Venezuelan Air Force's Museo Aeronáutico de Maracay (Aeronautics Museum of Maracay) is a historical

aviation museum An aviation museum, air museum, or air and space museum is a museum exhibiting the history and cultural artifacts, artifacts of aviation. In addition to actual, replica or accurate reproduction aircraft, exhibits can include photographs, maps, P ...

of military and civic aeronautic technology inaugurated on 10 December 1963 and located at the installations of the former Aeropuerto Nacional Florencio Gómez (the first airport in

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) adjacent to the Venezuelan Air Force officer graduation school, and the "Cradle of Venezuelan Military Aviation" in the City of Maracay, Estado Aragua, Venezuela. The museum is the only one of its kind in Venezuela and the largest collector and restorator of aircraft, engines, weapons, documents, photographs, maps, paintings, memorabilia and other items of historical value. The aviation museum in Maracay is one of the largest in Latin America, with over 40 aircraft on display.

History

The idea of an "Aeronautical Museum" dates from 1963 when a high-ranking officer of Aeronautics, Luis Hernán Paredes, suggested its organization after the Ministry of Defense decided to move its airforce base from downtown Maracay to the outskirts of Palo Negro. The initial proposal were welcomed and immediately approved assigning the already existing

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s as the location of the museum. The commanding General, Francisco Miliani Aranguren, designated a committee as well as technical advisors towards the end of October 1963. On 10 December 1963 Venezuelan President

Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello (22 February 1908 – 28 September 1981; ), known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was the president of Venezuela, serving from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Acción De ...

inaugurated the museum in a ceremony ''

in situ ''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...

''. On 9 December 1976 a Hall of Fame was added where military

memorabilia A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

dating back to the country's independence were collected from around the country and stored in the museum. The museum was later named after Colonel Luis Hernán Paredes, who initiated the proposal.

Aircraft collection

The Aeronautics Museum in Maracay, home to the two largest Air Force bases in the country, has over 40 historical airplanes on display from different eras of Venezuelan aviation, including a replica of the Flamingo airplane "El Rio Caroni" used by Jimmie Angel during his 1937 descriptions of

Angel Falls Angel Falls ( es, Salto Ángel; Pemon language: ''Kerepakupai Merú'' meaning "waterfall of the deepest place", or ''Parakupá Vená'', meaning "the fall from the highest point") is a waterfall in Venezuela. It is the List of waterfalls by hei ...

, the world's tallest waterfall discovered in 1933 by Angel, as well as the famous airplane called "La Vaca Sagrada" (Spanish for ''Holy Cow''), used by dictator

Marcos Pérez Jiménez Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez (25 April 1914 – 20 September 2001) was a Venezuelan military and general officer of the Army of Venezuela and the dictator of Venezuela from 1950 to 1958, ruling as member of the military junta from 195 ...

in 1958 to flee the country to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. The museum also displays a

gyroplane An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

, four historical helicopters flown by Venezuelan pilots between the 1920s and 1950s, a French made

Caudron G.3 The Caudron G.3 was a single-engined French sesquiplane built by Caudron, widely used in World War I as a reconnaissance aircraft and trainer. Development The Caudron G.3 was designed by René and Gaston Caudron as a development of their earli ...

biplane from the 1910s—the first airplane owned by the Venezuelan airforce— which was reportedly restored and is currently completely operational, and a North American

B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

type B-25J s/n 43-28096. A handful of airplanes such as a

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

of the 1930s piloted by Paul Vachet are on display as part of the historical era of

Aeropostal Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela C.A. is a state-owned airline of Venezuela based in Torre Polar Oeste in Caracas, Venezuela. It operates domestic services and international services in the Caribbean. Its main base is Simón Bolívar Internation ...

, nationalized in 1934 by then president of Venezuela

Juan Vicente Gómez Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air ...

El Río Caroní

Jimmie Angel James "Jimmie" Crawford Angel (August 1, 1899December 8, 1956) was an American aviator after whom Angel Falls in Venezuela, the tallest waterfall in the world, is named. Early life James Crawford Angel was born August 1, 1899, near Cedar Valley, ...

