Post by egka on Sept 11, 2016 22:21:04 GMT
A desire to go to a different country every year, led to the annual beach holiday this year being pushed out to Bulgaria.
Based an hour up the coast from the infamous Sunny beach allowed for a more peaceful holiday aswell as a bit of spotting sneaked in under the radar inbetween the all inclusive cocktails and food to keep the Mrs happy.
The OTT action was quite entertaining provided you havnt been to the UAE as most of the Qatar, Emirates, Etihad traffic heading west routes just north of here heading north west or south east (eg 39 different Emirates A380 noted in three days) plus the added attraction of some mid range liners from the same area (9 Qatar A320, 9 FlyDubaii 737, 3 Etihad A320, 2 Gulf Air A320 noted) plus the odd Air Mahon A340 and numerous Turkish scheduled and charter traffic headed south towards Istnbul, and long haul out of the main Italian hubs headed east like Cathay 777 and Thai 777, and some Ukraininan traffic headed down to Istanbul although a lot of it was just out of sight to the east.
Overall I logged over 260 different frames excluding the most common stuff in three days next to the pool thanks to Planeplotter and FR24 which was a pretty good return considering the distractions of the pool and free cocktails / beer and food on offer !
However, not satisfied with this i had also persuaded the other half that we needed to go out and see the country, so despite the advice from the rep that hiring a car was not the done thing i duly hired an automatic Renault Scenic and paid my 75 euros, and headed off into the unknown (after some homework at home on the internet).
The car arrived (141,000 on the clock) and i duly departed map in hand.
All reports i could find, (they are limited on the net), told me i was going to have to work hard to get a relatively few aircraft however the stuff you will see was going to be very rare, so with appropriately limited expectations I headed out with a pre-armed sat nav to get me to various preserved Migs (there are a lot of them !) and airfield information where available.
So first stop was Varna, where a few Bulgarian Md80/A320 and VP-BAQ A320 were noted (there are an awful lot of Russian holidaymakers go to the Black Sea)
Then on to Shimen for a preserved Mig 19 and following this to Omurtag for a stunningly displayed Mig21, Mig 19 and Mig23
Next an airfield Gorna Orjahovica where Fortuna Air are based but unfortunately nobody was about so had to settle for the three AN2 that were outside
followed by Dve Mogli where there were 4 complete An2's plus a fuselage of a 5th and the cockpit of a PZL101.
Strakievo has just one abandoned AN2 and is no longer active, on to Blgoevo where three were logged plus a glider under restoration.
By this time we had been out all day and were thinking of chucking in the towel for the day but decided to route via one more airfield Staroselishte and was pleased to find three more An2's on the field.
Returning via Varna made it possible to visit the maritime museum where a Mil4 and a kamov25t were noted.
Overall logged around 30, for a full days driving of around 500 miles........hard work but they do not appear anywhere else !
Next day was to be split to keep the Mrs happy with a trip to Nessebar which is one of the most popular tourist attractions for the area, however I had an idea to knock off a few of the other locations i wanted to do in the local area.
So, i was pleasantly surprised to fall over an An2 at the local go kart track in Sunny Beach, followed by the most stunning preserved Mig21 at Nessebar.
Following a few hours earning brownie points with the Mrs browsing the sites and shops of Nessebar and a swift lunch, the next challenge was to find a Mil2 at a hotel locally which was achieved and photographed as it had to be seen to be believed.
Next on to Bourgas where we had flown into on out Thomson 787 the previous Saturday, half a dozen LZ liners plus VQ-BBI 767 and 4K-78131 IL76 before going out to the Il14t preserved on the roundabout outside the terminal, and then over the car park to a compound of 'preserved' (more like abandoned !) aircraft ranging from a Tu154 and An2/12/14/24 aswell as a Mil, L29 and a couple of (you guessed it ) Migs.
Last stop was Slancev Brjag where the two residents a pipestrel and a CH701 were noted.
The following day i left the Mrs at the hotel and was up at 5am to do the 4 hour drive to Plovdiv.
Non stop drive to Chesnigrovo for a Mig23, then onto Plovdiv which was undoubtedly the highlight of the trip.
After logging the 4 abandoned LY- let 410's, plus LZ-KTC C177 and two Bulgarian Air Force jetrangers doing circuits and viewing the stored Mils form afar, it was into the museum.
