scan from the NK collection. - 16 years old in this picture, this Il-18 had just been converted for use as a cargo plane one year before, and the new colour scheme of LOT was applied. The aircraft was later used by Balkan as LZ-BEI and retired at Varna in the 90íes.

Getting away in style after a bulk-load freight run, the crew told me they'd recently taken the old girl as far as Montevideo! Stored at Varna 1997 onwards and broken up by 2000

LZ-BEI creates an impressive smoke trail while climbing out of runway 24. Ex LOT (SP-LSC), broken up in Bulgaria during the late 1990s.

LZ-BEI rotating on take-off from 24, nicely lit by a low, early-morning sun. This former LOT aircraft (ex SP-LSC) joined the Balkan fleet two years earlier, and was withdrawn from use in 1997. It was broken up in 1999-2000.