The Clin d’Aile Musée de l’Aviation Militaire de Payerne (Clin d’Aile Military Aviation Museum) is located at the Payerne Air Base in Switzerland, one of the country’s most important military aviation hubs. This museum is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the history of Swiss military aviation, offering a fascinating insight into the evolution of aerial defense.
Clin d’Aile Musée de l’Aviation Militaire de Payerne
Base Aerienne
1530 Payerne
+41 26 662 212
November – March
- Wednesday and Saturday 13:30 – 17:00
April – June / September – October
- Tuesday – Sunday 13:30 – 17:00
July – August
- Monday – Saturday 13:30 – 17:00
Clossed Every Monday, week 1 and week 52, Easter Sunday, Ascension Day, Pentecost
Admission fee
Gift shop
Aircraft collection
| U-1271
HB-RDF/J-2012 J-2301 J-2312 R-2117 R-2118 J-1156 J-1157 U-1211 J-1584 J-4003 J-4023 J-4078 HB-RVW/J-4203 J-3057 A-908 V-43 V-205 V-282 | BAe Hawk Mk.51
Dassault Mirage 3DS Dassault Mirage 3S Dassault Mirage 3S (cockpit) Dassault Mirage 3RS Dassault Mirage 3RS De Havilland Vampire FB.6 De Havilland Vampire FB.6 De Havilland Vampire T.55 De Havilland Venom FB.50 Hawker Hunter F.58 Hawker Hunter F.58 Hawker Hunter F.58 Hawker Hunter T Mk.68 Northrop F-5E Tiger II Pilatus PC-7 Sud Aviation SA313B Alouette 2 Sud Aviation SA3160 Alouette 3 Sud Aviation SA3160 Alouette 3 |
The Clin d’Aile Musée de l’Aviation Militaire de Payerne, displays a collection of Swiss military aviation from the second half of the 20th century. From Vampire to Venom and Hunter to Mirage III, these beautiful and powerful machines express in equal measure the rapid progress made in aerodynamics, construction materials and weapon systems. The exhibition consists of ten aircraft and two helicopters as well as simulators, engines, weapons and ejection seats.
The J-2012 is the only Mirage III in the world to fly as a historic aircraft with a civil registration (HB-RDF). It is maintained, repaired and operated by the Espace Passion association. The aircraft was part of a second series of two-seaters procured by the Air Force. The first series of four two-seaters was designated Mirage III BS, while the two retrofitted two-seaters J-2011 and J-2012 were designated Mirage III DS. The J-2012 aircraft flew from Buochs to Payerne for the last time in December 2004 in the service of the Air Force and was handed over to the Museum’s Foundation in 2005.
The Musée de l’Aviation Militaire de Payerne, Clin d’Ailes, has a number of interesting simulators for former military aircraft. Some of them are still in working order. In addition, you will also find modern simulators for virtual flight, some of them with faithfully modelled historical aircraft, such as D 3800 Morane or DH-100 Vampire. The pearl of the exhibition is certainly the original flight simulator of the Mirage III S (SIMIR), which was put into service in Payerne in 1967. In 2000, after almost 62’000 hours and over 36’000 simulator exercises, SIMIR was decommissioned and handed over to the museum. This was a successful attempt to make SIMIR operational again. Since 2004 the SIMIR can be seen on order and on special occasions in action. Since 2008 it is also used as training equipment for the pilot of the Mirage III DS J-2012/HB-RDF.
Photos Rob Vogelaar