Museum of Civil Aviation

Located in the south of St. Petersburg (on the road to Pulkovo Airport) and attached to the St. Petersburg University of Civil Aviation, this straightforward museum has only one plane (ironically, a MiG-31 fighter jet), but contains a wealth of interesting displays charting to the history of aviation in Russia and the USSR. Among them are two fully reconstructed cockpits (of an IL14-M passenger jet and Yak-18A sports plane), a collection of black boxes, a huge range of airplane instruments, and a fascinating series of antique wall-hangings depicting Louis Bleriot's 1909 flight across the English Channel. The museum also contains separate displays devoted to key figures of Soviet aviation, and a large number of badges and flags from different airlines.