Romania (2019)

As in the previous years we visited BIAS, the organisers were kind enough to grant our team access on Friday (23 August) to watch the arrivals and practice-runs for the show. The static show was fairly small this year, and the Romanian Air Force aircraft had already arrived. Nevertheless, some nice gems were still to be expected such as a Hungarian Gripen plus support An-26, a Serbian Galeb and two Portuguese F-16s. Besides that, the Romanian Air Force showed off all their capabilities with numerous fly-pasts, solo demonstrations and tactical demonstrations. Highlights were the F-16 tactical demonstration, the mass formation of IAR330 helicopters and of course the demonstrations of the old but loved MiG-21s. The Romanian Air Force still has two units flying the Lancers, and no decision has been taken yet when to retire them. After we were done at the show, we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the nightlife of Bucharest once again.

With our hotel conveniently positioned near the entrance of the show, it was only a short walk to the entrance on Saturday 24 August. We had access to the designated spotter’s area providing for the much needed shade during the day. The show was for the biggest part the same as the day before, but longer. Most performers showed their skills twice during the day that ended well after dark. When the light slowly faded, the aircraft performing started using flares resulting in very photogenic situations. No time to relax as the aircraft popped flares unexpectedly! Grand finale of the show was a C-27 flying over the show dispersing numerous flares, followed by a great fireworks display on the ground. Well after 21.00 we walked back to our hotel, very satisfied!

Sunday (25 August), our last day in Romania, showed us a wide array of preserved aircraft and Romanian aviation history. We started out at Clinceni, where the local flying club has a MiG-21 on display. Next stop was the Military Museum in Bucharest, showing  a number of types combined with other memorabilia. Bucharest is a modern city nowadays, but the large palace still reminds of other times. We made a short stop to take some pictures before we headed out to the main goal of the day: the large and very interesting aviation museum. Here, an overview of military aviation can be found with nearly every type once in the inventory on display. When everybody was done here, we drove to the airport for our flights back. We once again enjoyed our stay in Romania and will certainly be back next year!