Akmenė collector displays rare ANBO-4 wreckage in aviation collection

Vytautas Faberas, a 47-year-old aviation collector from Akmenė, has amassed a collection of Lithuanian aviation history that includes wreckage from Antanas Gustaitis’s ANBO-4 aircraft, LRT reports.

Faberas has collected aviation-related items for 16 years. His collection, ranging from interwar awards and original photographs to aircraft parts, now fills the Akmenė region museum. He has lived between Lithuania and Norway for the past 20 years, but illness has so far prevented him from returning to Lithuania permanently.

One of his most valued exhibits is the ANBO-4 wreckage. He found the first part unexpectedly while travelling from Norway.

“I was taking a ferry to Latvia with a friend. We saw an advertisement offering ANBO parts for sale. I called from the ferry and said I would like to buy several ANBO parts. They told me there was only one left. That same day, I travelled from Sweden to Latvia, drove to Akmenė and hurried to collect the part,” Faberas said.

Other ANBO-4 parts were later added to the collection. An acquaintance gave them to him on the condition that they would not leave Lithuania.

Over the years, Faberas has joined a close-knit circle of aviation collectors who notify one another about items for sale, exchange exhibits and help each other find sought-after pieces. He acknowledges that the hobby is expensive and highly absorbing.

“It is like an illness. I fell into the traps of collecting, and now I can neither step away nor stop. I can only continue pursuing the goal. Every exhibit is like a child,” he said.

Faberas began with a simple model aircraft. He now says he needs large premises to house the collection, which has led him to display part of it at the museum. Preparing the exhibition took only a week.

He said he also wanted to introduce more people to Lithuania’s aviation history, particularly younger people who know little about figures such as Antanas Gustaitis and Jurgis Dobkevičius.

Faberas hopes aviation in the Akmenė region will become more prominent. He dreams of a museum where visitors could see real gliders and aircraft. His German glider is already waiting to be restored, and he would like to establish a park featuring operational aircraft models.

Faberas estimates that he once spent about 85,000 euros on the collection. He no longer counts the expenses, but still finds it difficult to resist an interesting exhibit.

His cousin introduced him to collecting after Faberas saw a collection of items connected with the partisan movement. However, he had developed an interest in aviation much earlier while growing up near the Akmenė airfield, where aircraft and gliders regularly flew overhead.