Are you curious to try out food cosmonauts eat? Are you dreaming of designing a plane? Or maybe you just want to be a mechanic for a day? It could all happen easily on April 12 – World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day and the place is the Museum of Aviation in the Bulgarian city of Burgas.

Entrance for the event is free and cosmonaut menu one can try includes a number of traditional Bulgarian dishes, coming in the form of powder, says Stanislav Ivanov, head of the museum. Aircraft workshop for visitors will also take place:

"Fans of aircraft design, together with members of the model aircraft club in Burgas, will be making airplanes together. There will also be an exhibition of flying models controlled by a thread.”

The museum is still very young, but enthusiasm of the people behind it has given it a strong boost to go forward. The museum was set up in 2017 at the initiative of Burgas citizens, veterans from Burgas Airport, the Burgas Municipality and Fraport Twin Star – the concessionaire of the Burgas Airport. The museum opened doors on the 70th anniversary of the first Bulgarian civil aviation flight between Sofia and Burgas. Currently there are 9 planes on display in the museum, which is the only place in Bulgaria where an An-12 aircraft can be seen. One can also see An-2 aircraft, as well as a training L-29 aircraft, MiG-17, Tu-154, and others.

"Tu-154 as the biggest aircraft on display is very interesting. It has three engines located at the rear end. It is about 11 meters high and is extremely beautiful with its vertical stabilizer. Its wings are arrow-like, similar to those of the MiG-21 combat aircraft. They are also elastic, giving extraordinary in-flight comfort."

The Aviation Museum in Burgas offers its visitors not only a look at an interesting exhibition. It provides a real opportunity for aviation enthusiasts to actively participate in the renovation of aircraft exhibits through donations. The site of the museum reads: "Be a pilot. Be a mechanic. Be a discoverer of new worlds." More from Stanislav:

"We opened in 2017 with the Homo Volans exposition, curated by Venelin Shurelov on the An-12 plane. It gave new life to aviation equipment through various interactive installations. Visitors can also sit in the cockpit, see the black box, or feel the effect of a powered airplane engine. It is also interesting to mention that in 2018 we started work on the Tu-154 restoration. At our initiative, we formed an aviation club to bring together people interested in aviation and willing to help in repairing these planes. The idea is to restore these planes with joint efforts.”

English: Alexander Markov