Hey folks, I just spent the day at the Czech Airfest at Turany Airport here in Brno.
It wasn’t the biggest airshow I’ve ever been to, but what it lacked in size it more than made up for in content.
I got my first look at a lot of aircraft that I’d only ever known by photos in books or online until now.
Up close to Hinds, Flankers, Gripens, Mirages and several more.
The real surprize for me was the pair of F-16s and C-130 of the Israeli Airforce! To see them here was unexpected, I’d always understood that the Israeli military did not make it its business to participate in such things as airshows.
The Flanker flight display was jaw dropping as was the Hind show. The Gripen was another show stopper. One of my real favorites was the PZL W-3 Sokol helicopter, I didn’t get any shots of it, but that has to be just about the most acrobatic helicopter I’ve ever seen.
I also walked away with what could be the best reference you could get for a model build, in the static park there was a couple of L-39 Albatros trainers and one of them was an aircraft featured on the decal sheet of my Eduard Profipack L-39 kit I bought less than a week ago!
I hope to have the photos developed late this week or early next week and posted somewhere.
I’m jealous…[}:)] Unfortunately for me here in OKC the best airshow I have had this year is when I went and checked out the gate guards over at the airforce base. Please post pics as soon as possible!! glad you had such a good time. I have only got to see an SU-27 once about 11 years ago…and i guess i didn’t realize how rare it was to see them here in the U.S. I would give away some of my prized kits just to get some good up close pics of one now. Thanks in advance for the pics Upnorth,I for one will be looking forward to them!
As soon as I get them developed and find a decent scanner around here I’ll have them up.
Butz: I was only able to get one shot of the two seat Israeli F-16 as far as their aircraft were concerned, way too many people wandering around those particular aircraft aimlessly.
KJ200: I remember when the Canadian Armed Forces still had their Chinooks, I got a ride in one late in their service career. They were always a showstopper at airshows.
Even more surprising is one of the F-16s that participated in the 1981 attack on the Osirac Nuclear Reactor was in attendance (#243 -Flown by the late Col Ilan Ramon in that raid). The other Viper was a Flying Wing Squadron F-16B, #017.
Wishing I would’ve seen them in person,
Albert [:o)]
My pictures from the static display should turn out alright, but I had the sun right in my face for the flight displays, so there’s really no telling what they’ll be like.
Here’s a rundown of what was there:
Mi-24V Hind (Czech)
Mi-8 (Czech)
L-39 C and AZ Albatrosses (Czech)
L-159 ALCA Albatross (Czech)
MiG-21 MF (Czech)
Let 410 Turbolet (Czech)
SOKO Galeb (Yugoslav)
SOKO Orao (Yugoslav)
Antonov AN-24 (x2) (one Czech and one Yugoslav)
Ilyushin Il-76 (Ukraine)
Sukhoi SU-27 Flanker (Ukraine)
MiG-29 Fulcrum (Slovakia)
C-130 Hercules (x2) (one Israeli and one American)
F-16 (x6) (two Israeli, two Belgian and two American)
SAAB 39 Gripen (Sweden)
Pilatus PC-7 display team (Poland)
PZL W-3 Sokol (Czech)
Antonov AN-74 (Ukraine)
Mirage 2000N (x2) (France)
I probably missed a couple of things, but that gives you some idea of what was there.
I don’t mind the F-16, slick bird that it is, but I’d given up one pair of those F-16s in a minute if the space could be taken up by an SU-25 Frogfoot or SU-22 Fitter.
My girlfriend knows I like aircraft, but trying to explain to her why this airshow was so different to me than ones I had attended in Canada was a challenge. Eventually I got herto understand that while things like Hinds and MiGs were common stuff here, they were totally inaccessible to those of us wingnuts in the “West” before about a decade ago and the average aviation fan would trade in a dozen F-16, F-15 or F-18 performances to watch an SU-27 or Hind doing its thing just once.
Good for you (and us when we see the pics)
Its always so inspiring to see the real things.
If this was a poll ,I would want to see the IAF F-16s
and the gripen and the hind and the Mig-21 and the…
I pick up the pics tomorrow morning and start looking for a scanner at the internet cafes around here. Hopefully before the week is out I’ll be able to share some of the show with you.