RMAF Museum has a lot of potential to be a major tourist draw

After reading some blogs that were hyping up the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Museum, I made my way to the museum located at the Kuala Lumpur Air Base in Sungai Besi.

After going through the guarded main entrance, take an immediate left turn to drive to reach the museum.

It was a quiet Saturday morning and there was ample parking space.

Upon entering, I found out that the museum was officially opened on June 1, 1985.

I found my way to the hangar that was converted into a museum that housed several aircraft that were no longer in service.

I was disappointed to find out that a chain have been put around the planes located outside the hangar.

The public can board the army green Caribou DHC- 4A to view the interior and cockpit.

 

The first aircraft to greet visitors at the field was the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer FM1001 – named ‘Lang Rajawali’ by Malaysia’s first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Later, I found out that it was the first aircraft acquired for the No 1 Squadron.

In the blogs, it was revealed that people could sit in the cockpits of the aircraft to get a glimpse of how it was to be in the pilot’s seat.

However, only one aircraft out of the few located on the field had stairs to allow the public to climb in and check out the interior.

I spotted some children who had a field day in an army green Caribou DHC-4A aircraft.

Walking towards the back of the aircraft, it was nice to see how our air force officers once sat in this aircraft.

Some of the planes on display in the hangar.

 

When I made my way to the cockpit, I could not help but feel sad at the condition of some of these planes.

Although the planes had long retired, it would be great if the the planes were well-maintained. Some of them even had weed growing out of them.

There was not much history stated on all the planes except technical specifications such as the capacity, length and maximum speed.

I found this a shame as I reckoned these planes would have an abundance of history to share with visitors such as, if any of the planes were used by any of our past leaders or interesting events that occurred during its active-duty days.

In the hangar, people are allowed to sit in the cockpit of the first plane on the left but the real cockpit was replaced with a fake terminal.

This in my opinion was a little disappointing but the children did not seem to mind and had a blast sitting inside pretending to fly a plane.

There was a “Flight Terminology Interactive System” booth but there was no personnel in sight to man it and there was a sign outside of it that read “Do not enter without permission”. I wondered what was the purpose of the system as there was no explanation on it.

The cockpit of the army green Caribou DHC- 4A.

 

Inside the hangar, visitors can get a chance to learn a little history of the airbase and the RMAF.

The Kuala Lumpur Airbase is the oldest base in the RMAF with a long aviation history. The base was handed over to the RMAF on Oct 25, 1960.

As the biggest airport then, the Sungai Besi Airport was jointly used by the military and the Department of Civil Aviation. It served as the country’s first international airport before it moved to Subang in 1965.

Meanwhile, the RMAF started when the Air Force Ordinance was passed by Parliament on June 2, 1958 and it was then known as the Royal Malayan Air Force.

Later on, I headed to the administration office and an officer there said that only two planes were opened to the public.

He said those who wanted to enter all the planes, should visit the museum on Oct 18 during the open day that starts at 9am.

There was also a gift shop next to the administration office but it was closed during my visit.

When I asked the officer on the opening hours, he said there was no fixed time. From the window, there were squadron badges being sold for RM20 each and there were a few that caught my eye.

All in all, the RMAF museum is a place to visit at least once. The museum has a lot of potential to become a strong tourist attraction if more efforts were made to maintain it and also add new interactive activities.

The museum is located at Jalan Lapangan Terbang Lama and is open from 9am to 5pm on Mondays to Thursdays and is closed on Fridays. On the weekends, it is open from 9.30am to 5pm. Admission is free.

For details on the museum and its open day, contact 03-2117 1202.