The Aviation Museum of Iceland ( is, Flugsafn Íslands ) covers the history of

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. It is housed at

Akureyri Airport Akureyri Airport ( is, Akureyrarflugvöllur , regionally also ) is a single-runway international airport in Akureyri, Iceland, south of the town centre. Icelandair and Norlandair link the airport with several domestic locations. History Schedule ...

and was formally opened on 24 June 2000.

History

The museum was founded on 1 May 1999 and formally opened on 24 June 2000 by

Halldór Blöndal Halldór Blöndal (born 24 August 1938, Reykjavík, Iceland) is a politician of the Independence Party (Iceland). He is the son of Kristjana Benediktsdóttir, Bjarni Benediktsson's sister. He worked as a teacher and a journalist from 1959 until ...

, the Speaker of the Althing. It was initially known as the Aviation Museum at Akureyri; another aviation collection existed at Hnjótur in Örlygshöfn. It was renamed in 2005 to reflect its national role. Svanbjörn Sigurðsson, a principal figure in the foundation of the museum, was its first director. Initially in temporary quarters in a

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 ...

rented by Íslandsbanki, the museum moved in 2007 to a purpose-built building with of space, approximately five times what it previously had; the building was officially opened by Sigrún Björk Jakobsdóttir, the mayor of Akureyri. It celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2009. The aircraft collection has been used for training by the .

Collection

Boeing 727-108C, Icelandair - Flugfelag Islands AN1947118

The museum has many photographs of Icelandic aviation through the years and also a number of historic aircraft, many of which it maintains in

airworthy In aviation, airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft's suitability for safe flight. Initial airworthiness is demonstrated by a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft is register ...

condition and flies at least once a year on an annual fly day. These include: * Klemm L.25e TF-SUX, built in 1934 and brought to Iceland by Germans in 1938; the first plane to land in the Vestmannaeyjar *

Waco YKS-7 The Waco Standard Cabin series is a range of American single-engine 4–5 seat fabric covered cabin biplanes produced by the Waco Aircraft Company beginning in 1931 with the QDC and continuing until 1942 when production ended for the VKS-7F.Brandl ...

identical to TF-ÖRN, the first aircraft operated by

Flugfélag Akureyrar Icelandair is the flag carrier airline of Iceland, with its corporate head office on the property of Reykjavík Airport in the capital city Reykjavik. Linked from here It is part of the Icelandair Group and operates to destinations on both ...

, later Flugfélag Íslands, when it began service in 1938 * a twin-engine

Beechcraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general aviati ...

identical to that first brought to Iceland in 1942 * Björn Pálsson's

Auster V The Taylorcraft Auster was a British military liaison and observation aircraft produced by the Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited company during the Second World War. Design and development The Auster was a twice-removed development of ...

, with which he flew the first

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

service in Iceland * a 1943

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 ...

that saw duty at

Keflavík Air Base Naval Air Station Keflavik (NASKEF) was a United States Navy station at Keflavík International Airport, Iceland, located on the Reykjanes peninsula on the south-west portion of the island. NASKEF was closed on 8 September 2006, and its facilitie ...

before transfer to civilian use by Flugfélag Íslands in 1946 * the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

of ''Gullfaxi'',

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

TF-FIE, the country's first

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines. Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...

, recovered from the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

* TF-SIF, a Aérospatiale SA-365N-1 Dauphin 2 former Icelandic Coast Guard rescue helicopter that was in service for 22 years and is credited to have been involved in the rescue of around 250 lives * Coast Guard Fokker F-27 TF-SYN

References

External links

*
Official website
{{coord, 65.6514, -18.0757, type:landmark_region:IS, display=title Buildings and structures in Akureyri Aerospace museums Museums in Iceland 1999 establishments in Iceland