered around artifacts from the Douglas Aircraft Company, which used to manufacture iconic aircraft like the DC-3 at the Santa Monica Airport. It includes many aircraft in static display, from a replica Wright Flyer to WWII fighters to the microjet which appeared in the James Bond film Octopussy. "Rides" in a full-motion flight simulator are $8 each.

• Planes of Fame Air Museum

  phone: +1 909 597-3722
  address: 7000 Merrill Ave. #17
  This museum covers the history of flight, from an 1896 Chanute hang glider through the Space Age. Of special note is the largest collection of Japanese aircraft, including the only original Zero fighter still flying (it appears in the famous Tora! Tora! Tora! movie). Many of the aircraft are the only remaining examples of their kind.

• Yanks Air Museum

  phone: +1 909 597-1735
  address: 7000 Merrill Avenue #35-A270
  This museum owns 160 aircraft, including the largest private collection of World War II American fighters and dive bombers in the world.

• Marine Air TerminalCompleted in 1939, this Art Deco terminal is part of New York City's LaGuardia Airport, and one of the oldest airport terminals still in active use. It is served by Alaska Airlines and JetBlue.

• Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum

  address: 500 NE Captain Michael King Smith Way

• Tillamook Air Museum

• Anchorage International AirportOnce a major stop for aircraft flying from North America and Europe to East Asia, due to the limited range of earlier aircraft, as well as the prohibition on aircraft from the Western Bloc flying into Soviet or Chinese airspace. It has since fallen on harder times with an underutilised international terminal (the North Terminal), as newer aircraft have the range to fly nonstop from major U.S. and Canadian cities into East Asia, and Russia and China have also granted overflight privileges to Western Bloc aircraft since the end of the Cold War. That said, Anchorage remains a major hub for cargo flights between North America and East Asia.

Museum aircraft carriers

• USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum

  phone: +1 619 544-9600
  address: 910 N. Harbor Dr
  Take a self-guided tour of the USS Midway (CV-41), a former aircraft carrier of the US Navy. The Midway is home to a collection of former naval aircraft housed on her expansive flight deck. Guided tours and displays offer a unique look into the life aboard and of a powerful old warhorse.

• USS Hornet

  phone: +1 510 521-8448
  address: Pier 3, Alameda Point
  The USS Hornet (CV-12) is a retired World War II aircraft carrier that fought numerous battles in the Pacific and also retrieved the astronauts of Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 after splashdown. The ship is run as a museum, with the hangar deck, flight deck, and some other areas open to wander around in, and tours offering the chance to see control rooms, engineering facilities, and other areas of this retired warship.Allow a minimum of three hours; ideally five or more.

• USS YorktownTour the USS Yorktown (CV-10), a decommissioned WWII aircraft carrier that served as recovery ship for the Apollo 8 space mission, and was used in the movies Tora! Tora! Tora! and The Philadelphia Experiment. There are other ships and submarines at the park.

• USS Lexington Museum on the Bay

  address: 2914 N. Shoreline
  The very oldest remaining WWII aircraft carrier, commissioned in 1943, the USS Lexington (CV-16) is the recipient of 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation, now a museum. See naval life, the ship, and aircraft complement.

• Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

  phone: +1 212 245-0072
  address: Pier 86, 12th Ave & 46th St
  The aircraft carrier USS Intrepid (CV-11) is docked here and loaded with spacecraft and aircraft, including the very cool Blackbird spy plane and the prototype Space Shuttle Enterprise. On the other side of the dock is a guided-missile submarine and a Concorde, both of which you can tour also, and some tanks. The Concorde here is notable for being the one that was once jointly-operated by British Airways and Singapore Airlines in the 1970s, during which it was painted with Singapore Airlines livery on the port side and British Airways livery on the starboard side.

Scale-model collections

Ever since there has been aviation, there have been skilled model-makers creating scale representations. It has also been claimed that 'model' flying machines, were airborne decades before their full size equivalents. Whilst a number of the museums mentioned above may have aviation models on show, those noted in this section are specifically scale model collections.

• National Model Aviation Museum

  phone: +1 765 287-1256 ext 504
  address: 5151 East Memorial Drive Muncie, Indiana 47302

• The Stanzel Model Aircraft Museum

  phone: +1 979-743-6559
  address: 311 Baumgarten Street, Schulenburg, Texas 78956

Events

• Farnborough International Airshow

  address: Farnborough, United Kingdom
  Held in Farnborough Airport for one week every two years. Public days are the last weekend only (Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July), although there are many locations around town to watch the displays all week. Local pub beer gardens, such as The Swan and The Prince Alexander are good places to try. On-site, exhibits cover civilian & military aircraft both static and as an aerial display. The show's stunning highlight is the RAF display team the "Red Arrows". You can also visit town during the so-called "practice week", which normally lasts a week to ten days before the show officially opens, although flying display times are unpredictable and often repetitive.

• EAA AirVentureOne of the world's great aviation gatherings. A week-long aviation event offering seminars, product demonstrations, aircraft tours and daily airshows. One of the largest airshows in the world. Hundreds of thousands of people drive in, tens of thousands of aircraft fly in. A tent city sprouts under the wings of parked aircraft and beyond. Be on the alert for closed roads all around Wittman airport and Highway 41 during the festival. Hotels can be filled for tens of miles around, but local universities open their dorm rooms, and private homes their spare bedrooms, to the visitor. See the AirVenture and Chamber of Commerce websites for leads on housing. If you plan to fly in to Wittman airport during AirVenture, you must absolutely get the AirVenture NOTAM and follow it carefully.

• Paris Air Show

  address: Le Bourget Airport
  The world's calendar-oldest air show. It's held in odd-numbered years. The Paris event starts with four professional days closed to the general public, and then Friday, Saturday and Sunday the public, including children, are allowed in.

• ILA Berlin Air Show

  address: Berlin ExpoCenter Airport, Messestrasse 1, 12529 Schönefeld
  The Berlin Air Show demonstrates the capabilities and achievements of all areas of the global aerospace industry. The next one will be held 13-17 May 2020.

• Dayton Air Show

  address: Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio
  This annual Air Show takes place on a weekend in late June. The history of this flight exhibition dates back to 1910 and the Wright Company (Orville and Wilbur were both born at Dayton). The next one will be held June 22-23, 2019. Frequent guests include the Blue Angels, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, U.S. Army Golden Knights, the F-18 Super Hornet, B-2 Spirit, B-52 Stratofortress, A-10 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang, C-5 Galaxy, and more.

• MAKS

  address: Ramenskoye Airport
  International Air Show held near Moscow. The first show, Mosaeroshow-92, was held in 1992. Since 1993, it was renamed to its current name and is held in odd years.

• JumbostayJumbovägen 4 near Arlanda Airport, is a bit of a novelty and near the airport. A decommissioned Boeing 747 Jumbo jet converted into a backpackers' hostel. Everything inside is new and clean, and linen comes included on made beds. Flat screen TV's in each room are a luxury for hostels, and if you really want to splash out, there is the cockpit suite. On the downside, not much of an atmosphere once you get over the novelty of staying in a jet.

• Historical travel
• Military tourism and nuclear tourism
• Science tourism and heritage railways
• Space