The two Swiss prototypes
N-20 and P-16: home-built fighters that never entered service.
Sandstein — Public domain · Ank Kumar — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ank Kumar — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ank Kumar — CC BY-SA 4.0
If aviation is your interest, or you are with a teenager who loves aircraft: yes — half an hour each way and CHF 15 for a serious, unusual collection, above all the Swiss prototypes you will not see elsewhere. On a short first visit to Zurich, no: the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne covers aviation inside a far broader museum, and central Zurich has better claims on two of your hours.
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The museum of the Swiss Air Force, opened in 1978 on the grounds of the military airfield at **Dübendorf** east of Zurich. It shows more than forty aircraft and helicopters arranged chronologically from the pioneers to the end of the Cold War, alongside radars, anti-aircraft systems and aero engines dating back to 1910. Its location is half the story: Dübendorf was **Zurich's civil airport** before Kloten existed — the first Swiss commercial services flew from here in the 1920s, and Swissair used it until civil traffic moved to Kloten in 1948 and the field went purely military. Among the exhibits are a Messerschmitt Me 109, a P-51 Mustang, a Mirage III, and two Swiss designs that never entered service: the N-20 Aiguillon and the FFA P-16 — evidence of a small country's attempt to build its own fighters, and of its retreat from the idea. Be honest with yourself about it: this is a specialist technical museum for people who like aircraft, not a general sight. Do not expect comprehensive English labelling, the hours are short and mostly afternoons, and it closes on Mondays. But it is fully indoors and has flight simulators, which makes it one of the better wet-day options with a teenager who loves aviation.
N-20 and P-16: home-built fighters that never entered service.
A Messerschmitt Me 109, a P-51 Mustang and a Mirage III under one roof.
An indoor hands-on element that rescues a rainy day with teenagers.
Überlandstrasse 271, 8600 Dübendorf