Beneath the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering lies a hidden treasure: the Study Collection Basement. Long known as a behind-the-scenes resource for students, it is now being reimagined as an inspiring space where heritage, education, and innovation meet.
Thanks to a collaboration between the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, the Faculty of Architecture, and the Tailor-Made Programme for Faculty Collections of the TU Delft Library, the basement has been transformed into a museum-like environment. Here, students and visitors can engage with the objects not as distant relics, but as hands-on teaching tools that spark curiosity and deepen understanding.
A Place of Curiosity and Inspiration
The Study Collection Basement is more than a storage space; it is a living archive where the past and future of aerospace meet. It reflects TU Delft’s enduring role in shaping aviation and space exploration, while offering students a chance to learn through touch, experiment, and imagination.
In this basement, heritage is not frozen in time — it’s alive, interactive, and continually shaping the engineers of tomorrow.
A Living Laboratory
The collection is unique in the world of aerospace education. Instead of glass cases and “do not touch” signs, visitors are encouraged to pick up and study real aircraft components — from structural assemblies to propulsion elements. By handling these objects, students connect theory with practice, experiencing first-hand the engineering breakthroughs that shaped modern aviation.
The Education Wall – Student Innovation in Heritage Education
One of the most striking features of the renewed Study Collection Basement is the Education Wall, a project that embodies student-led innovation at the intersection of heritage and education. Its designer, Mette Rieter, first developed the concept during the Spaces of Display minor at the Faculty of Architecture — a programme that challenges students to rethink how collections and objects are presented. Building on her final presentation for the course, she was invited by project lead Cormac Duggan from the TU Delft Library to translate her ideas into a real and lasting contribution to the Study Collection.
The result is a wall that reimagines how aerospace heritage can be taught and experienced. Instead of conventional display cases, which tend to distance visitors from objects, the Education Wall actively invites handling and exploration. Objects are housed in cut-outs shaped to their exact profiles, so they can be picked up, studied, and returned with ease. This design not only brings structure and order to the collection but also creates a dynamic visual: empty silhouettes signal that the objects are being investigated elsewhere in the space.
The wall is stocked with carefully selected examples chosen by Director of Education Joris Melkert and Lecturer Calvin Rans, focusing on pieces with distinctive features or high teaching value. These range from ultra-thin aluminum sheets, such as a 0.8 mm sample, to unique composite components that illustrate the evolution of aircraft structures. Students can test their weight, thickness, and interactions, gaining a tactile understanding of concepts usually confined to textbooks.
By turning heritage into a hands-on learning tool, the Education Wall connects past and present: historic aerospace materials become a means to teach the engineers of tomorrow. It is a clear example of how student-led ideas can transform faculty collections into living, interactive educational spaces, bridging theory with practice and reimagining heritage as an active part of learning.
Stories of Collaboration
The collection also tells the story of Dutch aerospace. For much of the 20th century, TU Delft and the Fokker Aircraft Company worked hand in hand: Delft educated the engineers, NLR advanced the research, and Fokker built the aircraft. Many alumni went directly from the faculty to Fokker, shaping iconic aircraft such as the F27 Friendship and the F28 Fellowship.
From Structures to Space
Walking through the basement is like moving through decades of innovation. Displays on Aircraft Structures and Materials trace the evolution from steel frames and riveted panels to the advanced carbon composites of today.
The section on Wind Tunnels highlights TU Delft’s world-class testing facilities, used not only for aircraft but also for wind turbines, solar cars, and even lunar vehicles. Other vitrines showcase TU Delft’s pioneering role in space exploration, including models of satellites, microgravity research, and a Mars rover replica used in teaching.
Student Innovation
The basement also connects with TU Delft’s vibrant student teams. From DARE, the rocket engineering group that launched a world-record student rocket, to AeroDelft, developing hydrogen-powered aircraft, these teams continue the tradition of learning by doing — right alongside the heritage pieces that inspired earlier generations.
Icons of Aviation Heritage
Among the most treasured objects in the Study Collection are parts from legendary aircrafts that shaped the history of aviation. Highlights include a wing section of the de Havilland Mosquito, a fighter-bomber renowned for its wooden construction and speed; pieces of the P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt, aircrafts that helped secure Allied air superiority in the Second World War; and civil aviation classics such as the Douglas DC-3, the aircraft that revolutionized passenger travel.
These artifacts are not just historic relics but active teaching tools, linking today’s students with the long lineage of engineering ingenuity. They allow close study of materials, structures, and craftsmanship that defined different eras of flight, giving students a tangible sense of how engineering challenges were solved in the past.
Yet some objects in the collection are so rare and fragile that they require special protection. These are kept in the heritage vitrine — a secure display to be able to preserve them for the long term. Unlike the rest of the basement, which is open for hands-on interaction, the vitrine is locked to protect these unique items from mishandling and the elements.
The decision to place objects in the vitrine follows a careful process of heritage valuation. In 2024, the collection was systematically re-assessed by both TU Delft experts and external specialists in Dutch aviation history. Together, they determined which pieces carried the highest historical and cultural significance. This collaborative valuation ensured that each item was judged not only for its technical interest but also for its broader heritage value.
As project leader Cormac Duggan explains:
We’ve come across many masterpieces. There is, for example, a frame hoop from a Vickers Wellington WWII aircraft, which is a rare component that is seldom seen today. Or a rare section of a wooden wing from the de Havilland Mosquito. This object is fragile and of such rarity and significance that they must be protected in a closed vitrine.
Every object displayed here has been chosen with care, representing either an exceptional level of rarity or a defining moment in aerospace history. By locking these artifacts away, TU Delft ensures that future generations of students and researchers will still be able to learn from them. At the same time, the vitrine highlights the heritage dimension of the Study Collection — showing that this is not only a teaching resource but also a valuable part of the faculty's history.