Vecihi Hürkuş Havacılık Parkı (Eskişehir Havacılık Müzesi)

Vecihi Hürkuş Aviation Park is an open air aviation museum set up in the northwest of Eskişehir, directly opposite the Yunusemre Campus of Anadolu University. It is also known by its former name, the Eskişehir Air Museum. According to English Wikipedia, the museum stands beside the Bursa to Ankara highway and covers an area of 39 thousand square metres. Civil and military aircraft of various types and models are displayed in the open air section. A closed building houses flight suits, aviator badges, model aircraft and aircraft engines. For anyone who wants a close look at Eskişehir's century long bond with aviation, it is the most direct address in the city. The museum's founding is told with different dates in the sources. English Wikipedia writes that the Governorship of Eskişehir and the air force unit stationed in the city came together to create an aviation museum. According to the same source, eleven retired fighter, reconnaissance and cargo aircraft were donated to the museum and the open air museum opened on 16 December 1997. The Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, however, states that the open air display opened to visitors in 1998. Turkish Wikipedia explains that the museum was formed mainly by restoring and displaying aircraft held by the 1st Air Supply and Maintenance Command. In short, the museum was born in the late 1990s when aircraft already present in the city were given a new life. According to English Wikipedia, the museum building opened on 28 May 1999. The facility was later handed over to the Air Force, and in 2011 to Anadolu University. After maintenance and restoration work it reopened in September 2012 with the status of an aviation park. Turkish Wikipedia writes that the park's name was changed to Vecihi Hürkuş Aviation Park in 2020 through a public poll. Vecihi Hürkuş, after whom the park is named, was a Turkish fighter pilot, aeronautical engineer and aviation pioneer born in 1896. According to Turkish Wikipedia, he built Turkey's first aircraft, the Vecihi K-VI, and founded the country's first civil flight school. Giving the park his name links the story of the aircraft on display to the country's aviation history. Eskişehir is at the heart of that story too; according to Turkish Wikipedia, the city is home to important air force units and an aviation industry facility. As you walk around the open area you can move freely around the aircraft. Turkish Wikipedia writes that a police helicopter is displayed alongside the civil and military aircraft. The interior of a C-47 cargo aircraft on display was once turned into a cafeteria; according to Turkish Wikipedia it is used as an office today. The aircraft, which have stood in the open air for more than twenty years, are restored again whenever needed. Start your visit with the open air display, then move on to the engines and pilot equipment in the closed section. Seeing the engines up close makes it easier to understand how the airframes you saw outside actually worked. The best light for photographs is in the morning or late afternoon; the bodies of the aircraft read more clearly in side light. The page of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism notes that photography is allowed in the park. According to the page of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the park is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Because the management of the park has changed hands over the years, opening hours and entry conditions may change; check the current information on the page of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism or with the operating body. The park is easy to reach because the tram line runs past the campus. According to OpenStreetMap records, there is a tram stop called Hava Müzesi right in front of the park. The neighbouring stop is Anadolu Üniversitesi, so combining the campus and the park in a single outing takes no effort. You can build a half day programme in Tepebaşı by combining the Aviation Park with the parks along the Porsuk.