Eskişehir’s Air and Space Museum to expand its fleet

ESKİŞEHİR

Located in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir, the M.S.Ö. Air and Space Museum, where some of the aircraft used in foreign films are on display, is expanding its inventory by adding new aircraft to its fleet.

The Air and Space Museum was opened in 2018 as a single hangar on an 800-square-meter area in the Necati Artan facilities, which the Sivrihisar International Sports Aviation Center started operating in 2014 in Yeşilköy neighborhood, 94 kilometers away from the city center.

The museum’s area, where aircraft and aircraft engines are exhibited, was expanded approximately three times in three years and spread to three hangars over 2,340 square meters. The museum added three planes and a helicopter to its inventory.

Among the notable aircraft of the museum are the Bell UH-1H helicopter, which was used in the Vietnam War and in the movie “Five Eyes,” shot in Turkey, starring Jason Statham; two Boing Stearman A75N1s (PT-17), the oldest flying aircraft in Turkey; the P-51D Mustang, which was used in World War II and films, such as “Saving Private Ryan,” “Memphis Belle,” “Empire of the Sun,” “Hart’s War” and “Fury;” and aircraft Tiger Moth used in the film “The English Patient,” which was shot in 1996 and won Oscars in nine categories in the same year.

In addition to these aircraft, Cessna 195 A, T-6G Texan, Douglas DC-3, Antonov AN-2, Fouga CM. 170 Magister and Supermarine Spitfire planes, aircraft engines, microlight and ultralight are also in the museum’s inventory.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Senan Öztürk, the head of the Organizing Committee of Sivrihisar International Sports Aviation Center, said that the M.S.Ö. Air and Space Museum spanned to an area of 2,340 square meters in 2019 with the addition of two more hangars.

Stating that there is a lobby building, a reading room and a souvenir section in addition to the areas where aircraft are on display in the museum, Öztürk said: “Antonov AN-2, Cessna 195 A and Tiger Moth aircraft and Bell UH-1H helicopter have just been added to our inventory. Tiger Moth plane was like one of the leading actors of the movie ‘The British Patient,’ which won nine Oscars. Our UH-1H helicopter was shot down in Vietnam, and the parts were reassembled and took their current form. This helicopter was featured in some scenes in the movie ‘Five Eyes’ directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Jason Statham.”

“The most distinguished of the museum is that it is a ‘Flying Museum,’ which means many of the aircraft in the museum inventory are not only exhibited, but they are also always ready to fly. Nine out of 13 aircraft in the museum can currently fly,” he added.

Stating that the museum is closed to visitors due to the pandemic, Öztürk said: “We will be waiting to welcome visitors when the conditions return to normal. Sky enthusiasts and anyone who wants to see the planes up close can visit the museum when the pandemic is over.”