Aviation enthusiasts must visit the Civil Aviation Museum

There are several museums in Beijing where you can see airplanes. In addition to the famous Aviation Museum and Military Museum, there is also a Civil Aviation Museum near the Capital Airport. - Compared with other museums, the Civil Aviation Museum is relatively niche, and there are not many tourists. The museum is divided into two parts: outdoor and indoor. The appearance of the indoor exhibition hall is streamlined, and it looks like a terminal building, which is very characteristic of "civil aviation". - The indoor exhibition hall of the Civil Aviation Museum is divided into two floors, and the design of large floor-to-ceiling windows makes the lighting in the museum very good. The indoor exhibition hall has real aircraft such as the French Socata TB20 trainer used by China Civil Aviation and the CJ-6 trainer used by the Air Force, as well as models of aircraft such as the C919 and ARJ21. The exhibits are quite rich. When we went, there was also a special exhibition on the uprising of the two airlines, where we could see many precious cultural relics and collections of that year. - The three aircraft in the main exhibition area on the first floor are the main exhibits of the indoor exhibition hall, namely the Il-14 passenger plane, the Mi-8 helicopter and the Yun-5 transport plane. The Il-14 is an improved passenger plane developed by the Soviet Union on the basis of the Il-12. The preciousness of the Il-14 of the Civil Aviation Museum lies in the fact that it was once Chairman Mao's special plane. This is also the only aircraft in the Civil Aviation Museum that can be visited inside. You can board the cabin and see the furnishings in the special plane of that year. It is said that Chairman Mao's only work photo on the plane was taken on this plane. - The blue-painted biplane propeller plane next to the Il-14 is the Yun-5, the largest transport aircraft in the history of China's aviation industry, with a total output of more than 1,000. Although it looks quite old-fashioned, it is very stable in flight, has low operating costs, and is very versatile. - The remaining white-painted Mi-8 helicopter was originally produced in the Soviet Union. It is the largest helicopter in the world and is known as the "Kalashnikov" in the helicopter kingdom. It is mainly used for transportation. - The aircraft displayed in the outdoor exhibition area of the Civil Aviation Museum are even more abundant - Cessna Citation VI, Yun-7, Yun-11, Li-2, C-46, Airbus A310, Trident, BAe146-100, etc., and there is also a military JJ-5 aircraft. If you are an aviation fan who pays attention to the history of the Anti-Japanese War, you can take a good look at the C-46, which was one of the main transport aircraft of the "Hump Route" back then. - Address: No. 200, Capital Airport Auxiliary Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing Bus route: Bus No. 359 (Civil Aviation Museum Station) Driving route: Exit the expressway at the Weigou exit of the airport expressway (outbound direction), turn right at the traffic light at the expressway exit (southwest direction), drive along the Capital Airport auxiliary road for about 700 meters, and turn left (southeast direction) at the Civil Aviation Museum sign. According to the sign, park in the parking lot of the Civil Aviation Museum (free of charge).