Deutsche Lufthansa Ilyushin IL-18 - DM-STA

With its official commissioning on March 28, 1960, the Ilyushin IL-18, registered DM-STA, was the first of a total of 16 aircraft of this type in the German Democratic Republic. It was operated by Deutsche Lufthansa (East) in blue livery and with the familiar crane logo. The four-engine, Soviet-made turboprop was the main aircraft model for many years and was used for flights within the Eastern Bloc, for example to Sofia or Moscow, but also on long-haul routes to Havana and Beijing. Due to legal disputes with Lufthansa in West Germany, which had also been revived at the same time, the East German Lufthansa was liquidated in 1963, and Interflug, the second airline in the GDR initially entrusted with charter flights, took over all employees, aircraft, and route rights, becoming the sole national airline from then on. DM-STA, later re-registered as DDR-STA, remained active until 1988. After its decommissioning, it was parked at Leipzig-Halle Airport. Initially part of the Aeropark, this had to make way for the expansion of the airport grounds. In 2012, the airport presented it as a restored exhibit, making the IL-18 accessible to the public again as an important part of aviation history.

A true-to-scale, miniature model for adult collectors.