@ Budapest, Hungary
March 2022
On my fourth trip to Budapest I was finally able to visit the Aeropark museum located adjacent to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, although this photo was taken from the bus on my way to the airport. This is a very cool collection of Soviet-era airliners used by MALÉV Hungarian Airlines, the former flag carrier of Hungary (1946-2012). This Il-18 was delivered in 1964 and operated until 1988 when an engine fire ended her flying days. Afterwards she was sent to the Malév Training Center in June 1993, and eventually found her way to the museum in 2006. MALÉV operated eight of these turboprop airliners in their fleet. First flown in 1957, this aircraft was in production from 1957-1985 with 678 delivered and is one of the best known and most durable Soviet aircraft of its era. Some are still in service in North Korea.
