Museu do Ar, Military aviation museum in Sintra, Portugal.
Museu do Ar is a military aviation museum located in Sintra that documents the development of aircraft and flight technology. The collection includes around 600 scale model aircraft, full-sized planes, engines, instruments, photographs, and technical records spanning several decades.
The museum was founded in 1922 to commemorate pilots Sacadura Cabral and Gago Coutinho, who completed the first South Atlantic flight from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro that same year. This pioneering journey established Portugal as a significant player in early aviation history.
The museum shows how Portuguese aviation shaped the nation's identity and international standing through its pioneering flights and achievements. Visitors encounter uniforms, documents, and records that reflect what flying meant to the Portuguese people.
The museum is located at Granja do Marques and operates on weekdays with morning and afternoon sessions, while weekends offer extended opening hours. Visitors should allow time to explore both the indoor halls and outdoor aircraft displays at their own pace.
The museum preserves a replica of the 1908 Santos Dumont Demoiselle, one of the first modern aircraft designs in the world. Also on display is the first Portuguese fighter aircraft that achieved supersonic speed in level flight.
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