Ferry_vO
Retired SOH Administrator
Near our national airport Schiphol (EHAM) there's a small s**thole called 'Aalsmeerderbrug' (Don't even try pronouncing that if you don't speak Dutch!) adjecent to the Schiphol business park which rally is nothing more than a few houses and two streets, yet I drive there a few times a year to do some shopping. Why? Because there you'll find this:
A collection of buildings next to the base of an old mill with what appears to be a Constellation wing tank on a pole outside. The sign reads 'Luchtvaart hobby shop'; their English name is Aviation mega store and inside is basically the walhalla for aviation enthusiasts!
On the left side of the entrance we find the toys, die-cast and plastic models from a variety of brands (The base of the mill houses nothing but Corgi models) and the center piece here is a C-47 cockpit:
To the right of the entrance is the Flightsim section, where you'll find the soft- and hardware. From a simple joystick to enough stuff to build your own cockpit. Here's an example of that:
The grey pillar in the center is a genuine Scud missile by the way.
Next to the FS stuff is the pilots' section, with headsets, flightcases and charts and the DVD section, and next to that are the books. Books about every possible aircraft in a lot of different languages (Almost 5,000 different books according to the website).
In the center of the book section is this:
A former Indian AF polish-built TS-11 Iskra trainer! Behind the books are six isles of plastic model kit aircraft, from brands like Revell, Tamiya, italeri, Hobbyboss, Trumpeter and Eduard, but also more obscure brands both injection moulded and resin. 44,000 different items at the moment!
Here's a look in one of the isles: Note some of the kits are stacked so high you'll need stairs to get to them!
Another aircraft inside is this 'eaglet' which hangs over the pilots' section and can be viewed from the top floor where you also get a cup of coffee.
It's a great place to spend an hour or so, but you do have to limit your purchases.....
And just in case you are looking for something or feel the need to spend some money: http://www.aviationmegastore.com/
A collection of buildings next to the base of an old mill with what appears to be a Constellation wing tank on a pole outside. The sign reads 'Luchtvaart hobby shop'; their English name is Aviation mega store and inside is basically the walhalla for aviation enthusiasts!
On the left side of the entrance we find the toys, die-cast and plastic models from a variety of brands (The base of the mill houses nothing but Corgi models) and the center piece here is a C-47 cockpit:
To the right of the entrance is the Flightsim section, where you'll find the soft- and hardware. From a simple joystick to enough stuff to build your own cockpit. Here's an example of that:
The grey pillar in the center is a genuine Scud missile by the way.
Next to the FS stuff is the pilots' section, with headsets, flightcases and charts and the DVD section, and next to that are the books. Books about every possible aircraft in a lot of different languages (Almost 5,000 different books according to the website).
In the center of the book section is this:
A former Indian AF polish-built TS-11 Iskra trainer! Behind the books are six isles of plastic model kit aircraft, from brands like Revell, Tamiya, italeri, Hobbyboss, Trumpeter and Eduard, but also more obscure brands both injection moulded and resin. 44,000 different items at the moment!
Here's a look in one of the isles: Note some of the kits are stacked so high you'll need stairs to get to them!
Another aircraft inside is this 'eaglet' which hangs over the pilots' section and can be viewed from the top floor where you also get a cup of coffee.
It's a great place to spend an hour or so, but you do have to limit your purchases.....
And just in case you are looking for something or feel the need to spend some money: http://www.aviationmegastore.com/
