Tehran Aviation Museum

After the morning flights to and from Mashhad on the Pouya Air Antonov 74 our group headed to the local aviation museum. The facility isn't very big but does contain a couple of nicely preserved planes (if we can call it preserved, not much seems to have been altered from their flying days). They are in possession of a couple of 747s, a L-1011, two ex-Royal family 727s - those would be the nicest plane on stand. What was more, we have been granted access inside the L-1011 and one of the 727s. I do not want to know how much bacteria were flying around us and later in us after those two visits. Both of the planes have been nearly intact from the times they have arrived at the museum. At the entrance/exit there is a map of the museum with a key to where do what planes stand, some descriptions are quiet funny

Belgrade Aviation Museum

During my stopover in Belgrade on the way back to Poland from the UAE after sightseeing in the city center I have planned to visit the Belgrade Aviation Museum before the final flight. The museum is located near the airport. During shorter stopovers (~4h) you can easily go out of the terminal, visit the museum and return back on time for your next flight. All the details about prices and opening hours can be found on the website of the museum. The place itself isn't very big but has a lot of planes both inside and outside the building. Including shot down fighters from the past. There is also a section dedicated to JAT, the national airline of Yugoslavia and later Serbia. Historical routes, photos, information, plane models and more. In a different part you can find the history of Belgrade Airport together with a small model of it.
From the trip, see also the flights with Air Serbia and spotting in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

China Aviation Museum - Datangshan

During my short stay in Beijing the China Aviation Museum in Datangshan was a must see. After leaving the airport and arriving at my hotel where I left my luggage I headed north. Getting to the museum is quiet easy although time consuming. By public transport take the subway line 5 all the way to Tiantongyuan North station then change to bus nr 643 where people will surely help you get out at the right stop (easier to achieve if you have a paper with the museums name written down in Chinese) . From my hotel it took me around 1,5 hour and cost 3 yuan one way. Additionally you have to walk around 10 minutes from the bus stop to the museum itself.

The first thing that grasp your sight is a collection of planes flown by Mao Zedong. Four of them. You can even enter the Ilyushin 18 for 10 yuans. From that spot you can see numerous fighters both soviet and Chinese ones. Basically wherever you look you'll see a plane and it won't be all. There is a cave part to which the entrance fee is around 20 yuans. Unluckily I was out of funds so I didn't enter. From video and photo footage I saw, it is worth going in.

The display has been renewed recently, planes repainted and cleaned and a couple new additions added. Plane description under each photo and you can find a full list of planes being displayed at the end of the entry together with full museum details.

Mao's fleet