This event opens the pages of Ukraine’s aviation history through legendary models of aircraft, helicopters, engines, and weaponry, preserved today in two unique locations. Especially for you, the Antonov State Aviation Museum — one of the ten best aviation museums in the world, currently closed to the general public due to martial law — will open its doors. The museum presents more than thirty types of military and civil aircraft and helicopters that once soared into the sky and ruled above the clouds. Among them are the supersonic bomber Su-24, the fighter-bomber Su-20, the assault aircraft Su-25, as well as the unique Tu-104 and Il-86. This collection demonstrates the power and elegance of twentieth-century aviation. Of particular interest is the collection of MiG fighters — true legends of the sky. This is a rare opportunity not only to see but also to touch Ukraine’s aviation history.
The second part of the programme includes a visit to a unique site — a real laboratory of aviation technology: the training hangar of the State University Kyiv Aviation Institute. It is the largest training space in Europe, covering 7,200 square metres. Here you will find an impressive collection of Ukraine’s civil aircraft from different eras: ANT-7, An-2, An-24, L-410, Yak-42, Tu-154, as well as helicopters Mi-2, Mi-4, Mi-8, Ka-26, and others. The exposition also includes the largest aviation engines, particularly gas-turbine ones. Aircraft and helicopters appear in a ‘dissected’ form, allowing visitors to study their structures and technical features — a chance to see what passengers rarely do.
In addition, you will explore an exhibition of aviation weaponry that russia has used since 24 February 2022 to kill Ukrainian soldiers and civilians: demilitarised X-22 and X-55 missiles; a mock-up of an S-300 surface-to-air guided missile; the russian upgraded version of the Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drone known as Geran; guided aerial bombs (KAB); high-explosive aerial bombs FAB-250 and FAB-500; the Kalibr cruise missile; training cannons and machine guns; and other types of aviation weaponry.
An experienced pilot, a true professional who knows every aircraft inside out, will conduct the event. He will ‘bring the aircraft to life’, show how propellers turn, and landing gear extends, and explain how the systems work. You will be able to sit at the controls, operate flaps and blades, look inside the aircraft, and take vivid photographs as a keepsake. You will feel like a real pilot when you enter the cockpits of aircraft and helicopters, and like an aviation engineer when you take part in the visual control of a ‘cold’ start of aviation engines on the L-410 aircraft and Mi-2 and Mi-8 helicopters, as well as in testing the flap control system of the Yak-42 passenger aircraft.
This is not simply an event. It is a living encounter with history, an opportunity to touch aviation technology that once embodied the state’s pride and now serves as a reminder of the modern challenges Ukraine faces. Join this remarkable occasion, and together we shall immerse ourselves in the spectacular world of aviation!
Duration: 4 hours
Cost: 3 200 hryvnias per person
Preliminary registration is required and shall be carried out by 26 March 2026 at the Department for Culture and Tourism of the Media Center Directorate by phone: +38 (097) 258-40-19 or via email: skt.gdip@gmail.com
