:: Riga aviation museum / Aviomuzejs (Latvia) ::

Just 100 meters from the Riga airport is the Riga aviation museum. It remains an obscure destination while being one of the largest ex-soviet plane and helicopter collections.

As an example of the brilliance of its roster list - the Aviomuzejs has succeeded in securing a Tupolev Tu-22M1, a twin-engined variable geometry plane known as Backfire-A by NATO. It is one of only nine pilot-production Tu-22M's built that paved the way for almost 500 production aircraft being built.

Leading the impressive fleet of helicopters is the Mi-6 helicopter that held the worlds size record for quite some time. Not to mention the Top Gun "baddies" material (such as MiG-15UTI, Mi-24A, MiG-21, MiG-29UB, MiG-23M, Su-7U) lined up against the outer wall and the Yak-28R reconnaissance plane opposite to them. That's not even half of the full list!

For full disclosure, it must be said that the entire museum is in disrepair. Most exhibits have worn out paint jobs, are dirty or stripped down. Where they exist, the signs are poor. The info desk at the airport did not even know that the museum was open on the day when I specially drove over to visit and insisted that a visit must be pre-registered. The museum staff is friendly, but it's a shame that the museum doesn't have better funding and more dedication towards quality.

Further information:
- My Riga aviation museum photos
- Riga aviation museum official guide