Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics (), also known as Air Museum (), is an

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, Ph ...

located at the Cuatro Vientos Air Base in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain, devoted to the history of the

Spanish Air and Space Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the Aerial warfare, aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with th ...

. It is one of the National Museums of Spain and it is attached to the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. The objective of the museum is to acquire, conserve and display the aircraft, equipment and associated paraphernalia that constitute the historical heritage of the Spanish Air and Space Force. It has an exterior exhibition and seven hangars.

History

In 1939 the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

came to an end and the Spanish Air Force was created. It is in this period the Ministry of the Air () appointed Colonel Társilo Ugarte Fernández to prepare a project for the creation of an aeronautic museum. However, 27 years passed before its creation. A first draft was presented in December 1948, with its location in the plant below the new building of the Ministry of the Air. Through subsequent studies and consults, the Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics was created by decree number 1437 of June 16, 1966, accountable to the Ministry of the Air and with headquarters in Madrid. Since 1975, the museum has been based at Cuatro Vientos near of Madrid, however the works itself started at the end of 1979. Thereafter, it has been extended many times. Cuatro Vientos, was inaugurated in 1911 and is Spain's first military airfield. The airfield, although surrounded by construction, is still in use. The museum was officially inaugurated on 24 May 1981, by Lieutenant-General Emiliano Alfaro Jose Arregui. In 1993, two new hangars were added, and even two more in 2002. Among these hangars, there is number 4, which was inaugurated on 22 August 2003, and which is dedicated to rotating wings and other

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), gyroscope, gyrocopter or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. A gyroplane "means a rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-d ...

s, machines whose origins came directly from the Spanish engineer

Juan De La Cierva Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu, 1st Count of la Cierva (; 21 September 1895 – 9 December 1936), was a Spanish civil engineer, pilot and a self-taught aeronautical engineer. His most famous accomplishment was the invention in 1920 of a rotorcr ...

Museum Displays

The museum facilities extend over a surface of more than , including outdoor displays, about 200 aircraft and seven hangars. There are mainly planes and helicopters, many of which have previously served in the

. Visitors will also find hundreds of miniature aircraft models, engines, weapons, uniforms, vehicles, mock-ups and many other aviation related objects. Aircraft on display include a Vilanova Acedo, Spanish version of the Blériot XI built in 1911, the '' Jesús del Gran Poder'', a special version of the Breguet 19 used on the

transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing aircraft, airships, bal ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

between 1928 and 1929, a few aircraft of the Spanish Republican Air Force, as well as the famous

de Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its outd ...

used by

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

Tétouan Tétouan (, or ) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and about E.S.E. of Tangier. In the 2014 Morocc ...

at the start of the military rebellion which began the

in 1936.Alpert, Michael ''BBC History Magazine'' April 2002

Outdoor exhibition area

The Spanish versions of the Heinkel He 111 and the Junkers Ju 52, fighters as McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II or Mirage F-1, one Canadair Cl-215, Aerospatiale AS-330 Puma or even a MiG-17.

Hangar expositions

* Hangar 1: Beginnings of the history of aviation in Spain, aviation during the

Rif War The Rif War (, , ) was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several ...

, Spanish aviation in the pioneer era and aircraft during

. * Hangar 2: Engines, simulators, aeronautical equipment and uniforms. * Hangar 3: Training planes, fighters of the Spanish war, post-war fighters, gliders and a collection of propellers and engines. * Hangar 4: Helicopters and autogyros with, among others, two La Cierva, or the Aerotécnica AC-12 and AC-14, and collection of flight instruments. * Hangar 5: Spanish Air Force aircraft, like the General Franco's

, two versions of the local jet Hispano HA-200. * Hangar 6: Dedicated mainly to restoration. * Hangar 7: A collection of more than 100 models on a 1:10 scale

Aircraft exhibits

List of selected aircraft on display

Gallery

File:Hangar 2, Museo del Aire, Madrid, españa, 2016 01.jpg, Hangar 2 File:Cohete Capricornio (5655913268).jpg, Rocket Capricornio, Spanish satellite launch vehicle. File:McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 EC-BYE & Boeing 727-256Adv EC-CFG Iberia (8444459210).jpg, Cabins from Douglas DC-9 and Boing 727 File:Vilanova Acedo (Blériot XI).jpg, The '' Vilanova Acedo'' built in 1911, is the oldest aircraft preserved in Spain. File:Escuadrilla Azul.JPG, Uniform from Condor Legion File:Br19sb cuatrovientos.jpg, Cuatro Vientos (replica); this aircraft flew in 1933 from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. File:Hangar 5, Museo del Aire, Madrid, España, 2016 09.jpg, Hangar 5 File:Jesus del gran poder.jpg, Jesús del Gran Poder, historical Spanish aircraft. File:Farman F 402.jpeg, Farman F.402 of the Spanish Republican Air Force.

Visitors

* Timetable: Tuesday to Sunday: 10 am to 2 pm. The museum is closed to the public on all Mondays and special days (such as public holidays), as well as the entire month of August. * Visitors must follow the instructions of security personnel and museum staff at all times * In the case of photographs or filming for personal use, it is not necessary to request any type of authorization. * Visitors must show their entrance ticket whenever they are requested to do so by security personnel or museum staff, and they must retain said ticket until the end of their visit. * The museum is a no smoking zone. * It is forbidden to touch the equipment on display

Ways to get there

There is no access from the airport to the museum, and this is surrounded by a confusing number of roads. * By bus: It is better to take any of the Madrid-Alcorcón-Móstoles green buses of the BLAS company at Príncipe Pío station. These go along the Autovía A-5 and there is a stop near the museum: ask the driver where to drop off. Busses pass here frequently. * Nearest metro and

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

station: Line 10 (Madrid Metro). Cuatro Vientos Metro station is a bit far from the museum, about 1 kilometre, but there is no marked or paved path to the museum. Walking beside the highly frequented highway is not very pleasant. It is advisable to take a taxi at Cuatro Vientos Metro station to the museum, which is actually part of an airforce base. * By

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

: autovía A-5, 10,5 km. Parking is free in front of entrance to the Museum.

References

Bibliography

* * Ogden, Bob. (2009). ''Aviation Museums and Collections of Mainland Europe''.

Air-Britain Air-Britain, traditionally sub-titled 'The International Association of Aviation Enthusiasts', is a non-profit aviation society founded in July 1948. As from 2015, it is constituted as a British charitable trust and book publisher. History Air-Br ...

(Historians) Ltd

External links

''Museo del Aire''
the official website (2019)
''Asociación Amigos del Museo del Aire''
Spanish association (2011)

(2009)

(2010) {{Authority control Aerospace museums in Spain Museums in Madrid Air force museums History museums in Spain Military and war museums in Spain Technology museums in Spain Museums established in 1979 Museo de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica Buildings and structures in Latina District, Madrid