Al Mahatta Airport Museum

I had planned to go visit the Sharjah Art Foundation after our Rain Room experience last weekend, but Nathan had heard of an "airplane museum" somewhere in Sharjah; so we swiftly googled, and changed our plans. I'm easy, I'll go do anything - exploring new things are fun!

So, we went to the Al Mahatta Airport Museum!
This was indeed the first airport in the region, built in 1932. It operated until Sharjah International Airport opened in 1977, and has since 2000 been turned into a museum that highlights the history of flight here in the UAE.

First stop inside the museum was the aircraft hangar. The aircraft in here either flew with Gulf Aviation or is representative of the type used by Gulf Aviation and Gulf Air.

We started by checking out the inside of the Vickers Super VC10 aircraft, developed to take off and land in high altitudes. This aircraft is second only to Concorde for fastest crossing of the Atlantic.

So many buttons..!

This is inside the DH 106 Comet. This was the first Jet Airliner to land at Sharjah:

The Rolls-Royce RB.80 Conway engine, the first turbofan in the world:

The Douglas DC3, the same type of aircraft as our favourite DC3 - the McDonalds restaurant in Taupo! Above it you see the DH104 Dove.

The second part of the museum was this Photographs Gallery.
The museum is housed inside this rest house, previously known as The Fort, which was built to accommodate crew and passengers while on overnight stops here, on their way from Britain to India in the 1930s. The building is a 20th century fortress, built in a combination of modern style military architecture and traditional local 'fortified' construction.

Later on it became a major airfield, through the agreement between the Ruler of Sharjah and the British Government. Imperial Airways used this airport for its shipping routes, but later on also as an RAF base during the WWII. A big area of salt flats near the sea was rolled smooth, to create the runway.

Al Mahatta was also the first meteorological office in the UAE and Oman. Weather records were collected here from 1934 until 1976.

The museum also houses a display of the first cinema in the region, which was inaugurated in 1945:

The galleries showed photos of the airport throughout its history, of passengers and crew coming through; but also of pilot's log books, flight tickets and aircraft parts:

One part of the museum talked about the very first landing here at the airport by the first Imperial Airways passenger flight, on the 5th of October 1932. A flight returning to Britain from Karachi, India.

The routes that were taken from Britain to India in 1932:

One part showcased the history of Air Arabia:

Finally, we discovered the part of the museum that showcased the whole science of flight, all from the first flying creatures on earth... to modern day jet planes - and further into space travel!

Some of these first flying pterosaurs were the size of a bat, but some were as big as a light aircraft, with a wingspan of 12 meters!

Flight has evolved four times in the natural world, first in insects, then in reptiles, birds and finally mammals. The collectibles show for example man's first attempts to fly, from taking to the skies in balloons and so one:

I highly recommend a visit to this museum! It gives a great insight into the importance and development of the emirate of Sharjah, as well as a lot of interesting and fascinating information about the history of flight. Entrance fee is only 10 AED, so what are you waiting for?

And yes, even though nobody ever takes any photos of me - I was there too!