On the morning of Saturday 29 June the weather had cleared, there were some fears the rain would last until the show was well underway but blue skies and high cumulus clouds kept everyone happy.
Not knowing what to expect the group arrived an hour before the gates opened only to see many local Bulgarians already. This low-key event attracted a good 20-25.000 visitors, a lot more than expected looking at the little promotion that was made for the show. After the gates opened everyone with camera bags was taken apart for an extensive search as large bags were not allowed officially but after the check everyone was underway. Graf Ignatievo has eleven preserved aircraft near the gate that could all be photographed and after a short walk, everyone arrived at the show grounds. The large tarmac had a small static of two AS532 Cougars, two MiG-21s in operational storage and two MiG-29s. All six aircraft were open to the public and photography was impossible for most of the day.
When the flying program started everyone had settled along the crowd line, which ran along the taxiway. An Mi-8 opened the flying program with a fly-by showing the Bulgarian flag after which the air force showed a capability demonstration of all its assets. A lone L-39 scouted the scene, possibly looking for a downed pilot. The first to come and help in the rescue of a pilot was a pair of Su-25s flying out of Bezmer. Multiple bombing runs were flown and some explosives on the ground were thrown in for special effects. After a few runs by a Bell 206 flying out of Krumovo, it was time for the Mi-24. Technical problems had grounded the fleet for a while but a single Mi-24 was back in action during the show. Just like the Su-25s, the Mi-24 attacked enemy positions and protected the Cougars which came in to drop a CSAR team and rescue the pilot.
The MiG-29s were called in towards the end of the demonstration to intercept a C-27J (arriving from Sofia) and force him to land. All landed and taxied back just in front of the crowd, resulting in some good photo opportunities.
After a short break, the show continued with some solo displays such as the PC-9 and L-39. The MiG-29s took centre stage again with a 1-on-1 dogfight. After the C-27 flew a nice demonstration it was time again for the helicopters flying out of Krumovo. The Mi-8 showed its capability to work with bambi-buckets and the Bell 206 flew a nice solo demo when the second Bell had broken down at Krumovo. Luckily the Mi-24 wasn’t broken down for the afternoon display and the big attack helicopter showed off close to the crowd line. The MiG-29 went up again as the last act of the day, this time for a solo display. For a small show like this, the crowds were well entertained for a few hours and after most of them had left, the group could finally spend the rest of the afternoon photographing the static display. Although the show officially closed at 3pm, we could stick around until the static display aircraft were clear of other visitors and were prepped to return to their hangars or back home to Krumovo. The Bulgarians gave plenty of time and opportunities for good photos, even using the boarding ladders of the MiG-29s to get a different viewpoint.
After we were kindly requested to leave the base after the last MiG was pulled away, the group headed back to Sofia feeling satisfied with the results.
The last night in Sofia would be just a short one because the flight home would leave at 7am already. At the airport, some military transports were seen and logged whilst waiting in the terminal and during taxiing and take-off, a last bonus to a successful trip to Bulgaria!
