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The Nationaal Luchtvaart-Themapark Aviodrome (short also '''Aviodrome''') is a large aviation Museum in The Netherlands located on Lelystad Airport since 2003 . HISTORY In 1955 it was decided by several organisations such as the airline KLM and aircraft manufacturer Fokker to put together a foundation called "Stichting voor het Nationaal Luchtvaartmuseum" with as goal to create a national aviation museum. The first aviation museum in the Netherlands opened its doors in 1960 on Schiphol airport and was called the Aeroplanorama and had only seven Aircraft on display. It closed in 1967 and a new museum called the Aviodome was opened in 1971 on Schiphol. The main building was a large aluminium Dome , the largest in the world at the time, which housed most of the aircraft on display. The location started to become too small for the growing collection and in and a hangar for aircraft storage with limited access for visitors. COLLECTION Note that not all aircraft listed are currently on display or even present at the museum. The museum also frequently houses or is visited by aircraft that aren't owned by the museum.
NOTEWORTHY PROJECTS Jumbo's touchdown In 2004 the last of KLM's classic Boeing 747-200's named Louis Blériot was sold to the Aviodrome for the Symbolic amount of 1 Euro . Though the aircraft could still fly, Lelystad Airport was too small to handle such a large aircraft so the aircraft was partially disassembled and moved over water on a barge. After the journey over water that attracted a lot of attention the aircraft was lifted from the barge at Harderwijk and the last bit of the trip took place over land. At its final location the aircraft was re-assembled and opened to the public. Connie's comeback Perhaps one of the most spectacular pieces in the collection of the Aviodrome is the Lockheed L-749 Constellation, often just called ''Connie''. After several years of restoration work it was flown over to the Netherlands in 2002 from the United States where it had been in storage. More work, including a new paintjob, was done to the aircraft in the Netherlands but sadly the aircraft suffered from engine problems in 2004 and hasn't flown since. Two replacement engines coming from the Korean Air museum have been fitted however and it is hoped that the aircraft will be airworthy again some time 2006 . De Uiver De Uiver was the name of a Douglas DC-2 that placed second in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race , only being beaten by a purpose built De Havilland DH.88 racer ''Grosvenor House''. The real Uiver, which is an old Dutch word for Stork , no longer exists. The Aviodrome owns one of the last still airworthy DC-2s in the world. This DC-2 is a former US Navy aircraft painted in the Uiver's original KLM colors. After an unexpected gear collapse the aircraft suffered some minor damage, but after the needed funds were raised the aircraft was repaired. Fokker Friendship The Fokker F-27 ''Friendship'' was Fokker's best selling aircraft model of all time. Production of this first post-war Fokker airliner started in 1955 and many of them are still in service today. The Aviodrome purchased the oldest still flying series produced F-27 from its Australian owner in 2004 and painted it in the colors of the no longer existing Nederlandse Luchtvaart Maatschappij (NLM). Exactly fifty years after the first flight of the first F-27 on 24 November 1955 this aircraft made a memorial flight as a tribute to fifty years Fokker Friendship. EXTERNAL LINKS
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