Hatzerim Airbase
Hatzerim Israeli Air Force Base (, "Basis Heil HaAvir Hatzerim") is an air base of the Israeli Air Force in the Negev Desert on the west outskirts of Beersheba, near Kibbutz Hatzerim. The base was constructed during the early 1960s and declared operational on 3 October 1966. At Hatzerim is the Israeli Air Force Museum, which opened in 1977 and has allowed public access since June 1991. The IAF Flight Academy has been housed at Hatzerim since April 1966 and the IAF Aerobatic Team is located there as well. Every year, on Israeli independence day the base is opened  to the Israeli public to tour. History. Hatzerim Airbase was constructed during the early 1960s and declared operational on 3 October 1966. The base was built on the order of the Israeli Air Force Commander, Ezer Weizmann and was designed by the architect Yitzhak Moore. The first commander of the base was Yosef Alon. It was the first Air Force base built from the ground up, as a new base for the Israeli Air Force, and not on existed base areas of the Royal Air Force.