Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels: Malaysia 2013 - Royal Malaysian Airforce Museum

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Malaysia 2013 - Royal Malaysian Airforce Museum

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Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels

Malaysia 2013 : Royal Malaysian Airforce Museum Kuala Lumpur - February 2013

One of the destinations during our cycling tour of Kuala Lumpur (...see Lost Again! - Even More Lost) was the Royal Malaysian Airforce Museum in Sungei Besi. In local Bahasa Malaysia it is known as Muzium Tentara Udara Diraja Malaysia. This museum is actually a very interesting place, with real aeroplanes that lay out the history of the Royal Malaysian Airforce. It's a pity that many do not even know where it is, and even much more the pity that even more does not know it exists!

A. THE ENTRANCE

To get there use Jalan Dewan Bahasa and continue on to Jalan Lapangan Udara Lama. This will lead to a guard post that is the entrance to the air base. Inform the guard that one wishes to visit the Museum and you are let in. The museum is towards the left after passing the guard post.

After the guard house is the interesting Kuala Lumpur Airbase Mosque which has an unique dome shaped like the aerodrome of airbases.

On a signboard are on display the different insignia badges of the different squadrons of the air force.

Just before the aerodrome section of the museum is this interesting helicopter.

I say interesting because one can really go into the helicopter, sit inside and have a good feel of how it's like.
This museum is unique that it encourages the public to have hands-on experience with the show pieces. One can touch and feel most of the aircraft and can even step into some of them. But more of this hands-on experience later.

B. THE HANGAR SECTION

The centrepiece here is this Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighter plane that looks sleek like a tiger ready to pounce.
(... see listing of the air force aircraft)

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighter-bomber.

McDonald Douglas A-4 Skyhawk 2-seater trainer.

Under wing nacelles weapons docking array for the Skyhawk.

One of the earlier planes used by the airforce; the Canadair CL41G Tebuan fighter-bomber jet.

A personnel transport plane.
(I can't recall some of the names & I do hope some readers can help out and comment accordingly.)

Front view of the personnel transport plane.

Douglas SBD Dauntless scout plane & dive-bomber.

Side view of the Dauntless.

Trainer planes.

de Havilland Tiger Moth - mainly used as a trainer. It's one of the few bi-planes still in use during the 2nd World War.

A turbojet engine.

A turboprop engine without the propeller.

Another turboprop engine but this one with the propeller.

A air pilot full flight suit.

Anti-missile starburst launcher.

Hangar wall posters of present and past aircraft of the air force.

More posters of aircraft.

Wall poster of even more aircraft.

Giant poster of the the latest addition to the airforce - the Sukhoi Su-30 MKM fighter jet.

Poster of some of the past & present aircraft of the airforce indicating their years of service.

C. AIRFIELD SECTION

Recce Helicopter.

The Rajawali - a Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer Mk.1

deHavilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou, military personnel transport.

Front view of the Caribou transport plane.

Grumman HU-16 Albatross, a transport plane capable of amphibious landing

CAC Sabre fighter jet.

Aerospataile Alouette HIB helicopter.

The easily recognisable Bell 47G-5 helicopter.

McDonnell Douglas A-4 PTM Skyhawk fighter plane.

Another view of the Skyhawk

Aermacchi MB-339A light attack aircraft.

Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighter jet, adorned in sea colors camouflage.

Another view of the F-5E Tiger II.

Canadair CL41G Tebuan jet fighter.

Front bottom up view of the Tebuan jet.

Marconi S605B mobile radar.

Fire Engine Truck.

Airplane refueling truck.

Close-up view of the refueling trucks.

The curators of this museum has gone to lengths to make the public more educated about their planes. There is even a cut-out Sabre jet that shows the complicated internals of the plane.

Close-up view of the cut-out Sabre fighter jet, showing the internal mechanisms, even the wiring can be seen.

Transverse section showing airplane wing aerofoil and part engine.

A plane with it's front and wings cut off to show their internal mechanism.

D. HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE

As earlier mentioned, the most of the museum display pieces are un-restricted. The public can look at close up and even feel the aircraft. For some of the aircraft, the public can even get into the cockpit for a good, realistic feel of the aircraft.

My Cyclist Friends eager to take their turns in the helicopter.

Trying his hand on the Anit-missile starburst launcher.

Trying out one of the trainer planes.

Posing with the F-5E Tiger fighter plane.

Action in the cockpit.

Trying out the flight simulator.
This simulator is much more than those personal computer type. One can don the pilot's helmet, and there is a proper joystick. The best thing is that the pilot's chair has haptic feedback, it vibrates accordingly to the flight pattern.