By John Ortega March 2000 The Central Museum of the Air Forces at Monino, Russia is located approximately 38 kilometers (24 miles) from Moscow along the Gorky Highway in a lovely wooded area. It is the largest and best aviation museum in Russia. The museum was formerly known as The Russian Federation Air Force Museum and, prior to that, The USSR Air Force Museum.The AF Museum exists since 1958 and now is the biggest aviation museum on the territory of the former USSR. It was opened under the initiative of Air Marshal S.A. Krasovsky, the Air Force Academy head at that time. For more than 40 years the Air Force Museum was an integral part of the AF academy named after Yu.A.Gagarin, the "factory" of command and staff cadres for the military aviation, as it is often called. On June 9, 2000 the decision to organize The Central Air Force Museum at Monino (Shchelkovo district, Moscow region) was taken by the Russian Government. According to the signed instruction which number is 792-r the museum is founded on the base of federal owned collection of the Gagarin Air Force Academy and the museum's status is 'the federal state establishment.Since September 1, 2001 the Government decision has come true and the AF Museum has become the Central and independent federal state establishment.Nowadays the Museum's collection numbers more than 170 aircraft, there are conventional planes, helicopters and gliders, as well as unusual flying machines, such as V.Tatlin flapflyer, A.Rafaelynts turboflyer, the second stage of orbital space plane, developed under the "Spiral" program and others.The Museum possesses over 120 engines (piston, air-breathing jet and rocket ones) from O.Kostovich gasoline engine for airship (1883) to the most up-to-date engines.The collection also includes a lot of model aircraft, air guns, missiles and rockets, bombs, fuses and ammunition, navigation instruments, pieces of radio and communication equipment, rescue equipment, flight insignia, uniform, combat banners and flags, documents, letters, personal things of pilots, as well as many art exhibits. There are also many books, photos, films on the history of aviation in the Museum's library. The Museum's exposition, the total area of which is about 20 hectares (including the airfield), is located on the tarmac, in hangar and halls, shops of the former aircraft repair plant were adopted for the halls. The vast territory allows the museum to expend its exposition, while the nearby runway can receive new exhibits: many of museum airplanes and helicopters made their last landing on that runway. In the halls historical material and exhibits are arranged chronologically, in the open air planes and helicopters are mainly arranged according to the names of their design bureaus. The origin and development of aviation in Russia, formation of domestic aviation science and industry between the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, the Air Force contribution to the rout of German-Fascist occupants, the advent after the war of novel jet aviation and evolution of the latter up to the present day - all this review of the century history of the Soviet and Russian aviation is presented to a visitor of the museum during a two-hour guided tour. The Museum is opened every day except Sunday and Wednesday from 9.30 till 17.00 (the break from 13.00 till 14.30), on Saturday till 14.00 without break.For foreign visitors it is necessary to book the pass in advance. Entrance fee is $8 (adults), $5(students), $3 (pupils), $5 (students of Russian higher education establishments), $5 (employees of foreign embassies in Russia). Guided tour service (only in Russian) is included into entrance fee. All payments are in rubles according to the USD rate. The permission to use camera is $4, video camera - $8. phone +7(495) 526-3327 John Ortega Passport Magazine jortega@passportmagazine.ru http://www.passportmagazine.ru/