L'Envol des pionniers

Om museet

The Montaudran site is linked to the beginnings of commercial aviation. During the First World War, Pierre-Georges Latécoère set up a factory there that built Salmson 2A2 aircraft under licence. After the war he used surplus military aircraft to open an airmail route.

On December 25, 1918, Latécoère took off from Toulouse-Montaudran in a Salmson 2A2 and landed in Barcelona two hours and twenty minutes later. It was the first French airmail route. In 1927, Marcel Bouilloux-Lafont took over the line, which became the Aéropostale. Running at a loss, the Aéropostale was taken over by Air France in 1933, which operated the route until the start of the Second World War.

Montaudran then housed an Air France maintenance centre, which remained on the site until 2003, roughly seventy years. The site is now a facility of Toulouse Métropole, managed by Semeccel.

The permanent exhibition “Entre ciel et terre” tells the story of the Ligne and the Aéropostale through the testimonies of pilots, mechanics, operations managers and wing-covering seamstresses (entoileuses). The route features figures such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Mermoz and Guillaumet. The hangar houses a Salmson 2A2 and a temporary exhibition.

Højdepunkter

• Permanent exhibition “Entre ciel et terre” on the history of the Aéropostale
• Reconstructed office of Didier Daurat
• Postal railway carriage from 1929
• Salmson 2A2 in the hangar
• “Tour de Piste” guided tour in period costume

Permanent udstilling

• Entre ciel et terre – The permanent exhibition traces the history of the Ligne and the Aéropostale through staff testimonies, objects and hands-on experiences, in the former Magasin général.

Grundlagt

2018

Ejer

Semeccel (équipement de Toulouse Métropole)

Entrépriser & rabatter

The single admission gives access to the permanent exhibition and the temporary exhibition (about 2 hours). The Pass Tourisme gives 15% off the standard day rate. Prices include all taxes and may change.

Tilgængelighed

• Kørestolsvenlig
• Elevator: ingen oplysninger
• Handicaptoilet
• Handicapparkering
• Servicehunde tilladt
• Taktile tilbud
• Rundvisninger på tegnsprog
• Letlæste tilbud
• Synstolkning: ingen oplysninger

The site holds the Tourisme et Handicap label for hearing, intellectual, motor and visual impairments. The entire site is accessible, with exhibitions on one level. Accessible parking spaces are located in car park P1. A wheelchair or folding seat can be borrowed free of charge at reception in exchange for an ID. A portable induction loop and a magnifying lamp are lent. Braille and large-print booklets, a tactile model of the Laté 28 and several objects to touch are available. Some guided tours are given in French Sign Language, and easy-read booklets are available.

Børn og familie

Velegnet til børn og familier

• Familieomvisninger & workshops
• Interaktive stationer

The one-hour Family Workshop, for ages 6 and up, takes families into Toulouse in 1930: sorting mail in a postal railway carriage, Morse code messages and assembling an aeroplane puzzle. It takes place on Wednesdays, at weekends and during school holidays from 16:00 to 17:00.

Transport & parkering

A bike-sharing station bears the name of the museum.

Service & spisesteder

• Café
• Museumsbutik

The Café des Pionniers serves drinks and light meals in a Roaring Twenties setting; it is accessible without an admission ticket. There is also a shop on the site.

Arrangementer & udlejning

• Lokaler til leje
• Private fester
• Firmaarrangementer

Spaces available: Café des Pionniers, Salle des Pionniers, Salle des Mécanos, Didier Daurat’s office and the Atelier de la ligne, for meetings, evening events and year-end celebrations.

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