Though international tourists rarely go out of their way to visit Santiago’s Museo Nacional Aeronautico y del Espacio (National Museum of Air and Space), the free attraction is well worth a visit for aviation buffs. Founded in 1944, the museum is now located at Los Cerrillos Airport (UCL, now closed), just southwest of Santiago proper.
The huge museum displays an amazing assortment of aircraft, including Chile’s first airplane; information about Chilean aviation pioneer Dagoberto Godoy, the first person to fly over the Andes to Argentina in December 1918; and a solid exhibit about the Línea Aérea Nacional de Chile (LAN), Latin America’s largest airline, founded by Air Force Commander Arturo Merino Benitez in 1929 as part of the postal service.
March 28, 2012
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