From the first attempts to fly with homemade wings back in the 19th century, to the world's first combat flights with reconnaissance and bombing purposes. From the first successful landing of an airplane with a stopped engine in history, to the world's sixth space force... Bulgarians definitely have something to be proud of when it comes to Bulgarian aviation. These famous moments from our history, along with curious facts and exhibits from different historical periods come to life in the Aviation Museum near Bulgaria's second biggest city Plovdiv. 

Visitors can view dozens of flying machines - airplanes, helicopters and aviation-related equipment. The green military hydroplane Arado - 196 A-3 "Shark" from 1938 is causing a real furore among connoisseurs.

Arado 196 A-3 Shark seaplane - the only one preserved in the world of this modification

This is the only preserved exhibit in the whole world, we learn from Rada Banyalieva, director of the aviation museum.

Airplane Georgi Bozhinov - the oldest preserved Bulgarian airplane built in 1926

Visitors also want to see Georgi Bozhinov's motor aircraft designed in 1912. Bozhinov even received an offer from the owner of the French aviation company "Sommer" - Roger Sommer for its serial production in France. However, he refused, willingly wanting his airplane to be built on Bulgarian soil. But this happened only in 1926. And during World War II, Bozhinov managed to hide his aircraft in a hangar outside Sofia and thus saved it from the bombings."

A special hall is dedicated to space research. But there is nothing surprising in this. Bulgaria has a globally recognized contribution to the development of space science as the sixth country to send an astronaut in outer space in 1979. "We are also the third country in the world to start producing space food after the USA and the USSR," says Rada Banyalieva, adding:

"In the "Space" hall, we present the achievements of Bulgarian space science, such as the creation of the so-called space freeze-dried food used by astronauts during flights. Beans, sausage, plum, peach, strawberry, yogurt, lyutenitsa... Almost everything we eat on Earth can be used in space. 

Capsule from the Soyuz-33 spacecraft, flown by Gen. Georgi Ivanov in 1979

Visitors can also see the Soyuz-33 landing capsule on display, with which the first Bulgarian astronaut Georgi Ivanov and his Russian colleague Rukavishnikov landed on earth.