Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany

Just when I thought, “Okay, this has to be the real end of summer,” Germany hits us with a beautiful weekend in September. So, on a whim, I took a little road trip—about two hours from home—to a private aviation museum. Surprisingly, my wife said she wanted to come too, so we made it a mini getaway and did some sightseeing around the Mosel region as well. Thanks to that, I actually got some nice pics in front of different aircraft this time!

Anyway—let me introduce you to a place basically no many foreigner has ever heard of: the Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum, aka Flugausstellung Peter Junior. It’s tucked away in western Germany, right before you hit Luxembourg, and yeah… it’s in the middle of nowhere with zero public transport access.
👉 https://www.flugausstellung.de/

Most of the jets, helicopters, and transport planes are just sitting outside, exposed to the elements—you can even spot them clearly on Google Maps.
https://www.google.de/maps/place/Flugausstellung+P.+Junior/@49.6857348,6.9598426,429m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m12!1m6!3m5!1s0x0:0x6c40fbfe9be3de8f!2sFlugausstellung+P.+Junior!8m2!3d49.685328!4d6.960397!3m4!1s0x0:0x6c40fbfe9be3de8f!8m2!3d49.685328!4d6.960397

Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany — It’s like this—just a huge open grassy field with planes and helicopters lined up in the rain, totally out in the open. Some have fences around them… and some don’t.

They’re doing their best with maintenance and repainting, but honestly, they can’t quite keep up—lots of the planes have faded paint, and the acrylic canopies are yellowed and full of cracks. Still, being able to get up close—sometimes with no barriers at all—is awesome. They’ve got a whole lineup of Russian jets from the MiG-15 to MiG-23. Sure, these were sold all over the world, but it’s still pretty rare to see so many of them in one place, especially in the West. It’s also impressive to see almost the full Century Series from the U.S. all together here in Europe. For me, the real treat was seeing the SAAB Viggen and Draken—two of my all-time faves. There aren’t many WWII planes, but inside, they’ve got a ton of old instrument panels, gauges, and gun sights displayed in glass cases—which I found super interesting. Can’t believe this place is privately run! The outdoor exhibits are cool, but even the indoor areas are bright and easy to take photos in.

Oh, and the Concorde parked near the entrance? It’s a replica, and the inside’s been turned into a café. After walking around for a while, we were both pretty wiped, so we stopped there for a break. Then I wanted to do another lap, so my wife chilled on a bench reading a book she brought—she totally gets it. Her final verdict?
“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was a cheap way to spend half a day—only 10 euros. And you’ve been walking nonstop, climbing stairs, crawling under stuff—it’s actually good exercise. Plus, I’ve never seen you smile so much when I point a camera at you. So yeah, I guess it’s a pretty decent hobby. I’m not coming with you next time, though.”

Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany, F-104G, F-100, De havilland Venom and some others — They’ve got so many F-104s it’s like, “Eh, we’ve got extras—let’s just stick one on the wall or something.” Thanks to that, you can really get up close and feel how insanely sharp those leading edges are. One cool thing about this museum? There aren’t really any “Do Not Touch” signs anywhere. Of course we shouldn’t do so much, though.

Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany, Messerschmidt corner showing KR200 and Me108 — It’s a Messerschmitt exhibit!
A bit shame that it’s the Bf 108 Taifun and not the iconic Bf 109, though.

Ju52 in Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany. — You can climb up and actually touch the Ju 52’s corrugated skin—yep, give it a nice little pat. The boarding stairs are hanging from above and wobble like crazy, though… kinda sketchy and a bit scary!

Fairey Gannet AEW in Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany — The Fairey Gannet AEW—rockin’ that massive belly radome like it’s in its final month of pregnancy. It’s missing the usual lumps and bumps on its back, so it doesn’t *quite* look right… but honestly, it’s leaning even harder into its title as the world’s ugliest plane. And I mean that in the best way—so awkward-looking it’s actually awesome. I love it.

Lightning Jet fighter in Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany — Here’s another one with fat belly vibe—yep, the Lightning!

Swedish fighter Draken in Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany — The Draken’s got such a unique planform—I really wanna get a top-down shot of it… Wish they’d just build a little photo platform right in the middle of the outdoor display area or something!

Viggen in Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany — Totally love the Viggen. I wish it had that cool green checkerboard paint job, though. Those beefy landing gears with double tires? Super badass.

Old Russian Jet Fighters in Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany, Mig21, Mig23, Su-22 — They’ve got an insane collection of Russian jets here—like, seriously impressive. I spotted multiple MiG-21s. The fences are a bit far back, though, and the canopies are all degraded into solid white, so you can’t see inside.

Heinkel He111 in Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany — There are only a few, but they do have some WWII planes too. The only Luftwaffe one is a Heinkel He 111H.

Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany, F+W C-3605 and Aero L-39 Albatros — Hanging right in the middle is the F+W C-3605 — its long nose looks super cool, which really surprised me, but turns out it was just a Swiss military target tug with no weapons.
And that sleek jet with the long nose down on the bottom left? That’s a Czech trainer plane, the Aero L-39 Albatros.

Inside view of Cafe in the Concorde Replica in Hermeskeil Aircraft Museum in Germany — Oh wow, a Concorde! But looking closer, it’s just a replica. Still, why do Germans wanna go through the trouble of building a Concorde replica and putting it here? Mystery! Inside, it’s just a totally normal café. Maybe they serve snacks too? The whole visit costs only 10 euros, and the cake slices are huge—pretty good deal!

I took tons of photos, so if you’re interested, check out the gallery at the link below!