At the end of September the author receives an invitation from the Bulgarian Air Force that is to fulfil a long-cherished wish: to photograph flying MiG-21s from the air. The occasion is a joint Bulgarian-Polish air policing training, for which Polish MiG-29s have deployed to Graf Ignatievo to train together with the MiG-29s, MiG-21s and Su-25s based there.
However, the journey on the day before the flight scheduled for October 7 turns out to be more than obstacle-ridden. At 5 a.m. I set off for Berlin-Tegel, and until shortly after 7 a.m. everything goes according to plan. I have reached the A115 into Berlin when the radio announces the horror news: city motorway A100 completely closed because construction work was not finished in time, kilometre-long traffic jam, diversion routes overloaded. And then the first mistake: I leave the motorway to reach the airport via Potsdam. At first traffic still flows, but then level crossings, traffic lights and city traffic slow progress. The second mistake: when the radio reports that the closure has been lifted and traffic is flowing again – albeit still with considerable congestion – I continue on my way. When I have crossed the centre of Potsdam, a good hour and a half remain until departure. But the B2 out of town is jammed and going into Berlin there is hardly any movement at all. Walking pace, the minutes tick away, confidence fades.
At last a bridge construction site is passed and traffic flows into the city on three lanes. Nevertheless the way to the city motorway seems endless. Finally the slip road is reached. Just under an hour to departure. Slow-moving traffic on the motorway, so it takes another 10 minutes until the airport access road finally comes into view. Here the third mistake: given the advanced time, I do not look at the departures board. The access road is partly closed, traffic crawls to the terminal at walking pace. Then the next shock: all car parks full, only five spaces left in P2. When I get there, the display shows "0 spaces free". After what feels like 100 attempts to get in anyway, the decision: first drive to the short-stay car park in the middle of the terminal and check in. So drive all the way round the entrance area and up the ramp to the car park. In the terminal the next bad news: the Bulgaria Air flight leaves from Terminal C, and that is a good few hundred metres from where I am. So run with the heavy travel bag. At the counter the clerk takes my ID, types something into the computer and then nothing happens. To my anxious question the answer is: "the flight is overbooked, but you will still get on". Only it again takes what feels like an eternity until I finally hold the ticket in my hand.
Half an hour to departure. Run back to the short-stay car park, pay the fee and another lap to car park P5, where nothing has changed about the overcrowding. A car drives in ahead of me, but for me the barrier stays stubbornly closed. Pressed the button what feels like a hundred times, and still the barrier stayed shut. Now despair sets in. Only 25 minutes to departure. At last the barrier opens. Car to the roadside right behind the barrier, camera bag and rucksack out – all in one movement. And then run again with the luggage. Breathless to security, where fortunately the queue is short. Annoyingly long rummaging through the luggage, but at least today no drug or explosives check of the camera equipment. On to passport control. Fortunately it is quick here, too. As I come through, my name is being called. Go to the gate immediately! Run again to boarding and then across the apron, because no bus is used for the short distance to the Bulgarian Embraer. Soaking wet, I sit down in my window seat in the last row 5 minutes before departure time and search my bags: the car key is gone! I ask the stewardess to check with airport staff, but it is too late to go back. I am to call the lost property office from Sofia. Never mind. I am on board. Still the worry that someone could steal my car with my key.
But then everything goes smoothly: the flight is on time, searching my luggage I find the car key, the drive to Plovdiv in the rental car is relaxed and quick. At Graf Ignatievo the sun is shining and aircraft are flying, even if that afternoon they are "only" Su-25s. The hotel room is quiet as requested, and the late-afternoon walk through Plovdiv takes place in summer temperatures.
The next morning a sizeable group of invited photographers has gathered at the gate of the base. From there we go straight to the aircraft, a C-27J that has just flown in from Sofia. The next three hours are devoted to preparation, after all the work of more than 15 photographers in an aircraft flying with the rear ramp open has to be organised. As not all participants can photograph at the same time, the group is divided into two halves that take turns. So: put on harnesses, divide into groups, find seating positions and above all practise changing positions.
Shortly after 11 a.m. we are finally off – the largely empty transport accelerates with tremendous force. However, patience is still required, as the aircraft will fly across Bulgaria as a target for more than an hour before there is finally to be an opportunity to take pictures.
When the rear ramp finally opens and the cold air rushes in with a loud roar, the tension is enormous. Will the MiG-21s really come? Will I be photographing at the right time to actually take a few nice MiG-21 pictures? Fortunately the right-hand row, in which I am sitting, goes first. But looking back, at first there is only a lot of sky to see. Then she appeared – the first MiG-21. But she is still very, very far away. Nevertheless I keep the camera on her and "fire continuously". Who knows whether she will come any closer at all. And somehow she does not. Then at last things start to move. The MiG-21 closes up more and more and finally fills the frame in my camera's viewfinder. An incredible elation rises in me: to see a MiG-21 flying for a really long time, not just shooting past. Again and again I lower the camera to enjoy the sight: a MiG-21 lit by the sun above the clouds, seemingly close enough to touch.
In the meantime the second MiG-21 has closed up, and I try to capture the pair in a good position. The picture before me is simply too beautiful. Then the two aircraft peel away. I get 114, flying directly behind us, well into the picture. 243, hidden by the tail of the C-27, suddenly shoots past in front of me, so I can only take a snapshot of it. A short time later both approach again, together with the Polish MiG-29s. But before the formation comes within photo range, it is time to change positions. Never mind, I have what I wanted and I am happy.
When 10 minutes later (the times seem completely unreal to me today, but they can of course be traced exactly from the time stamps of the image files) my group's turn comes again, I expect "only" MiG-29s. All the greater is the joy when 114 quickly closes up once more, positions itself behind us with airbrakes extended and stays there for quite a while before finally peeling away to fly back to "Graf". After that I am "spent". Relaxed and content I return to my seat. I only partly take in the following runs with Polish and Bulgarian MiG-29s, the Bulgarian MiG-29s alone and finally the Su-25s. The enthusiasm about experiencing the MiG-21 up close outshines everything.
Below are some picture impressions of an eventful day that was more than worth all the stress beforehand.
The author's thanks go to all members of the Bulgarian Air Force who made the flight possible, above all of course Major General Rumen Radev.