Kbely Aviation Museum (Letecké Muzeum Kbely) Tours and Activities

Like the Army Museum Žižkov, Kbely Aviation Museum (Letecké Muzeum Kbely) is one of four museums overseen by the Military History Institute Prague. It was founded in 1968 on an historic military airfield at Kbely on the north-eastern outskirts of the city, and — thanks to its spectacular collection of 275 aircraft — is one of the biggest and best aircraft museums in Europe. At any one time, 85 planes are on show in the museum’s vast hangars, with many more displayed in the open air.

The museum showcases the early days of Czech aviation, from World War I biplanes to Cold War Soviet spy planes, military helicopters to MIG-29s, supersonic jets to a (somewhat scorched) Russian Soyuz re-entry capsule. Most of the exhibits are related to Czech military aviation, but several Tupolev commercial airliners are on display and rare treasures from overseas include a South Vietnamese 5F Tiger II, a Swedish Saab 35 Draken fighter plane and a British Air Force F-4 Phantom II. Aircraft are displayed surrounded by period ephemera, including banners, medals, weapons and mannequins wearing military uniforms.