Military Aircraft: airshows, operational, whatever, lets see what you have!

[rfdesigner]

Winter is quite depressing, no airshows over here.. A couple of weeks ago I heard jets flying above my job but I did'nt bother to go out and take a look. That was a bad idea I realized later, it was SAAB 37 Viggens 50:th anniversary so there was a short display over Linköping with a 37 Viggen together with two 39 Gripen... I'd have to be better prepared next time Wish I knew when Gripen E 39-8 is about to do its first flight :
Anyway, here are a few shots from Nyköping/Skavsta September 2016; Johan Gustavsson doing aerobatics with his civil glider.. with lots of smoke

jealous!!!!!

I flew gliders a bit at Uni... awesome experience.

lovely shots... and nice weather too.

 

[Erik X]

jealous!!!!!

I flew gliders a bit at Uni... awesome experience.

I know how you feel, once I was in love with a LS-3 15m glider.. It was not considered as a stellar performer, the other pilots in the flying club preferred the other planes which ment that I could usually stay in the air all day playing in the clouds and looking at the view.. Left hand on the flap control (it was like playing a trombone someone said), right hand on the stick.. The sky was the limit 8)
Towing was also fun, we had a Piper PA-25 Pawnee stripped from all spraying equipment so it flew like a rocket, 4.5m/s climb towing a one-seater, once centered in a 5m/s thermal we made almost 10m/s climb. 1000m altitude gain in 100 seconds The glider pilots started complaining if you wasted time on not coming down as quickly as possible (they payed towing per minute..). Effective and fun flying in other words

Johan on short final with gear and airbrakes deployed, sideslipping (check rudder position) to get down as quickly as possible

 

[Erik X]

De Havilland DH.114 Heron. A British beauty First flight 1950, 150 built. Mostly used as civil passenger aircraft but also as military transport aircraft in several countries. This individual is modernized with Lycoming IO-540 (I guess) boxer engines instead of the original Gipsy Queen engines. F11 flygdag, Nyköping-Skavsta airport Sept 2016

 

[Click]

I especially like the second shot. Well done, Erik.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Erik.
Very nice shots of a beautiful plane, I guess there are good reasons for modernising, but it does slightly spoil her classic lines.
However the installation does not look out of place and certainly gives nice clean modern lines showing that the basic original design endures well, and the original engine nacelles do definitely date the plane.

Cheers, Graham.

De Havilland DH.114 Heron. A British beauty First flight 1950, 150 built. Mostly used as civil passenger aircraft but also as military transport aircraft in several countries. This individual is modernized with Lycoming IO-540 (I guess) boxer engines instead of the original Gipsy Queen engines. F11 flygdag, Nyköping-Skavsta airport Sept 2016

 

[Erik X]

Thanks Click and Graham

.. but it does slightly spoil her classic lines.

Yes that was the first thing that came to my mind, why not design motor cowlings that matches the rest of the plane? But probably they have taken the complete engine nacelles from Piper Navajo or something similar to make certification easier. You have to compromise to keep 60-year old vintage planes flying.. keep in mind that this one is still used for commercial flying.
By the way, is it a good idea to post pictures of an aircraft wreck that was salvaged from the seafloor after 50 years.. there is a creepy cold-war story behind it

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Erik.
I'm guessing if it is being recovered it is going to be preserved and displayed, if it is not the final resting place of the crew I see absolutely no reason not to photograph it, if however it is the final resting place of the crew then there should be good reasons for both recovering it and photographing it. If you can rationalise the reasons then if you are comfortable post the shots.

Cheers, Graham.

Thanks Click and Graham

.. but it does slightly spoil her classic lines.

Yes that was the first thing that came to my mind, why not design motor cowlings that matches the rest of the plane? But probably they have taken the complete engine nacelles from Piper Navajo or something similar to make certification easier. You have to compromise to keep 60-year old vintage planes flying.. keep in mind that this one is still used for commercial flying.
By the way, is it a good idea to post pictures of an aircraft wreck that was salvaged from the seafloor after 50 years.. there is a creepy cold-war story behind it

 

[Erik X]

Alright, here we go..
In June 1952, a Swedish DC-3 signal intelligence aircraft with a crew of eight disappeared over the Baltic Sea while monitoring a Soviet naval excercise. One of the two Catalinas searching for the lost plane was shot down by Soviet aircraft three days later. The Catalina crew managed to make an emergency landing and was rescued. The event triggered a diplomatic crisis, years later Nikita Khrushchev confirmed that the DC-3 had been shot down.
In 2003, the DC-3 was found and salvaged and is now on display in Flygvapenmuseum Linköping. The airframe is kept in a climate-controlled glass showcase to prevent corrosion. There are also personal belongings, radios, maps and other equipment on display, amazingly intact after 50 years on the seafloor. The DC-3 was equipped with a top secret radio receiver which allowed monitoring of the new Soviet attack radar working at 10GHz. There has been speculation that this might have been one reason the plane was shot down.

