Ceausescu's presidential plane donated to National Museum of Romanian Aviation

The first and only passenger plane built in Romania, ROMBAC 1-11, used for the official flights of late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and recently won at an Artmark auction, was donated to the National Museum of the Romanian Aviation on Wednesday. The collection piece was saved from scrapping by a true collector, a lover of technique, during the Elegance Auction on May 27. The lot was awarded for 120,000 euros. According to Artmark, the owner, American citizen Brian Hyndman, ceded the aircraft free of charge, in the form of a sponsorship contract, to the National Museum of the Romanian Aviation. In the act of donation, the successful bidder expresses his intention to preserve the historical piece, to join it with the iconic models that played an important role in the history of the world, giving the possibility to join the family of recognised technical values in the aeronautical industry. The plane was classified in the National Movable Cultural Heritage, treasure category. The handover event of the collection item took place on the platform of Henri Coanda International Airport, inside Base 90th Air Transport in the presence of representatives of the National Museum of the Romanian Aviation, members of the A10 Auction House by Artmark, and also of the judicial liquidator who managed ROMAVIA assets. The Super One-Eleven presidential plane, used for Nicolae Ceausescu's official flights, is in the top 10 best-selling public auction, art lots or collectibles in Romania in the first half of 2021. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)   Photo source: artmark.ro