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To celebrate 75 years of Ferihegy, Aeropark Budapest is offering a flight-time travel experience: get ready for the Airport Night, a special and unforgettable program on 16 August.
The evening when the past, present and future of aviation meet at the Ferihegy Aviation Museum: Aeropark Budapest awaits visitors on August 16 with special airport vehicles and oldtimers, atmospherically lit cockpits, engine starts, famous pilots, career selection sessions and presentations, an aviation talk show, night airport visits, and sightseeing flights.
Aviation and the airport are still a mystical world for many today. This weekend, the Aeropark Aviation Museum and its numerous partners will give you a glimpse behind the scenes.
Key players in domestic aviation to be present at Airport Night
Pilot schools will be moving into the Aviation Museum. Expert instructors explain the path from gliders to the cockpits of today's large passenger carriers, and what kind of career awaits those who flirt with this profession.
Hungarocontrol welcomes visitors at a separate stand, where everyone is introduced to the behind-the-scenes of air traffic control, but it also reveals what skills someone who sits in front of the radar and gives instructions to several passenger carriers at the same time must have.
Those interested can also get a taste of the work of the airport's armed forces. Interactive demonstrations will show the audience how airport search dogs work and how they find various illegal products among the many shipments.
The Airport Directorate of the Hungarian National Transport Authority will also operate a recruitment point during the evening. HungaroMet experts will introduce viewers to the adventurous world of aviation meteorology, where they can learn how airport weather forecasts are made.
The program series, which will last until 1 a.m., will also feature airport vehicle wonders: the huge snow blower that can remove 6,000 tons of snow from the runways per hour will be on display, and one of the country's most unique fire engines, the more than 40-ton Rosenbauer Panther, will arrive. Those interested can also take a look at the work of ground service personnel and even take to the skies with a special de-icing vehicle.
Pilots, flight attendants, air traffic controllers, and airport planners, well-known from social media, will be the main characters in the evening's stage conversations, which will reveal what happens in the background while the passenger is waiting for his or her flight to take off, how Ferihegy has changed over the past 75 years, and how many people's coordinated work is needed for an airplane to complete its journey safely. But what the stewardess does if the passenger declares love for her after an hour and a half of flight will also be discussed.
Historic vehicles and sightseeing flights
One of the main attractions of the evening will be the start-up of the 1900-horsepower engine of the nearly 70-year-old Il-14 passenger plane. The demonstration of the historic aircraft's power plant will begin at 18:00, 20:00 and 22:00. In addition, visitors will be able to see up close how a small jet engine works on several occasions, but the aviation museum's experts will also start the engine of the legendary "insect bomber" Kamov 26 helicopter, to complete the evening's "engine concert" for technical enthusiasts. Not only will the engines play music, the Pénzügyör Orchestra will perform several times.
As the evening falls, the cockpits of the historic aircraft come to life, and the museum's employees will put into operation instruments and radios that are many decades old. All evening long, airport visits will be held behind the scenes of the Liszt Ferenc International Airport, with the gates of the historic Terminal 1 and the huge hangars of the Aeroplex opening. During Airport Night, sightseeing flights will once again take off - this time with an Embraer 120 passenger plane - and Budapest-Budapest flights will take off. In addition, visitors can even be part of a journey through time, with the world's only airworthy Li-2 aircraft, which is now 76 years old and is operated by the Goldtimer Foundation, once again performing sightseeing flights from Ferihegy.
Further information and tickets can be found here.
Photos: Aeropark
