Flieger Flab Museum

About the museum

The museum goes back to a collection that the Office for Military Airfields began building up in 1972 from technically and historically significant objects of the Swiss Air Force. In 1978 the exhibition opened in the old wooden hangars of 1914 at Dübendorf airfield. A year later a friends' association was founded, which took over operations from the federal government in 1987 and in the following years financed an extension, the Isler concrete shell hall, on a private basis. The extended building was inaugurated in 1988.

In 1997 the association merged with the Friends of Air Defence to form the Association of Friends of the Swiss Air Force (VFL); since 1998 air defence (Flab) objects have also been represented in the museum, which gave it its present name. In the following years new halls were built in place of the old hangars, the museum reopened in two large halls in 2002, and in 2009 a new exhibition followed in Hall 1 with the converted Restaurant Holding. In 2014 the walk-in collection and the engine collection were added, and in 2015 the new Flab hall.

Today, on a tour, the museum shows more than 40 exhibits from the wooden biplane to the supersonic interceptor, as well as anti-aircraft guns and a collection of engines and jet engines that is described as the largest in Europe. The museum is part of the Air Force Center and is supported by VFL volunteers; flight simulators and sightseeing flights complement the offering.

Highlights

• Over 40 exhibits of Swiss military aviation from 1900 to 2019
• Air defence (Flab) from yesterday to today
• Engine and jet engine collection, according to the museum the largest in Europe
• Walk-in collection with on-board weapons, aerial reconnaissance, communications equipment and radar
• Flight simulators, virtual reality films and sightseeing flights can be booked in addition

Permanent exhibitions

• Luftfahrzeuge – Schweizer Militäraviatik von 1900 bis 2019 – The tour uses more than 40 exhibits to show how technology developed from the wooden biplane to the supersonic interceptor.
• Fliegerabwehr / Flab – Swiss air defence from earlier times to the present, presented in its own Flab hall.
• Motoren und Triebwerke – An extensive collection of aircraft engines and jet engines that the museum describes as the largest in Europe, complemented by a walk-in collection with on-board weapons, aerial reconnaissance and radar.

Founded

1978

Operated by

Air Force Center (Verein der Freunde der Schweizerischen Luftwaffe VFL und Stiftung MHMLW)

Admission & discounts

Payment is possible in cash in Swiss francs as well as with Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and Twint. Vouchers are available online.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Dogs and other pets are not allowed in the exhibition; guide dogs and therapy dogs are exempt (bring proof).

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located in the Air Force Center at Dübendorf airfield (Ueberlandstrasse 271); a map with directions is available to download on the website.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Restaurant Holding in the building (Tue–Fri 11 a.m.–11 p.m., Sat 9 a.m.–11 p.m., Sun 1–5 p.m. self-service only, closed Mon); souvenir shop with aviation items during museum hours.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Event locations in the museum and a conference room; enquiries to the museum tours (telephone +41 44 824 55 22).

Plan your visit