Not only the air show was visited of course (see 'showreports'), but also a few W&R (plus some ops stuff) were picked up.
University, Kuwait (16-1)
53-420/N Lightning mk.53 pr, no mks
Looking very nice in the sunlight, preserved on a pedestal next to the road on the terrain of a university. Next was a museum downtown, about which we were told this was closed by a fellow spotter earlier today.
Educational Science Museum, Kuwait (16-7)
53-418/L Lightning mk.53 pr, no mks
102 Jet Provost mk.51 pr, no mks
(9K-AAI) Auster J/5L pr, no mks
“G-AMZZ” Dakota IV pr (N27AA, ex KJ867)
Well, the Lightning is outside and easily visible over a wall, but indeed the museum seems to be permanently closed. However we bribed a cleaner/janitor to let us in for a few minutes, so we could see and photograph the other three inmates of the museum. He made more money in five minutes than in a regular week probably, and we were happy as well with the result!
In the meantime we had been busy trying to arrange a visit to the air force museum on the military part of the international airport, but so far we had achieved completely nothing. We decided to drive back to the gate one last time and see if we could speak to somebody. I won’t bore you with the details, and it took a long, long time, but in the end we were not only allowed on base to photograph the twin stick A-4 that is outside the museum, but also somebody showed up with the keys! Very friendly people here.
Kuwait Air Force museum, Kuwait (16-7)
gate:
(53-412)/C Lightning mk.53 pr, no mks
(213) Hunter mk.57 pr, no mks
outside:
882 TA-4KU pr, no mks, ex 160211, “Free Kuwait”
inside:
805 A-4KU pr, no mks, ex 160184, “Free Kuwait”
214 Hunter mk.51 pr, no mks
101 Jet Provost mk.51 pr, no mks
(55)-411 Lightning mk.55 pr, no mks
715 Mirage F.1CK pr, no mks, “Free Kuwait”
(313) Whirlwind srs.1 pr, no mks
We only had some 10 minutes inside in the end, and the lighting was challenging to say the least, so no time to check identities unfortunately. But it felt really great we had managed to get in in the end! And just when we were driving away (totally unescorted by now…), the third Hercules of the Kuwait AF landed, acting as the cherry on the cake.
Not present anymore with the museum are Auster (9K-AAE) and TA-4KU 881. That last one looks completely restored and repainted on recent photos I found on the web, so I am sure it is still preserved somewhere. But where…??
Any help by the way with which squadrons used to operate the Hunter, Jet Provost, Lightning or Whirlwind would be very welcome.
Next day was Friday, which is the Kuwaiti ‘Sunday’. We had arranged a visit to the EMS heliport, where we started our last day in Kuwait.
Heliport, Kuwait (17-1)
MOH-1 Bell 430 c/n 49096, ex Lee County EMS N430LC
MOH-2 Bell 430 std, wfu, ex University of Michigan N433UM
MOH-3 Bell 429 c/n 57230
The Bell 430s were bought second hand when the contract for the EMS was gained, because it took Bell 3 years to deliver the two ordered Bell 429s. By now MOH-2 has been withdrawn from use and is for sale, while MOH-1 is still used as a backup aircraft. Very friendly people again!
Bait Al-Othman museum, Kuwait (17-1)
KAF 104 Jet Provost mk.51 pr, no mks
I got the location of this JP from Erwin (thanks again!), combined with the warning it was no longer visible on Google Earth. It turned out the museum is building a new shed, which amongst others contains the JP. The museum was closed today (open 6 days a week…), but luckily there was no fence and we were able to photograph the JP. Unfortunately the canopy was firmly closed and painted black, so no c/n plate to check.
With this one in the pocket, we returned to the airfield to watch the flying bit of the air show, after which we had a visit with the police unit that is based here.
Police, Kuwait International Airport (17-1)
KMOI-01 EC.135T1 Police, c/n 0169
KMOI-02 EC.135T1 Police, c/n 0180
(KMOI-03) AS.365N3 Police, std, wreck
KMOI-04 AS.365N3 Police, std
KMOI-05 EC-225LP Police, c/n 3012, VIP configuration
KMOI-07 AS.365N3+ Police, c/n 7040
The 03 burned out due to some electrical short circuit in the airco unit while inside a hangar. 04 was parked next to it when this happened, and although it could be saved from the flames, a thorough inspection is needed before it is allowed to fly again. Both EC.135s are currently waiting for a new engine and haven’t flown since 2018. The VIP EC-225 was ordered when the Police were told to take over the transport of the Emir because of the earlier mentioned smuggling incident with an S-92. It is allegedly one of the most expensive VIP helicopters in the world, with a mostly golden interior. Even the buttons for the light above your head are pure gold!
This visit was a bit rushed because it was after closing of the show and the police officers gave us a tour as a courtesy before they could go home themselves, but it was much appreciated by us obviously. And although photographing the two old Dauphins in a completely dark shed was difficult, we managed to make something of it anyway
With these in the pocket, it was time to leave the airfield, get a late dinner, pick up our luggage and return to the airfield for our flight home just after midnight. A tough journey again, flying through the night, but the results were definitely worth it all. Thanks again 4Aviation for organising this trip.