Located at Dubendorf Air Base in Zurich, the Flieger Flab Museum is a collection of aircraft dating from the earliest days of aviation through various eras to the present day.
With around 40 aircraft on display, the museum is a worthwhile visit for aircraft spotters and fans of aviation history visiting the area.
We recently made a visit. Here’s what we found.
Location
The Flieger Flab Museum is located in the south western corner of Dubendorf Air Base, an active military airfield only 11km from both central Zurich and Zurich Airport.
Dubendorf Air Base itself can be an interesting diversion, with helicopter, training aircraft and government transport squadrons based on site, and usually active during the week.
The museum is accessed off Uberlandstrasse, and well signposted. Upon arrival you’ll be greeted by a F-5E Tiger mounted at a menacing angle outside the museum entrance and car park.
Tour of the Museum
Upon arrival we were greeted by the friendly lady on reception, who explained the layout of the museum, which consists of four different halls, as well as the shop and restaurant. Each hall deals with a different era of aviation.
By chance, Halle 8 was just about to be opened, so we were advised to go straight there; it is only open for short periods each day (14:30-15:30 at the time of our visit). So we bypassed the other halls to visit this one first, then work our way back.
Halle 8
Halle 8 is split into four smaller areas, and accessed via the long Flab-Halle. It houses special exhibitions, as well as the simulator area.
We were first greeted by a collection of aircraft including a Hunter, Vampire, and PC-9. Alongside were a few other aircraft, and some cockpits in the simulator section (including a former Qantas 747-300 cockpit).
In the next room we came across a Junkers Ju-52, previously operated by Ju Air, which was open to explore inside. This is the largest aircraft in the collection.
The final room of Halle 8 has some military ground vehicles.
Halle 2
After Halle 8 we walked back into Halle 2, the largest display hall. This contains many aircraft of the post-war period, including the Cold War.
There are Hunters, Vampires, BAe Hawk, Alouettes, PC-6 Porter, and many other unusual aircraft and cockpit sections.
This hall has an upstairs walkway which is great for getting different angles on the aircraft, particularly useful for photographs, and is also useful for getting close to aircraft suspended from the ceiling.
Display boards telling the history of each aircraft are sadly not in English, but the quality of the aircraft and preservation is excellent.
Halle 1
Because we started in Halle 8, we were working back in time and found ourselves in Halle 1 last. This one deals with the earliest era of aviation in Switzerland.
Many of the aircraft here are World War I era, with some even earlier aircraft dating from the 1900s, and some from World War II.
Viewing Area
Upstairs in Halle 1, again you have a good alternate view of the aircraft on display. However, this area also has large windows looking out over Dubendorf Airfield, which is great for spotting. There are chairs laid out.
Completing the museum, there’s a large restaurant with seating in the corner of Halle 1, as well as a café and a shop selling aviation-related books, models and souvenirs.
Visit the Museum
Flieger Flab Museum can be found at Ueberlandstrasse 271, 8600 Dübendorf.
It is open daily, with varying hours:
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