Aircrafts, a spacecraft, a spacesuit, missile and bomb armaments… These are small part of all the exhibits that visitors of the Aviation Museum in Plovdiv can see. Displaying an exceptionally rich exhibition, it tells us about the development and the feats of Bulgaria’s aviation through the years. The collections of aircrafts, aviation engines, equipment and armaments, radiolocation technology, photographs, awards, uniforms, flags, scale models and space travel all contribute to this richness.

 

The museum was founded in 1991. It is located not far from the Plovdiv airport. Various aircrafts are placed outside over a big area. Among them are the world’s only preserved military hydroplane 196 A-3 “Akula” (“Shark”) as well as sport, military and passenger planes, fighter aircrafts and helicopters. A number of interesting exhibits are also displayed inside. In the section dedicated to space travel we can see first Bulgarian astronaut Georgi Ivanov’s original lander, parachute, spacesuit and helmet.

 

Bombs, shells, heat-seeking missiles, a plane’s black box and many other objects satisfy the interest of both old and young visitors of the Museum. To enjoy even further their encounter with aviation as well as to keep it in their memory, visitors can take a photograph of themselves in the cockpit of an authentic Mig 15 training fighter plane dating from the 50s of 20^th century.