The aviation museum will open in Mladá Boleslav in a year

Photo: Atelier Michal Hlaváček

Mladá Boleslav - The Aviation Museum of Metoděj Vlach in Mladá Boleslav, which will cost 160 million crowns, will welcome its first visitors in a year. The region has assigned the contract to the supplier, and construction work has just begun, said Robin Povšík (ČSSD), the Deputy Governor of the Central Bohemia Region, to ČTK today.
    The value of the contract awarded to the Kladno company Energie - construction and mining is 146 million crowns. An additional approximately 16 million will be spent on equipping the museum with necessary technology. The project is largely funded by the European Union through the Regional Operational Program for Central Bohemia. The operator of the museum will be the Central Bohemia Region, and the facility will become a branch of the regional Museum of Mladoboleslavsko, Povšík stated.
    The actual construction, designed by architect Michal Hlaváček, is expected to be completed on the airport premises this fall, according to the deputy. However, the preparation of the interiors, including the tower where visitors will be able to try a parachute jump simulation, will reportedly be challenging. The complex will also include a café and a screening room.
    Visitors to the museum will see over 30 aircraft, including 11 fully functional replicas from the Metoděj Vlach Foundation, Povšík added. The remainder will be loaned by the National Technical Museum. The exhibition will be divided into two parts; suspended machines will be non-functional, but the aircraft placed below will be available to visitors for possible sightseeing flights.
    The construction of the museum has also received support from the Mladá Boleslav city hall. Councilors have previously committed to providing all the necessary municipal land for this project, and at the end of December, they waived their right to appeal against the building permit for its construction. However, the original plan to open the museum this year, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the first public flight of an airplane built by Metoděj Vlach in Mladá Boleslav, has not been achieved.