Eventually found someone to take my money and almost embarrassingly paid my 5 lev (under £2.50) and tried to make a donation to the museum but got refused !
Plovdiv Museum is absolutely stunning with amongst others 27 various Mig versions, aswell as unique airframes like an Arado floatplane. Will not spoil it if you plan a trip but awesome doesnt do it justice.
Next tried Graf Ignetivo, where i was treated to the site of Mig29's departing although wasnt brave enough to risk getting to a spot where i could read anything off, so settled for the preserved Mig 19 (couldnt see any of the other preserved frames) and then onto Gorski Ivor where three kamovs and and the fuselage of CCCP-35531 An2 still in its Aeroflot colours was stored outside.
On to Stara Zagora where there was a Tractor exhibition underway, asked about aircraft being onsite and was told that there were not any nowadays, however i then drove away and managed to see LZ-1113 dismantled behind a building on site so not convinced there was something lost in the translation.
Next to Daskal Atansova where apart from a large pack of dogs were 4 unmarked ultralights plus G-MYPW Gemini, LZ-TMS Cavalon and an unidentified dismantled Kamov.
On to Kovachevo for the preserved mig15 and then last stop was Yambol for the military museum for a last couple of Migs, L29 and a Mil24.
Next day back to Bourgas to catch the thomson home, LZ-TBP Citation, LZ-FNA CJ, N369BX Lancair, D-EPCP Pa28, and on cargo were RA-76842 IL76 and UR-82007 An124.
Overall, a good holiday, Bulgarian roads leave a lot to be desired, with anything smaller then a motorway potentially ending up as a dirt track or potholed so much that it can take you three times the original sat nav guesstimate, but as long as you keep your wits about you and have your paperwork ready in case the police take a liking to you no real issues with fuel stations plentiful.
I did 1200 miles in three days and logged around 120, but when you come away with a log of 39 migs and 19 An2 and chuck in some rich pickings OTT if you havnt visited the UAE, its a very cheap holiday for some exotic and historic numbers to show for it.
People are friendly in general, but finding places that are open is often the challenge. Prices are seriously cheap, the cost of a large beer plus a glass of wine in a bar averaging around £3 and cigarettes between £2 and £3 a pack, a main meal £4 or £5 which all leads to a happy holiday.
Already planning a second go at the country maybe venturing even further afield next time !
Based an hour up the coast from the infamous Sunny beach allowed for a more peaceful holiday aswell as a bit of spotting sneaked in under the radar inbetween the all inclusive cocktails and food to keep the Mrs happy.
The OTT action was quite entertaining provided you havnt been to the UAE as most of the Qatar, Emirates, Etihad traffic heading west routes just north of here heading north west or south east (eg 39 different Emirates A380 noted in three days) plus the added attraction of some mid range liners from the same area (9 Qatar A320, 9 FlyDubaii 737, 3 Etihad A320, 2 Gulf Air A320 noted) plus the odd Air Mahon A340 and numerous Turkish scheduled and charter traffic headed south towards Istnbul, and long haul out of the main Italian hubs headed east like Cathay 777 and Thai 777, and some Ukraininan traffic headed down to Istanbul although a lot of it was just out of sight to the east.
Overall I logged over 260 different frames excluding the most common stuff in three days next to the pool thanks to Planeplotter and FR24 which was a pretty good return considering the distractions of the pool and free cocktails / beer and food on offer !
However, not satisfied with this i had also persuaded the other half that we needed to go out and see the country, so despite the advice from the rep that hiring a car was not the done thing i duly hired an automatic Renault Scenic and paid my 75 euros, and headed off into the unknown (after some homework at home on the internet).
The car arrived (141,000 on the clock) and i duly departed map in hand.
All reports i could find, (they are limited on the net), told me i was going to have to work hard to get a relatively few aircraft however the stuff you will see was going to be very rare, so with appropriately limited expectations I headed out with a pre-armed sat nav to get me to various preserved Migs (there are a lot of them !) and airfield information where available.
So first stop was Varna, where a few Bulgarian Md80/A320 and VP-BAQ A320 were noted (there are an awful lot of Russian holidaymakers go to the Black Sea)
Then on to Shimen for a preserved Mig 19 and following this to Omurtag for a stunningly displayed Mig21, Mig 19 and Mig23
Next an airfield Gorna Orjahovica where Fortuna Air are based but unfortunately nobody was about so had to settle for the three AN2 that were outside
followed by Dve Mogli where there were 4 complete An2's plus a fuselage of a 5th and the cockpit of a PZL101.
