Vyauto Aviacijos Muziejos, Panavezys-Istros, Lithuania

In July 2019 I spend a week in Lithuania and Latvia in which I was able to visit a number of aviation museums.

The smallest museum I visited was the Vyauto Aviacijos Muziejos located at Istros airfield near Panavezys.  You enter the museum via the Airport Motel entrance and pay a modest fee for the visit.  The motel itself has a room filled with aviation artifacts, uniforms and pictures giving an overview of aviation history in Lithuania over the last 100 years.

The aircraft themselves are all on display in an area next to the motel.  The collection has a number of jet fighters and one advanced jet trainer.  Star exhibit is a former Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-15TM Flagon-F.  Other jets that can be seen are a Mikoyan-Gurevitch MiG-21SM Fishbed-J (ex-Soviet Union), a MiG-23MLD Flogger-G (ex-Ukraine) and a former Russian Air Force Aero L-29 Delphin advanced jet trainer.

In addition to the jets the collection also holds a couple of helicopters.  The first one is a former Russian Air Force Mil Mi-2 Hoplite, which is now painted in a civilian looking paint scheme.  The second one is Lithuanian-registered Mil Mi-8T Hip.

The museum is not huge, but certainly worth a visit when you are in the area. 

Text & Photography : Laurent Heyligen