Air Park Zruč: a winter visit to an aircraft and tank museum in the Czech Republic

@ElentirENG ES 3·02·2023 · 23:43 0

The aeronautical museums are very interesting places if you want to go sightseeing, but at certain times of the year they can be somewhat problematic.

An aeronautical museum in Germany that exhibits an old Spanish military airplane
A veteran of the Spanish Navy in an aviation museum in the capital of Thailand

Not all aeronautical museums may have the necessary infrastructure to keep their planes in hangars, and that means exposing them to inclement weather in the coldest seasons of the year. This is the case of the Air Park Zruč, an aircraft and tank museum located in Zruč-Senec, in the Pilsen region, in the western part of the Czech Republic. This museum was created by Karel Tarantík (1949-2022), who started salvaging planes in 1990, explains the museum website. The salvage of old planes began in the neighboring town of Druztová with an Ilyushin Il-14FG: "it no longer fit in our place and the mayor of the town did not allow us to get a suitable place for it", they point out.

The Air Park opened its doors on Christmas 1992 with a Soviet Mil Mi-8 helicopter and transporting the Ilyushin Il-14FG. It currently has almost 50 planes and helicopters from various countries, including a Tupolev TU-154M, which is the largest piece in the museum. There are also some tanks, armored vehicles and cannons. Not all the pieces collected are in good condition, but the philosophy of this museum is somewhat different from the others, which allows you to live a unique experience. Recently, Polish explorers from Urbex History visited the museum in the dead of winter, with all the planes and tanks covered in snow. The look of the installation is certainly fascinating (the video is in Polish and has no subtitles, but if you find it helpful, the video starts with "Się masz!", "how are you?" in Polish):

You can see here some curious captures of the video. Here we see an impressive image of the museum covered in snow, seen from a drone.

A Soviet T-34 tank from World War II with the inscription "Let's go to Berlin!" in Russian and a number 82. Next to the T-34 is a statue of the Soviet dictator Stalin. On the left is a Soviet VT-55 recovery vehicle, covered with a tarpaulin. In the background on the right is an OT-810 armored vehicle, the Czechoslovakian version of the German Sd.Kfz half-track. 251 of the Second World War. In the background we see a Tupolev Tu-104 commercial jet with a Soviet registration, CCCP-42391, but with a Czech flag on its drift.

A mannequin acting as a radio operator inside the Tu-104. This plane is the OK-NDF and belonged to Československé Státní Aerolinie, which became České Aerolinie in 1995 after the separation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993 .

A Lockheed F-104G Starfighter fighter of the Belgian Air Force, the FX93 (cn 683-9160).

A Soviet MiG-23BN fighter (right, No. 9814) , next to a Czech Mil Mi-24D attack helicopter and a MiG-27 attack aircraft (left). In the background on the right is a Fiat G.91R Gina attack and reconnaissance aircraft that belonged to the Luftwaffe (the 32+70).