Chandigarh’s IAF Museum attracts visitors in droves

While there is tremendous respect and regard for the armed forces in India, common people don’t seem to know much about them. This lack of connection is being bridged in many ways and one of them is the recently-opened Indian Air Force Heritage Centre in Chandigarh.

The Centre which was inaugurated by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 9 is already attracting people in droves. So far more than 3,600 people have visited it since the day of opening.

IAFHC was constructed at a cost of Rs.2.75 crore and is bigger than the other IAF museums in Delhi’s Palam and Thiruvananthapuram. It has two cockpits, five aircraft and four simulators.

While the exhibits, murals, models, aircraft and simulators have been provided by IAF, the Centre is managed by Chandigarh Tourism Department. Talking to the media, Rohit Gupta, Director Tourism informed that more than 800 people had enjoyed the simulators.

He said the immersive experience is quite a hit and many people are coming for the same. It is available in three slots of 25 people each at 10 a.m., 12 noon and 3 p.m. and costs Rs.295 for both children and adults.

The virtual reality experience is for 200 seconds and in this a MiG-29 plane of IAF takes off and moves towards Chinese airbase and undertakes bombardment. This is one of the scenes apart from others.

The entry to the building housing the Centre is impressive. The visitor is greeted by two planes – a Folland Gnat and a MiG-21 Type 96. Inside there are wall-to-wall murals of 1971 India-Pakistan war, a Prachand combat helicopter model and multi-role combat aircraft Tejas.

One section depicts the brave IAF personnel and famous operations while another one houses models of missiles, bombs, planes and copters.

There are different walls dedicated to the 1947-48, 1965, 1971 and 1999 Indo-Pak wars. There is one on the Balakot strike too.

There is a souvenir shop also which has IAF’s memorial and scale models besides a theme-based café too.

Also read: Vintage aircraft Kanpur-1 goes to IAF Heritage Centre in Chandigarh