Guide
The Turkish Aeronautical Association Museum stands in the Altındağ district of Ankara, beside the historic parachute tower on Hipodrom Avenue in Ulus. It shows documents, photographs and models covering the history of aviation and the work of the association, and it opened on 19 May 2002.
The museum is open every day except Monday, from 9.00 to 18.00 in winter and from 10.00 to 19.00 in summer, and draws about fifteen thousand visitors a year.
It has 5,294 square metres of open ground and 287 square metres under cover. The historic parachute tower stands in the garden, where original aircraft and replicas are displayed as well. The building holds documents, photographs and objects covering the history of civil aviation in Türkiye and elsewhere.
On display are images of the TOMTAŞ factory at Kayseri, the first aircraft factory in Türkiye, which was in production in the 1920s, along with uniforms, medals and decorations used by the association, stamps issued for it and models of its other facilities. The museum also holds models of the seventeenth-century devices with which the Ottoman figures Lagâri Hasan Çelebi and Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi are said to have flown.
The Ankara parachute tower was built in 1937 by Turkish and Russian engineers. It stands 41.10 metres high and meets the standards of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Jumps can be made from it between 1 May and 31 October. The jumping deck is on the third floor at 37.90 metres and is reached by stairs or by lift, and there are two winches to hold the jumper's parachute. In suitable weather, healthy people over sixteen weighing between forty-five and ninety kilograms are allowed to jump under the guidance of instructors.
