Up until the latter half of the 20th century, it was unthinkable to visit the Kingdom of Bhutan. Nestled deep on the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas, Bhutan only opened up itself in 1961 as HM King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck began laying down the path towards modernisation. It will take another 13 years, however, before the country welcomed its first foreign tourists. At the time, Bhutanese laws required foreign tourists to enter Bhutan only by air. Aviation arrived in Bhutan in 1968 when the Border Roads Organisation of India built an airfield in the Paro valley for use by chartered Indian Armed Forces helicopters in behalf of the Bhutanese government. Before the establishment of a flag carrier, fixed-wing aircraft operations at Paro were limited. In 1974, the first year of foreign tourism, Bhutan welcomed only 273 passengers by air. Drukair — Royal Bhutan Airlines was established through a royal decree, 40 years ago, on 5 April 1981. Paro Airport's 1,200-m runway and lack of navigational aids pushed the Bhutanese government to draft specific requirements on what aircraft types can operate there. The German-made Dornier 228 seemed to have met the strict criteria. Drukair required an 18-20 seat aircraft with short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities. It also must be able to complete a Kolkata - Paro - Kolkata roundtrip (1,200 km) without refuelling due to minimal infrastructure at Paro. Drukair received its first Do 228-201, D-IBOO (later A5-RGB), on 14 January 1983 under auspicious circumstances. The high lama of Rinpung Dzong predetermined the aircraft's exact time of landing, the number of passengers onboard, and the spot where the aircraft is to be parked. On 11 February 1983, Drukair inaugurated scheduled services with Flight KB101 headed for Kolkata and back the next day as KB102. A second Do 228, A5-RGC, was received in late 1983. The two Dorniers stayed in Drukair's fleet until November 1988 when those were replaced by a single BAe 146-100. (Wooden toy model crafted by Paulo Arcasitas/Message @sercheapy for commissions) #Drukair #RoyalBhutanAirlines #ParoAirport #Bhutan #Dornier #Do228 #modelairplane #airplanemodel #aviation #avgeek https://www.instagram.com/p/CNVrrkeh9Lp/?igshid=215r73z72hjn