's aircraft, ''El Río Caroní'', landed atop of the Auyantepui on 9 October 1937 where it sustained damaged when the ship bogged down in mud. It remained on Auyantepui until 1970. None of Angel's passengers, his second wife Marie Angel, Gustavo Heny and Miquel Angel Delgado, were injured during the landing. In 1970, the Flamingo monoplane was disassembled into parts and lifted down by Venezuelan military helicopters to the aviation museum in Maracay where it was part of an aviation fair. Re-assembly of the original aircraft was especially challenging, with several parts of the craft missing after thirty years standing on the mountaintop. The aircraft was later moved to the airport at

Ciudad Bolivar Ciudad () is the Spanish word for City Ciudad may also refer to: *La Ciudad (archaeological site), Hohokam ruins in Phoenix, Arizona *La Ciudad, district of Durango City, Mexico *''La ciudad'', novel by Mario Levrero 1970 *La Ciudad ''The City'' ...

where it remains displayed in front of the passenger terminal. The location and care of Angel's plane remains controversial, with sections of the Venezuelan military decidedly in favor of returning the airplane to the museum in Maracay, replacing it with a replica at Ciudad Bolivar airport.

Gallery

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Fairchild C-123 The Fairchild C-123 Provider is an American military transport aircraft designed by Chase Aircraft and then built by Fairchild Aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. In addition to its USAF service, which included later service with the Air Force Re ...

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File:1 Boeing Stearman PT-17 Kaydet (7453197040).jpg,

Boeing-Stearman PT-17 The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known ...

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Fairchild PT-19 The Fairchild PT-19 (company designation Fairchild M62) is an American monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces, RAF and RCAF during World War II. Designed by Fairchild Aircraft, it was a contempora ...

File:E26 Vultee BT-15 Valiant Venezuela Airforce (7454365174).jpg,

Vultee BT-15 Valiant The Vultee BT-13 Valiant is an American World War II-era basic (a category between primary and advanced) trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aeri ...

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File:1840 Douglas DC-3 Fuerza Aerea Venezolana (7454370016).jpg,

File:2B40 North American B-25J Mitchell Venezuela Airforce (7453167884).jpg, NA B-25J Mitchell File:10B36 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt Venezuela Airforce (7453155088).jpg,

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt The P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II fighter aircraft built by Republic Aviation from 1941 to 1945. Early designs XP-47 (AP-10) In response to a USAAC requirement for a new fighter aircraft, Republic Aviation engineer Alexander Kartveli p ...

File:5AR1 Beech 18 Venezuela Airforce (7453194008).jpg,

Beechcraft 18 The Beechcraft Model 18 (or "Twin Beech", as it is also known) is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to November ...

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Dassault Mirage 50 The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s and manufactured in France and a number of other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter and spawned sever ...

File:Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon.JPG,

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

File:2531 De Havilland DH-104 Dove 2A Venezueala Airforce (7453148908).jpg, de Havilland DH.104 Dove 2A File:4402 Aeritalia G.222 Fuerza Aerea Venezolana (7453152794).jpg,

Aeritalia G.222 The Aeritalia G.222 (formerly Fiat Aviazione, later Alenia Aeronautica) is a medium-sized STOL military transport aircraft. It was developed to meet a NATO specification, but Italy was initially the only NATO member to adopt the type. The Unite ...

File:1XDT Auto Gyro Venezuela Airforce (7453177410).jpg, 1XDT

Autogiro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

File:6-HR1 Bell 47J Ranger (7453170398).jpg,

Bell 47J Ranger The Bell 47J Ranger is an American single-engine single-rotor light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was an executive variant of the highly successful Bell 47 and was the first helicopter to carry a United States president. Design ...

File:1HR1 Westland Dragonfly HR3 (7453172732).jpg, Westland Dragonfly HR.3 File:4AHR1 Sikorsky UH-19B (7453171470).jpg, Sikorsky UH-19B File:Sud-Est SE.3160 Alouette III.jpg,

Alouette III Alouette or alouettes may refer to: Music and literature * "Alouette" (song), a French-language children's song * Alouette, a character in ''The King of Braves GaoGaiGar'' Aerospace * SNCASE Alouette, a utility helicopter developed in France i ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

Karen Angel, "Why the World's Tallest Waterfall is Named Angel Falls," Terra Incognitae.Vol. 44 No. 1. April 2012, pages 16–42."

External links

{{commons category, Museo Aeronáutico de Maracay Museums in Venezuela Aerospace museums Buildings and structures in Aragua Museums established in 1963 1963 establishments in Venezuela Tourist attractions in Aragua Buildings and structures in Maracay