NATO Day 15.09.2018

[upnorth]

Hello all,

This past weekend saw me in Ostrava for the 2018 edition of the annual NATO Days show.

 

The weather was quite changeable and photography was a challenge.

 

That said, here's a taste of what was on hand:

 

Starting with the "home team": 

 

The Czech air force Airbus A319 and a pair of Saab Gripens were part of the show opening flypast:

 

This Let L-410FG Turbolet went up early to take aerial pictures of the event:

 

OK-UTI is a two seat MiG-15 that currently flies on the Czech civil register:

 

The Enstrom 480 is still a very new type in Czech service, the first having been taken on in spring of 2018:

 

A few shots of a German navy Westland Lynx and its nose art:

 

Also courtesy of the German navy was this Westland Sea King:

 

The German army brought this EC-135:

 

The slovakian contingent included a MiG-29 Fulcrum, UH-60 Blackhawk and a Fokker 100:

 

As with most modern airshows, the F-16 is a staple of both static and dynamic aspects. This year, Vipers were brought in from Denmark, Poland, Belgium, Netherlands and USA. Here are Vipers of the latter three respectively:

 

A Saab Gripen in from Hungary:

 

The first, and possibly last, appearance of a Norwegian Dassault DA-20 Falcon at NATO Days. The type is slated for retirement for Norwegian service in the near future:

 

One of two AH-64 Apache helicopters in the statics:

 

A Pilatus PC-9 from Slovenia:

 

An Austrian Pilatus PC-7 with a cargo pod full of patches and other goodies:

 

One of two Aero L-39 Albatros trainers brought in from Lithuania:

 

A Belgian air force C-130 Hercules with special markings to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 15th Air Transport Wing:

 

An early participant in the flying program was this OV-10 Bronco which dropped 200,000 poppies over the crowd in respect for veterans:

 

The Finnish air force F-18 Hornet shooting off a few flares:

 

The Swedish Air Force Historic Flight's Saab 32 Lansen comes in to land:

 

The Croatian air force Krila Oluje (Wings of the Storm) were one of two aerobatic teams to perform at this year's show:

Edited September 17, 2018 by upnorth

[modelling minion]

Really good photos of what looks like a great event.

Especially good to see the Minion nose art on the German Lynx, used to overhaul the engines for them and the Sea king.

[whiskey]

Haha, love the minions!

[exdraken]

Thanks for showing!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Minion noseart was great to see ! 👍 

[Jinxman]

Thanks for sharing these - it is good to see the lighting and weather in Ostrava is still a challenge!

 

Looking forward to seeing more of the Lansen..

[upnorth]

51 minutes ago, Jinxman said:

Thanks for sharing these - it is good to see the lighting and weather in Ostrava is still a challenge!

 

Looking forward to seeing more of the Lansen..

 

Ostrava is something of an odd set up for photography.

 

With the display line running perpendicular to the runway, you can get some good lighting as the sun is off to the left. This does, however cause problems photographing the opening flypasts as they go along the runway, so you're facing the sun if you're taking the picture from within the official show grounds.

 

By the time the Swedish Air Force Historical Flight went up, the sun was right overhead and shots in the direction of the display line wit hmy camera would have resulted in nothing but black dots. The Lansen shot worked out as it was landing in a direction that I could have the sun at my back.

[RidgeRunner]

Yummy ..... the Lansen

 

Martin

[F-32]

Lovely!

 

The Mig 15 and the Lansen are great