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Text: |
Chakrit Samithinan |
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Pictures: |
Chakrit Samithinan & Saichol Krai-amat |
Heli Parade of the UAE Air Force (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Fursan Al Emarat & Airbus A380 from Emirates (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Every day, a flying display took place between 2 pm and 5 pm. Only on the opening day, the program started with a flypast of all UAE Airforce aircrafts and helicopters as well as the passenger jets of Emirates, Etihad and Fly-Dubai. Especially attractive was the flypast of a Emirates A-380 together with the Fursan Al Emarat Team with their 7 golden MB-339 jet-trainers discharging the now well-known streaks of thick coloured smoke. The opening day also witnessed a flypast by a B-1BLancer stationed at RAF Fairford in the UK. The flying program differed from day to day inasmuch as not all teams and solo aircrafts were able to display on the same day due to time constraints.
For this reason, all the teams and solo acts are here summarized: Frecce Tricolori with 9 instead of 10 aircrafts, Fursan Al Emarat with 7 MB-339, 1st August Team from China with six new J-10 C aircrafts, Sarang Helicopter Team from India with their HAL Dhruv helis and to everyone’s surprise the Russian Knights with their 6 Sukhoi Su-35 fighters. Among the solo performers were: USAF F-35A from Lakenheath for which the USAF especially brought the Demo Pilot of the United States F-35 Demo team, Kristen “Bea” Wolfe to Dubai who, after 4 years as US demo pilot, had her last performance in Dubai.
Fursan Al Emarat (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Fursan Al Emarat (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Fursan Al Emarat (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Fursan Al Emarat (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Fursan Al Emarat (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
UAE Airbus A-330-MRTT & UAE Mirage 2000AED (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
UAE Mirage 2000AED (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
UAE Mirage 2000AED (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
UAE Mirage 2000AED (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
UAE Mirage 2000AED & SAAB-Bombardier GlobalEye (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
UAE SAAB-Bombardier GlobalEye (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
UAE Calidus B-250 Bader (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
UAE Mc Donnell Douglas C-17A Globmaster (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
UAE General Dynamics F-16F Falcon (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
UAE General Dynamics F-16F Falcon (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Qatar Emiri Air Force Mc Donnell Doglas F-15QA "Ababil" (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
Qatar Emiri Air Force Mc Donnell Doglas F-15QA "Ababil" (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
Armée de l'Air Dassault Rafale C (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Armée de l'Air Dassault Rafale C (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
Armée de l'Air Dassault Rafale C (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Indian Air Force HAL Tejas (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Pakistani Air Force CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Pakistani Air Force CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Pakistani Air Force CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
F-16F from the UAE expertly flown by the pilot of the Pacific F-16 Demo Team from Japan, Mirage 2000 from UAE, Rafale from France piloted by the outgoing French demo PilotCapt. Bertrand “Bubu” Butin, Hongdu L-35 Falcon, the future mount of the UAE’s Fursan Al Emarat team piloted by a demo pilot from China, KAI KUH-1E Surion helicopter from South Korea as well as Bader B-250 advanced trainer built by Calidus of the UAE and ordered in a small quantity by the UAE Air Force. In addition, the JF-17A Thunder Block II from Pakistan and the HAL Tejas Light Attack aircraft from India squared off in the same meeting for the very first time. It was interesting to compare these two light attack fighters and in the writer’s opinion, the HAL Tejas trumped the JF-17 in view of the much more enthusiastic display delivered by the Indian Pilot.
Finally, one aircraft has to be particularly mentioned, i.e. the Boeing F-15QA which was especially developed for the Qatari Emiri Air Force. This new aircraft also forms the basis for the new F-15EX being developed in the USA. This Qatari aircraft was flown by the two experienced Boeing test pilots Jason “Mongoose” Dotter and Mike “Houdini” Quintini who delivered an astounding performance. The highlight was clearly a perfect tailslide similar to what the Sukhoi Su-35 demonstrates at airshows.
Boeing 777X-9 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Boeing 777X-9 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Boeing 777X-9 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Airbus A350-1000 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Airbus A350-1000 (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Italian Frecce Tricolori (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Italian Frecce Tricolori (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Italian Frecce Tricolori (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
Italian Frecce Tricolori (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Italian Frecce Tricolori (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Italian Frecce Tricolori (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
Martin F-35A Lighting II (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Martin F-35A Lighting II (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Martin F-35A Lighting II (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Martin F-35A Lighting II (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Martin F-35A Lighting II (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Rockwell B-1B Lancer (Picture courtesy Saichol Krai-amat)
Dhruv Sarang Team India (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Dhruv Sarang Team India (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Dhruv Sarang Team India (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Russian Knights (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Russian Knights (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Russian Knights (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Russian Knights (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Finally a few comments especially for photographers and press representatives: In view of the fact that the runway is quite far from the airport apron and exhibition hall, a larger zoom lens with at least 600 mm is essential if one wants to obtain good photos. Also, dust rising from the adjoining desert at times affects the clarity of the air which firstly makes focusing more difficult and secondly, it obstructs a clear view of the performing airplane. Between 4 and 5 pm, there will be strong yellow tones on the airplanes from the rapidly descending sun. Fortunately, the writer experienced clear air on the closing day which was due to rainfall in the morning. This then resulted in much improved photos.
There were special facilities in the main exhibition hall for press reps and photographers with ample computer connections. When it came to food and drinks, these were difficult to obtain as the quantities delivered to the press center were inadequate and water was in short supply, not ideal when coming back from three hours of taking pictures in the blazing sun. For example on the opening day, not a single drop of water could be obtained anywhere, not even against payment, following the flying display and it is recommended to carry one or two water bottles at all times.
Russian Knights (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Russian Knights (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
Russian Knights (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
1st August Team, China (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
1st August Team, China (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
1st August Team, China (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
1st August Team, China (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
1st August Team, China (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
1st August Team, China (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
1st August Team, China (Picture courtesy Chakrit Samithinan)
