Taiwan’s Aviation Museum [航空科學館] is located at Taoyuan International Airport between the main freeway entrance and the airport terminals. It is a worthwhile visit because it’s a lot more interesting than trying to kill time in the airport. The museum is divided into five areas: Civil Aviation, Flying Technology, the ROC Air-Force, Aviation History, and the Space Tunnel Zone. Since it isn’t a large museum, exploring its educational exhibitions won’t require more than two hours. I spent a little more than an hour there while waiting to pick up my family from the airport.
Here’s a collection of photographs from my visit:
Douglas DC-3
Aviation Pioneers – Wilbur and Orville Wright
Model Planes
More Model Planes
The Four Forces of Flight – Lift, Thrust, Gravity and Drag
John Travolta talks about his favorite hobby
Man in Uniform
The General Electric J79-11A
An OH-13 Helicopter in the Foreground
The three pictures below were taken at the museum’s ROC Air Force Zone:
Men in Uniform
Formations
Emblems
Even More Model Planes
France, 1917 – two American JN-4s come to the aid of a British S.E. 5a being pursed by German tri-wing Fokkers
China, 1943 – a P-51 Mustang scrambles to intercept an incoming aircraft
The remaining photographs are from the Space Tunnel Zone:
Sputnik I – Let the Space Race Begin!
FORMOSAT I – Taiwan’s first satellite
Cosmonauts
Welcome to the Moon
In search of Mooninites
The museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday and admission is $30NT for adults and $20NT for children. There’s a free shuttle bus that runs from the airport terminals to the Novotel Hotel. The museum is a stone’s throw from the hotel.
