IAF to showcase Dakota aircraft, vintage items at proposed museum in Chandigarh

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 3

Revisiting history, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will showcase World War II-era Dakota transport aircraft among other vintage items at the proposed museum to be set up at the Government Press building in Sector 18 here.

The museum will have old aircraft, vintage IAF items, flight simulators and video walls to tell the history of the IAF in general and related world history, which will be of immense interest to students. IAF officials gave a presentation in this regard to UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore here today.

In principle, both the UT Administration and the IAF agreed to set up a museum at the site, said UT Adviser Dharam Pal, adding that the IAF needed to get approval from the authorities concerned before proceeding further on establishing the museum. The UT explored the option of setting up an IAF museum at the venue after it failed to get any firm on board to run a vintage car and heritage furniture museum in the building, a dream project of the Administrator.

Even after floating tenders thrice, no company had expressed interest in running and managing a vintage car museum.

As per the terms, the selected company was to establish, maintain and run the museum. On the ground floor of the building, where machines used to run earlier, a vintage car museum was to be built with 50 cars.