Aviation Museum of Iceland
The Aviation Museum of Iceland (Icelandic: Flugsafn Íslands [ˈflʏɣˌsapn ˈistlan(t)s]) covers the history of aviation in Iceland. It is housed at Akureyri Airport and was formally opened on 24 June 2000.
 Douglas DC-6 nose section on display at Aviation Museum of Iceland, 2007 | |
  Location within Iceland | |
| Established | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Location | Akureyri Airport, Akureyri |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Founder |
|
| Website | flugsafn.is |
History
The museum was founded on 1 May 1999 and formally opened on 24 June 2000[1] by Halldór Blöndal, the Speaker of the Althing.[2] It was initially known as the Aviation Museum at Akureyri;[3] another aviation collection existed at Hnjótur in Örlygshöfn.[2] It was renamed in 2005 to reflect its national role.[4][5] Svanbjörn Sigurðsson, a principal figure in the foundation of the museum, was its first director.[3][6][7][8]
Initially in temporary quarters in a hangar rented by Íslandsbanki, the museum moved in 2007 to a purpose-built building with 2,200 square metres (24,000 sq ft) of space, approximately five times what it previously had;[7][9] the building was officially opened by Sigrún Björk Jakobsdóttir, the mayor of Akureyri.[10][11] It celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2009.[3]
The aircraft collection has been used for training by the Icelandic Technical School.[12]
Collection
The museum has many photographs of Icelandic aviation through the years and also a number of historic aircraft,[13] many of which it maintains in airworthy condition[14] and flies at least once a year on an annual fly day.[3][15] These include:
- Klemm L.25e TF-SUX, built in 1934 and brought to Iceland by Germans in 1938;[3] the first plane to land in the Vestmannaeyjar[6]
- Waco YKS-7 identical to TF-ÖRN, the first aircraft operated by Flugfélag Akureyrar, later Flugfélag Íslands, when it began service in 1938[6][16]
- a twin-engine Beechcraft identical to that first brought to Iceland in 1942[6]
- Björn Pálsson's Auster V, with which he flew the first air ambulance service in Iceland[3][17]
- a 1943 Douglas DC-3 that saw duty at Keflavík Air Base before transfer to civilian use by Flugfélag Íslands in 1946[12]
- the cockpit of Gullfaxi, Boeing 727 TF-FIE, the country's first jet aircraft, recovered from the Mojave Desert[3][6][14][18][19]
- 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[3][6][14][19]
- Coast Guard Fokker F-27 TF-SYN[19]
See also
References
- "The Aviation Museum". Visit Akureyri. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
- "Flugsafnið á Akureyri opnað um síðastliðna helgi". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 29 June 2000.
- "Flugsafn Íslands: Fagnar Tíu Ára Afmæli Með Opnu Húsi Og Kökuboði: Hefja sig til flugs einu sinni á ári". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). 1 May 2009.
- "Safnið fái viðurkenningu sem Flugsafn Íslands". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 29 January 2005. p. 23.
- "Flugsafn Íslands: Á aðalfundi Flugsafnsins á Akureyri í síðasta mánuði var samþykkt að breyta nafni safnsins í Flugsafn Íslands". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 16 March 2005.
- Malín Brand (22 November 2014). "Flugsagan kristallast á Akureyri". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic).
- HS (15 November 2006). "Nýtt flugsafn kostar 150 milljónir". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 10.
- "Svanbjörn Sigurðsson". Morgunblaðið (memorials) (in Icelandic). 29 August 2013. p. 36.
- JÓA (25 September 2006). "Flugsafn Íslands fær nýtt hús". Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). p. 40.
- "Flugsafnið á Akureyri opnað" (in Icelandic). Cabinet of Iceland. 4 November 2007.
- "Flugsafn Akureyrar opnað í 2.200 m2 húsnæði við Akureyrarflugvöll". Bændablaðið (in Icelandic). 20 November 2007. p. 27.
- Skapti Hallgrímsson (21 February 2013). "Flugvirkjar læra loks á heimavelli". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic).
- "Flugvélar til sýnis í Safninu" [Aircraft on view at the museum] (in Icelandic). Flugsafn Íslands. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- "TF-SIF fer á Flugsafnið". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 4 June 2008. p. 32.
- Hannah Hethmon (10 March 2018). "Museums in Strange Places Podcast #12: The Icelandic Aviation Museum". The Reykjavík Grapevine (with link to podcast).
- "Samskonar vél og TF-ÖRN í Flugsafnið". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 30 April 2010.
- Viðar Guðjónsson (17 January 2014). "Sögufræg flugvél á Flugsafn Íslands". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic).
- Skapti Hallgrímsson (16 September 2008). "Stjórnklefi CL-44 líklega á Flugsafnið". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 6.
- Malín Brand (3 July 2014). "Tveir leikarar á Flugsafni Íslands" (in Icelandic).
External links
Media related to Aviation Museum of Iceland at Wikimedia Commons- Official website (in Icelandic)