Peek a Boo into Bangalore's Aeronautical Museum

Do you have interest in Aircraft?  I don’t have much, but as a Mom, I had to bring some forceful curiosity for it.

Though I go to HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) market to buy good fish, fresh vegetables, in the weekends, last weekend, I went to the HAL Aeronautical Museum. It’s just 2.5 km from my home. For long time, I kept planning to take my son there, but as people say, ‘nearest is the last-comer’, I had been postponing my trip to prove that right.

Situated in HAL premises in the old airport road, and just  8 km from MG road, this museum is India's first aerospace museum. Established in the year 2001, the museum showcases the development of Indian aviation industry and indigenous aircraft models designed by HAL for 6 decades. It’s just a must watch for those who keep interest in Aviation industry.

  

Most of the aircraft are displayed outside the main building, in the open space. The aircrafts are displayed in individual display zones and are properly fenced off with chains.

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There are two halls – Hall 1 and Hall 2. Hall 1 is a circular building, chronicling the history of aircraft manufacturing.  This hall houses seven galleries displaying photographs that chart the growth of aviation in each decade from inception till date, in India. Photographs of the visitors like Lord Mountbatten, King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, the late King birendra of Nepal, while visiting the HAL premises to important milestones like the first flight of the HT-2, the HF-24 Marut etc are showcased here. Many of these pictures are rare. Pictures of Vultee Vengeance bombers under construction in the 40s, Dakotas being overhauled, Tempests, Devons, under overhaul in the 50s, Vampires, Gnats, Maruts under construction in the 60s etc are on the display in the galleries. Each gallery has metal models of the aircrafts. Several photo mosaics illustrating HAL's expertise in Trainer aircraft, Combat aircraft, Transport Aircraft are also showcased here.

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Hall 2 is smaller in size, but  displays motorized cross section of several models of aero engines, highlighting various functions of the engines. One can see some real engines here, such as Dornier, Jaguar and Kiran.

The most enjoyable experience in the hall 2 is the Air Traffic Control building. It hosts a couple of flight simulators running PC Flight sims to give the visitor a feel of what it is sitting in a cockpit. A charge of Rs. 10 is levied from the visitor to go to level 3, where a dummy ATC has been built. The ATC gives a clear view of the Bangalore Old airport. With aircraft taking off every hour, the ATC is a good experience.

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The Museum houses a small souvenir shop that sells mementos and beautifully maintained park.

The Museum can be a rich resource of knowledge as it houses a library on Aerospace and traces the development of the aviation industry’s exciting phases since 1940.

The Museum is open to public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on all days.

Entry Fee: Rs 30 per person

Contact: +91-80-2231 8341