Strakievo has just one abandoned AN2 and is no longer active, on to Blgoevo where three were logged plus a glider under restoration.
By this time we had been out all day and were thinking of chucking in the towel for the day but decided to route via one more airfield Staroselishte and was pleased to find three more An2's on the field.
Returning via Varna made it possible to visit the maritime museum where a Mil4 and a kamov25t were noted.
Overall logged around 30, for a full days driving of around 500 miles........hard work but they do not appear anywhere else !
Next day was to be split to keep the Mrs happy with a trip to Nessebar which is one of the most popular tourist attractions for the area, however I had an idea to knock off a few of the other locations i wanted to do in the local area.
So, i was pleasantly surprised to fall over an An2 at the local go kart track in Sunny Beach, followed by the most stunning preserved Mig21 at Nessebar.
Following a few hours earning brownie points with the Mrs browsing the sites and shops of Nessebar and a swift lunch, the next challenge was to find a Mil2 at a hotel locally which was achieved and photographed as it had to be seen to be believed.
Next on to Bourgas where we had flown into on out Thomson 787 the previous Saturday, half a dozen LZ liners plus VQ-BBI 767 and 4K-78131 IL76 before going out to the Il14t preserved on the roundabout outside the terminal, and then over the car park to a compound of 'preserved' (more like abandoned !) aircraft ranging from a Tu154 and An2/12/14/24 aswell as a Mil, L29 and a couple of (you guessed it ) Migs.
Last stop was Slancev Brjag where the two residents a pipestrel and a CH701 were noted.
The following day i left the Mrs at the hotel and was up at 5am to do the 4 hour drive to Plovdiv.
Non stop drive to Chesnigrovo for a Mig23, then onto Plovdiv which was undoubtedly the highlight of the trip.
After logging the 4 abandoned LY- let 410's, plus LZ-KTC C177 and two Bulgarian Air Force jetrangers doing circuits and viewing the stored Mils form afar, it was into the museum.
Eventually found someone to take my money and almost embarrassingly paid my 5 lev (under £2.50) and tried to make a donation to the museum but got refused !
Plovdiv Museum is absolutely stunning with amongst others 27 various Mig versions, aswell as unique airframes like an Arado floatplane. Will not spoil it if you plan a trip but awesome doesnt do it justice.
Next tried Graf Ignetivo, where i was treated to the site of Mig29's departing although wasnt brave enough to risk getting to a spot where i could read anything off, so settled for the preserved Mig 19 (couldnt see any of the other preserved frames) and then onto Gorski Ivor where three kamovs and and the fuselage of CCCP-35531 An2 still in its Aeroflot colours was stored outside.
On to Stara Zagora where there was a Tractor exhibition underway, asked about aircraft being onsite and was told that there were not any nowadays, however i then drove away and managed to see LZ-1113 dismantled behind a building on site so not convinced there was something lost in the translation.
Next to Daskal Atansova where apart from a large pack of dogs were 4 unmarked ultralights plus G-MYPW Gemini, LZ-TMS Cavalon and an unidentified dismantled Kamov.
On to Kovachevo for the preserved mig15 and then last stop was Yambol for the military museum for a last couple of Migs, L29 and a Mil24.
Next day back to Bourgas to catch the thomson home, LZ-TBP Citation, LZ-FNA CJ, N369BX Lancair, D-EPCP Pa28, and on cargo were RA-76842 IL76 and UR-82007 An124.
Overall, a good holiday, Bulgarian roads leave a lot to be desired, with anything smaller then a motorway potentially ending up as a dirt track or potholed so much that it can take you three times the original sat nav guesstimate, but as long as you keep your wits about you and have your paperwork ready in case the police take a liking to you no real issues with fuel stations plentiful.
I did 1200 miles in three days and logged around 120, but when you come away with a log of 39 migs and 19 An2 and chuck in some rich pickings OTT if you havnt visited the UAE, its a very cheap holiday for some exotic and historic numbers to show for it.
People are friendly in general, but finding places that are open is often the challenge. Prices are seriously cheap, the cost of a large beer plus a glass of wine in a bar averaging around £3 and cigarettes between £2 and £3 a pack, a main meal £4 or £5 which all leads to a happy holiday.
Already planning a second go at the country maybe venturing even further afield next time !