The Sääski sea plane is the first Finnish-design aircraft which entered serial production. 

The orange biplane on display is a Letov S 218 Smolik, a trainer designed in Czechoslovakia and manufactured in Finland, which replaced the Caudron C.60. as the basic trainer in late 1920’s. Much like the Cauldron, it was built in Finland.

08 Sääski And Smolik

The German Messerschmitt Bf 109 –fighter (nicknamed “Mersu”) is perhaps the most famous fighter type flown by the Finnish Air Force. The aircraft was designed in Germany during the mid-1930’s. 

The aircraft on display was built and flown to Finland from Austria in 1943. During aerial target practice in August of 1946 of the coast of the city of Pori, the towing rope of a target wound itself around the propeller, which resulted in a forced landing into the sea. 

The aircraft was located by a team of sports divers in 1983, and recovered by the diving team of the Finnish Aviation Museum in 1999.

07 Wreck Of The Messerschmitt Fighter

The French Caudron C.60 –trainer aircraft is in many ways a typical example of the aircraft of the post-World-War-I-era. The Finnish Air Force bought 30 Caudrons in 1923, and the manufacturing license was bought in 1926. The aircraft on display is one of the 34 Caudrons manufactured in Finland. 

Hanging in from the ceiling of the exhibition hall you can see a grey single-seat small engine plane which has the honor of being the first motor aircraft designed and built in Finland. It was named Adaridi after its Russian-born designer engineer Boris Adaridi and built in The Aviation Docks in Suomenlinna Sea Fortress in 1923 – 1924.

06 Caudron And Adaridi

The seaplane Hansa is one of the first aircraft types used by the Finnish Air Force, and the first airplane type which was put into serial construction in Finland.

Maybe you wonder the insignia on older (1918-1945) Finnish Air Force planes! The first aircraft of the Finnish Air Force, Thulin typ D reconnaissance plane, came as a donation from the Swedish Count Eric von Rosen, with the Count's personal good luck symbol – a right-facing blue swastika – painted on its wings. This swastika variant was then adopted as the national insignia for all FINAF aircraft until the year 1945. The Paris Peace Treaties signed in 1947 banned the symbol. It was replaced by the blue-and-white roundel that continues to serve as the national insignia of FINAF aircraft to this day.

05 Hansa Brandenburg

Most aircraft displayed in the first exhibition hall are training planes used by the Finnish Air Force so they tell the story of Finnish military aviation. The eldest aircraft on display close to the entrance is the grey seaplane Hansa maritime scout plane. 

Surviving fighters and bombers used in combat are mainly displayed in the other professional aviation museum in the country, the Finnish Air Force Museum in Tikkakoski, Jyväskylä, Finland.

04 Finnish Military Aviation

The history of modern flight is usually thought to begin with the development of the hot-air balloon by the French Montgolfier brothers in 1783. 

During the 19th century lighter-than-air balloons were accompanied with heavier-than-air gliders, but the steam engines were yet too heavy and low-powered to be used as a power source of a flying machine. This changed at the turn of the century with the development of lightweight combustion engines and piston engines enabled the first self-powered airplanes to take off. 

American brothers and aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright flew the first recorded sustained and controlled heavier-than-air flight on their Wright Flyer –airplane in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina 17th of December 1903.

03 Short History Of Modern Flight

You come across aviation history as you arrive on the yard of the Aviation Museum. The gatekeeper is a DC-3 aircraft, nicknamed Lokki “The Seagull” in the livery of the Finnish Airline Aero, which was founded in 1923 and is still operating under its newer name Finnair. 

The fighter plane displayed on the museum’s yard is a MiG-21BIS which is a version of the Soviet interceptor MiG-21. 

The third aircraft outside is a Cessna 172, registration number OH-COO, which is when possible, open to all young pilots. The plane type is the most popular type of plane used in general aviation. 

There is a children’s play area and picnic facilities on the yard. Make sure you watch out for any cars while spending time outside!

02 Yard Of The Museum

The Finnish Aviation Museum (est. 1972) is the National Museum of Aviation located at Aviapolis, Vantaa, in the vicinity of the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. It presents the history of both military and civil aviation in Finland.  The first full-time employee was hired in 1983. The museum is owned by the Finnish Aviation Museum Foundation (est. 1996). The main exhibition at the FAM consists currently of two airplane hangars. The first hangar presents military aviation, and the second one civilian aviation history. The hangar between them hosts contemporary exhibitions as well as facilities for museum education and simulator services. The exhibition halls 1 and 2 are not heated, so we recommend our visitors to wear warm clothing in the wintertime.

01 Welcome To The Finnish Aviation Museum

The gliders and light aircraft on displayed are mainly hung from the ceiling also in the second exhibition hall. Some of the gliders are placed on the floor and the balcony as well. The gliders here are in general newer than the ones in the first hall, and there are several fiberglass constructs on display.

33 Gliders And Light Aircraft

Did you know that almost anyone can have aviation as a hobby? The exhibition on the balcony of the second exhibition hall presents sport aviation in Finland – gliding, rc-aircraft, drones and skydiving are all popular aviation related hobbies. The exhibition has been created by the various associations themselves.

34 Aviation As A Hobby

Finnish Aviation Museum is an exciting visiting destination for the whole family, located in the heart of the Aviapolis area in Vantaa, near Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport (HEL). Dozens of historical aircrafts in our main exhibition will take you on a trip to the History of Finnish aviation. Fly with us!

01 Welcome To The Finnish Aviation Museum

Finnish Aviation Museum / Suomen Ilmailumuseo

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