Post-COVID lockdown "new look" of the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow

[KRK4m]

As most of you probably know, the biggest problem of every museum in the world is ... visitors. On the one hand, the mission of the museum is to educate people by showing its exhibits to visitors, but on the other hand, you cannot modify and improve your exhibitions when thousands (or even if only hundreds) of people wander between them every day. So when in March 2020 the Polish Aviation Museum exhibition halls  were closed to the public due to the COVID lockdown, the museum management decided to start the operation planned from 2012.

Those who have visited the museum in the past five years will surely remember that the planes are exhibited in four buildings and (the vast majority) outside along the original taxiway. Two small hangars (800 and 600 square meters) contain the exhibitions of the Great War (1914-1918) and "60 Years of NATO", the large (2,800 m2) hangar contains various aircraft from 1930-1980, while in the 1,600 sq m exhibition hall in the new office building various exhibits are presented on a rotational basis.

I worked in this museum from 1987-1997 and then from 2010-2013. And from the beginning of the 90s, my idea was to turn the large hangar into a two-storey exhibition building, i.e. to introduce a gallery that would double the area of the "floor". At first there was no money, then the heritage conservator voted against the reconstruction of the historic building (1928). Then the "green light" came on in 2012 and I was finally able to draw the proposed layout for 28 planes. It was actually the last project I did for the Museum in 2013. However, six years had passed, and the closure of the main hangar to visitors still seemed impossible to the museum's management. And then there was a COVID lockdown and the hangar (closed to spectators) could finally undergo a major renovation. The 90-year-old girders were scrapped and replaced with brand new ones. The roof and floor were also made from the outset, several emergency exits were introduced, new lighting and ventilation systems were installed, and finally a gallery with four staircases and a lift for the disabled was built.

 

 

 

Of course, 20 gliders hanging from the ceiling have disappeared - dismantling the glider is a matter of minutes and they (now stored with wings removed) will reappear under the ceiling of an identical hangar, which will be rebuilt 300 meters northwest of the preserved one (before 1945 there were six such hangars in this airport - the first and until 1934 the largest in Poland).

 

 

 

As since 2013 the museum has sourced several additional aircraft within the 1930-1955 timeframe for this exhibition, the layout required a slight modification. Yak-12, Yak-17 and GIL BZ-1 had to be displayed in the main hall, replaced by the C.714, Bf 109 and Skeeter. And finally - large transport planes are safe under the roof thanks to the possibility of mounting on pylon boxes above the floor. Otherwise, the hangar could only accommodate 12-14 aircraft.

 

 

 

Ultimately, the exhibition consists of: Curtiss F11C, RWD-13, RWD-21, PWS-26, PZL P.11, Caudron 714, Ju 52/3m, Bf 109G, Bucker 131, DH.82A, Spitfire XVI, T-6 Texan, C-78 Bobcat, L-4 Grasshopper, Li-2, Po-2, Il-10, Tu-2, Yak-11, Yak-18, Yak-23, Zlin C-5, LWD Żuraw, WSK Junak, WSK SM-2, Saro Skeeter, DH Vampire and the Sea Venom.

 

 

 

I hope you will enjoy both the photos from the "upper floor" and the short video made with the drone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk3H_qVDLEo&fbclid=IwAR2wOET-0Jt8w9PMKavvlgvTcPNjnl5T2NLqrsQCmcFIh6iqdkUJEMajOnQ

Cheers

Michael

 

Edited January 23, 2021 by KRK4m

[bootneck]

Hello Michael,

I visited the museum in 2014 and found it to be excellent. To be able to walk around all those engines and get so close to them was a real bonus.  The museum guide is a 'must have' and I still refer to it regularly.

Thank you for the update on the museum, I hope to get back for a revisit one day, when it will be possible again.

 

Mike

[exdraken]

Thanks

 

Very interesting!

[Red Dot]

That looks really good, so well done to them for using the time positively.

 

However, the photographic conditions look to be a challenge, with all the sunlight and shadows. Maybe some shades on the windows to diffuse the light might help?

 

Having been a couple of times, I know it is a great museum, so look forward to visiting again some time.

Andy

 

[JWM]

The most interesting exhibition novelty (I mean a subject, not organization or design)  is perhaps the Finnish Caudron 714, half of it is seen left from PZL P11 and  below Tiger Moth on one of shots.  Nice to see present shape with restored nose, the dron movie also shows it...

Congrats for exhibition design!

Regards

J-W

  

[Aeronut]

I was in the process of booking a trip to Krakow to visit this museum the day Lockdown was called last year. I can't wait for normality to return. Its nice to see the museum hasn't wasted the Lockdown. Having been involved with a revamp of an aviation museum here in the UK I know what a closure to the public can mean for a museum's finances.