A thick layer of haze above Seoul Airport in Seongnam, South Korea, made things look rather fuzzy for this year’s edition of ADEX 2015 (Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition). Flying displays for the official inauguration ceremony in the air had to be cancelled, and on the ground the prospects for some of South Korea’s ambitous military prospects were set straight.
PHANTOM PHESTIVAL! - The Hyakuri airshow 2015 , or „Air Festa“ if using the Japanese term, was celebrated on October, 25th. On the same day the JASDF also decided to hold airshows at the Gifu flight test centre and furthermore at Tsuiki on the Southern island of Kyushu. For the Japanese aviation photographers this meant traveling a lot, trying to catch if possible the display training at least once at each airfield and finally deciding on one airfield for the showday. The decision was not easy, but fortunately the weather on Sunday was great at every of these three airfields.
Already for some years the Dubai Airshow established itself as the major international airshow and the major aviation trade fair event in the Middle East. It also ranks easily on the same level amongst similar events worldwide, but remains a strong regional focus. Apart from seeing interesting aircraft, Dubai is of course also a nice and sunny place as a holiday destination in November - something that cannot be said necessarily of other places on the Northern hemisphere.
The bi-annual F-AIR COLOMBIA (Feria Aeronautica Internacional) airshow at Rionegro airport, which serves as the international hub for Medellin, is a great chance to catch up with Colombia’s current military aviation hardware. Though the city of Medellin might not be the first thing coming to ones mind when thinking about aviation photography, the Show itself provided a great chance to catch a lot of the hardware of the Fuerza Aérea Colombiana (FAC).
The NATO Days in Ostrava have risen to the biggest security show in Europe since its first issue in 2001 and nowadays regularly attracts an amazing number of 225.000 visitors over the week-end. These two days at the end of September are full of events and at the same time used to celebrate the Czech Air Force Days. NATO Days ostrava thus not only provide an extensive display of ground hardware, but also a great flying display, often combined with a ground show to demonstrate the the combination of air and ground power.
The Slovak International Air Fest SIAF 2015 is always an interesting airshow option. Combined with the Sliac-based 1st “Tiger” Squadron of the Slovak Air Force flying the MiG-29 Fulcrum the announced highlights for this year included the Romanian MiG-21 LanceR and the B-52 Stratofortress.
Original flying engines from the 1910s up to the latest military jets is something that only very few airshows worldwide can offer. Amongst them is the event of the Amicale Jean Baptiste Salis (AJBS) at La Ferté-Alais, which once again has proved this year in its 43rd edition that quality and quantity can be mixed really well.
Open days of the Luftwaffe in Germany do happen regularly, but events with a flying display are few and far between. To mark the 60th anniversary of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) and 25 years of united German armed forces, the “Tag der Bundeswehr” was celebrated on different locations all around Germany on June, 13th. Amongst them the WTD61 in Manching has been the only location to feature a flying display of jet aircraft.
The bi-annual Classic Fighters air show in Omaka, New Zealand is one of the best warbird events in the Southern Hemisphere and ranks very highly against any of the more well known and prestigious flying displays elsewhere in the world. This year marked the air show’s 8th edition, and it clearly has a promising future.
