With a coastline as beautiful like Goa and the azure waters of the Arabian sea beyond it, the Indian Navy appears to have hit jackpot, as far as setting up a naval aviation museum here. The naval aviation museum located along the Vasco-Bogmalo road in South Goa, is the only one of its kind in the whole of India.
Started in 1998, the museum is largely divided into two parts, indoors and outdoors and contains some of the finest pieces of machinery used by the Indian Navy’s aviation wing and symbols of the great military and social tradition of the Indian armed forces.
The outdoor grounds of the naval aviation museum are adorned with the finest flying machines which have clocked thousands of miles, patrolling the country's coastline, keeping a watchful eye for any possible intruders. The Sea Harrier, a single pilot fighter jet often used in recce flights, the Seahawk, also a single pilot jet fighter, Dove, a light transport vehicle, Aliza, an anti-submarine plane and a de-commissioned Hughes, a two-seater helicopter, among other planes.
The mammoth 'Super Constellation', an Indian Airlines transport plane also makes for spectacular viewing.
The indoor section of the museum is no less stunning. Entering this section makes you feel like you are walking into the celebrated Indian aircraft carrier INS Virat, with the section recreating the warship’s ambience, complete with bombs, torpedoes, rockets, depth charges (not to worry, they are all dummy sanitized ordinance).
The indoor section also lays out an elaborate display of gear and equipment which a fighter pilot has to deal with, like a full flying suit, a fighter plane's seat, the ever important parachute and even a dinghy in case of a malfunction over water.
Kids can have great fun in the multi-media section where they can enjoy a thrilling first-hand feel of what it like to sit in a fighter plane's cockpit thanks to a flight simulator.
If you plan to visit here, just ensure you don’t reach here on a Monday.
What: Naval Aviation Museum
Where: Bogmalo-Vasco road
Timings: 10.00 am. To 5.00 pm. Monday closed
# 0832 258 5525
