After spending a few days for a lads do in Bulgaria, we arrived at Burgas Airport ready to fly back to the UK. With plenty of time before our flight I popped over the road as ideally there is a small Aviation Museum right nest to the Airport.
Opened in 2017, consisting of nine exhibits, which were part of the airspace Bulgarian Civil Aviation "Balkan" including a TU-154 and AN-12. The purpose of Aviomusuem is to preserve the history of the establishment and development of Bulgarian Civil Aviation.
Originally I thought it was completed fenced and at the time we arrived it was closed, however right next to the small closed entrance building the small hedges had a massive gap, soooooo a quick wander around was available.
Anatov AN-12, LZ-BAB
Built in 1968 and registered into the Bulgarian Civil Air Force register, this aircraft visited some of the biggest European cities including Paris, Stockholm, Berlin, London and Dusseldorf. Used primarily for commercial activity with heavy cargo and mail. It was in operation until 1986. LZ-BAB is the only AN-12 left in Bulgaria.
L-29 nicknamed 'Delphin'
Used for training future jet pilots, put into service in 1963 and first arrived in Bulgaria in 1964. No 64 was used by the Gregori Benkovski higher military air school in the town of Dolna Mitropolia.
MIG-17-F
Mig 17-F Fresco, a front line fighter, factory number 1690, the most widely deployed aircraft during the Vietnam war. It was in storage at Gregori Benovski higher military school before moving to the museum.
Tupalev TU-154, LZ-BTU
Entered in the Civil Air Force registry of Bulgaria in 1981. The main activity it performed was the transportation of passengers and the first flight it took was to Manchester. from June 1992 to Jun 1994 it flew under a Macedonian flag and landed for the last time in October 1996 at Burgas.
MIG-21
39 Mig-21 PFM (Fishbed-F) 1964 model. A one seater variant for daytime combat in all weather conditions, previously in storage at the third Graf Igantivo Air Base.
Anatov AN-24, LZ-ANL
Produced in 1976 and used for similar commercial activities as the AN-12, delivering cargo and mail.
Mil Mi-2 Hoplite
One of the first helicopters registered in Bulgaria. The Mi-2 was first registered in 1973 and carried out its last flight in 1998 from Krumovo Air base.
Anatov AN-2P, LZ-1089
Manufactured in 1970 and delivered to Bulgaria in 1971 this aircraft was used for Aero chemical operations and cargo transport. It has one ASh-62IR piston engine from the Polish factory PZL.
Its last flight was in 1989 after 19 years serving in the Bulgarian Agricultural Aviation industry.
Why there is a bust of the Soviet Hero Yuri Gagarin is unknown. No information board was near and as the place was closed, there was no one to ask. If anyone can shed light on this as my googlefu has produced no further answers.
