One week of aviation photography can be easily spend around central Honshu, Japan‘s main island. This article focuses on a selection of major military airfields around Tokyo that are within the reach of a one-day drive.
The thundering noise of a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18C fighter jet astonished the visitors of the 2019 airshow at Omaka. That is no wonder, as fighter jets are a rare view in New Zealand since 2001, when the RNZAF disbanded its last A-4 Skyhawks. The secret star of the show, which focuses on propeller-driven aircraft, was however once again the FlugWerk FW190. It celebrated a new maiden flight after its landing accident four years ago. This warbird dominated a highly diverse flying program.
With thundering afterburners four F-35A Lightning II soar into the clear blue sky of the Negev desert. They are followed by another four F-15 "Baz" of the Israeli Air Force. The jets are the vanguard of the "Blue Force" and have to protect the territory of the "Falcon State". With a fight over water and other natural resources, it is threatened by the aggressive neighboring country "Nowhereland". This can become a realistic scenario in this part of the world and was certainly not chosen by chance as a theme for the high-value exercise "Blue Flag 2019" at Ovda Air Force Base in southern Israel.
The 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy also brought some highlights for the aviation enthusiast. Nearly two dozen Dakotas made their way from Duxford in England over the English Channel to the Caen region to drop parachutists over Northern France just as in the morning hours of 6 June 1944, and numerous L-Birds gathered at St. André de l’Eure, close to Evreux.
Swiss Tigers are facing their extinction! 110 have originally been ordered by the Swiss Air Force. Nowadays their number is down to only 27. Apart from the F/A-18 Hornets, the F-5s are the Swiss Air Forces only other jet type, and are today only flown by reserve pilots. With the referendum for a future jet fighter on the horizon, their near future is becoming even more uncertain. They are indeed a rare breed - time to go to stunning Meiringen airbase and catch them!
2019 saw the 19th edition of the Oldtimer Fliegertreffen Hahnweide. You may also call it a fly-in, a pilot meeting or a warbird airshow, and with around 400 participating aircraft it is arguably Germany’s biggest aviation event. It is an avgeek festival, and an aviation photographer’s challenge!
Radom Airshow 2018 had the Polish Air Force’s 100th anniversary as a main theme. Concluding from past events the expectations were very high, and the event attracted highlights such as the Ukrainian Suchoi Su-27 Flanker…Read More
This open doors day at Payerne AF Base, located near Bern, was originally meant as a celebration day for young recruits of the Swiss AF, who officially got their promotion that day. For the parents…Read More
After the first edition of the American Air Day in Duxford in 2007 the event was celebrated once again this year to remember the historic links between the US Air Force and Duxford.It was supported…Read More
The “Air Power over Hampton Roads” airshow at the Joint Base Langley-Eustis was held on 19-20 May, 2018. It is one of the rare chances to visit an airshow at a base being home of…Read More
Doing air-air with classic aircraft from the 1930s is always a pleasure, even more so if it is an immaculately restored Bücker Bü 133 Jungmeister on a nice autumn Sunday morning. The Jungmeister D-EMKP “LG+07”…Read More
The big news on the German Warbird scene in 2009 was the arrival on one of the rare airworthy Polikarpov I-16 "Ishak". It reflects the pleasant trend to operate an ever growing number of historic…Read More
The DG Flugzeugbau DG-800S is a high performance single-seat glider with an impressive wingspan of 18m and a maximum glide ratio of 51,5 with winglets installed. As for comparable gliders it becomes obvious from a…Read More
On a very nice summer day in 2006 I had the opportunity to have a nice photoflight with the Piper Cub D-EJGI.After a long day of work getting up in the air was a very…Read More