Hi all,
Yesterday we had checked in into our hotel that has a roof terrace overlooking the local airbase. As it was fully dark when we arrived, it was difficult to judge the exact view, but this morning we could see the view is really brilliant. Our ordered breakfast was already standing in front of our room, so we took that (and our camera gear) to the roof and waited for things to happen.
Taitung AFB
AT-5, AFFTC: 0860/78-6060, 1106/11-9008, 1107/11-9009, 1109/11-9011, 1110/11-9012, 1111/12-9013, 1112/(12-9014), 1113/12-9015, 1114/12-9016, 1116/12-9018, 1117/12-9019, 1118/12-9020, 1119/12-9021, 1121/12-9023, 1122/12-9024, 1123/12-9025, 1124/12-9026, 1125/12-9027, 1126/12-9028, 1127/13-9029, 1128/13-9030, 1129/13-9031, 1130/13-9032, 1131/13-9033, 1132/13-9034, 1133/13-9035, 1134/13-9036, 1136/13-9038, 1137/13-9039
6613 F-16A-72V 4 TFW, 21 TFG
6647 F-16A-72V 4 TFW, 23 TFG
6824 F-16B-72V 5 TFW
932/27314 UH-60M Air Rescue Sq, red cross mks
934/27317 UH-60M (Air Rescue Sq), red cross mks
SH-60 no mks
5395/830121 F-5F std, tiger c/s
One word: WOW! We managed to get no less than 28 of the Brave Eagles, out of some 40 delivered so far. Lots of flying, plus some towing and the rest read off inside the hangars. Four F-16s are on QRA, of which two flew a mission (the other two went begging). The Sea Hawk passed the airfield, no doubt coming from, and going back to, Hualien. The UH-60s have a permament detachment here by the way.
Only thing that went wrong is that Stefan drank my breakfast tea, thinking it was his coffee. And I don’t like coffee…. Two days ago he also drank the drink I ordered, is there a pattern developing here?
We had to check out by 11, but stayed on the roof till midday. At that time we were satisfied we probably wouldn’t get any more AT-5s and the light was no good anymore anyway, so it was time to move on.
Taitung County Veterans Service Office, Taitung
5119/00796 F-5E pr, 46 TFS mks
A beautiful Tiger in silver and aggressor markings is preserved at this veterans complex. Driving in and out for a photo turned out to be no problem at all.
Taitung airport
UH-60M, NASC: NA-701, NA-703, NA-704
The NASC have a detachment here, and operate from a new platfom and hangar at the far Eastern end of the airfield. A very small road gets very close, enabling a quick photo of the two choppers on the platform. The third one was seen inside the hangar.
Scrapyard, Taitung
(52)09 F-5E dump, fuselage parts
This scrap metal company has two yards next to each other, and in one were large fuselage pars of a couple of F-5s visible. This was the only part that could be identified though. The second yard seemd to hold no F-5s anymore.
Li Jia Military Cemetery, Taitung
4179/61-3083 TF-104G pr, 11 AG mks
This twin seater is preserved at the entrance of the cemetery. There are also some vehicles, rockets and even the cannon of a navy ship.
After this we went back to the airbase, but this time to the Northern side, to see if we could discover the three preserved F-5s from the mountain overlooking the airbase.
Taitung AFB
098 F-86F pr, mks nn
(3322?) T-33A pr
Well, no matter how we tried, we never managed to get the right angle for the three F-5s (where were these seen from in the past??). But much to our surprise we discovered two so far unknown preserved aircraft, not far from where the F-5s should be located. I think they are at the field at 22 47 17 N, 121 10 21.5 E. The F-86 can be seen from 22 47 42 N, 121 09 41 E, for the T-33 you have to walk a little bit further up the hill. The F-86 is the last but one aircraft from the closed museum at Taoyuan that had no known new location, I think the T-33 is the one that came from Lin Luo but confirmation would be nice.
With this last bit in the area done, it was time to move North again. We followed the coastline, which is beautiful. Damage due to the recent earthquake and typhoons was clearly visible though, many parts of the coastal road were being repaired or still needed repair. We also had an encounter with a monkey, that was sitting in the middle of the road. Nice to see! After a long drive we arrived in Hualien, where we would do two more locations in the dark.
Dongdamen Night Market, Hualien
5253/80028 F-5E pr, 7 TFG mks
Looking nice in a square next to the night market. The infamous “stinky tofu” was popular here, as we could smell clearly….
Sun Dance Vocational High School, Hualien
1116/40776 F-5B pr, camo c/s, no mks
5123/40980 F-5E pr, 8 TFG mks
(4367/63-13242) F-104G pr, no mks
(2109) TH-55 GIA, white c/s
Although it was late and dark, we decided to check this school out anyway, since we wouldn’t have the time to do that tomorrow. And luckily the gate was still open and we were able to see all aircraft. The Hughes is inside in the building right behind the jets, and can also be seen from outside through a window if the gate would be closed. The jets are in the courtyard and are also visible from outside.
For tomorrow expectations (or hopes) were high, as we were aiming for the RF-5s that should still be operational. We were told by multiple sources these fly a mission every Wednesday mornings, so we had wrapped our itinerary around that. To prepare we had a quick look at the famous Carrefour parking garage, from which you have an overview over the airbase. The top floor was closed though, but the view looked promising. So fingers crossed! And this short visit ended another very successful day.
That’s all folks!
Patrick Dirksen & Stefan Jongen
Tristar Aviation
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