Full story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_affair
http://www.nyteknik.se/fordon/span-style-color-red-tv-span-de-avslojade-hemlig-radar-6418293
http://www.flygvapenmuseum.se/utstallningar/hemliga-handlingar-dc-3an-som-forsvann/
Flygvapenmuseum has a fine collection of aircrafts from 1910 to present, it is well worth a visit if you happen to be around..

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Erik.
A very interesting story and worthy of remembrance lest we forget how tenuous our peace is even at the best of times. Thank you for sharing.

Cheers, Graham.

Alright, here we go..
In June 1952, a Swedish DC-3 signal intelligence aircraft with a crew of eight disappeared over the Baltic Sea while monitoring a Soviet naval excercise. One of the two Catalinas searching for the lost plane was shot down by Soviet aircraft three days later. The Catalina crew managed to make an emergency landing and was rescued. The event triggered a diplomatic crisis, years later Nikita Khrushchev confirmed that the DC-3 had been shot down.
In 2003, the DC-3 was found and salvaged and is now on display in Flygvapenmuseum Linköping. The airframe is kept in a climate-controlled glass showcase to prevent corrosion. There are also personal belongings, radios, maps and other equipment on display, amazingly intact after 50 years on the seafloor. The DC-3 was equipped with a top secret radio receiver which allowed monitoring of the new Soviet attack radar working at 10GHz. There has been speculation that this might have been one reason the plane was shot down.

Full story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalina_affair
http://www.nyteknik.se/fordon/span-style-color-red-tv-span-de-avslojade-hemlig-radar-6418293
http://www.flygvapenmuseum.se/utstallningar/hemliga-handlingar-dc-3an-som-forsvann/
Flygvapenmuseum has a fine collection of aircrafts from 1910 to present, it is well worth a visit if you happen to be around..

 

[1251division]

A few shots from this week: R-2508 Complex

Training

Traverse

RTB

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi 1251division.
Nice series of shots, I really like the ambiance of the last shot, good call on the title, I think that the right title can really add to the picture.

Cheers, Graham.

A few shots from this week: R-2508 Complex

 

[Click]

A few shots from this week: R-2508 Complex

Very nice pictures. Well done.

 

[1251division]

Very nice pictures. Well done.

Hi 1251division.
Nice series of shots, I really like the ambiance of the last shot, good call on the title, I think that the right title can really add to the picture.

Cheers, Graham.

Thank you guys very much, I appreciate it. Most of the time we're out at the low level areas we are looking for those tight shots, but I always try to grab what I can in the distance to capture the place and come back with something different as well.

 

[Roo]

A few shots from this week: R-2508 Complex

great shots - really love the T-6 Texan 2 shot

 

[1251division]

Here are some of the others, one of which was a very special catch:







VFC-12 Aggressor

 

[Roo]

Here are some of the others, one of which was a very special catch:

Nice ones of the Superbug and Viper but the bug in aggressor camo is a rare bird.

 

[Roo]

A couple 5th gen fighters from airshow at Avalon at the weekend

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Roo.
Nice shots but wow, that second shot is fantastic, is that a rainbow through the vapour? I would guess you have to be in pretty much the perfect position to see that?

Cheers, Graham.

A couple 5th gen fighters from airshow at Avalon at the weekend

 

[Roo]

Hi Roo.
Nice shots but wow, that second shot is fantastic, is that a rainbow through the vapour? I would guess you have to be in pretty much the perfect position to see that?

Cheers, Graham.

A couple 5th gen fighters from airshow at Avalon at the weekend

Thanks Graham! The F-22 was really making it's own stealth cloud ;D Usually at Avalon the backlighting causes a lot of difficulty but the vapour rainbows were really clear to see through the viewfinder so I knew it was something I could exploit.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi 1251division.
Nice shots, is that one in camo wearing "Soviet" red stars or do they have alternative significance in that application.

Cheers, Graham.

Here are some of the others, one of which was a very special catch: