On Friday evening 14th November we enjoyed the hospitality of KLM for a direct flight to Taipei. Upon arrival, we picked up our rental car and headed for Hsinchu city. Immediately we fell in love with our satnav. Driving in Taiwan, especially in the cities, is almost impossible without one. Thank you TomTom!
Hsinchu, Sunday 15 Nov 2015
From previous reports we knew that the RoCAF is also active during weekends. However, operations are usually limited to the morning, with only one wave being launched. The weather was excellent and before 10 o’clock we had bagged 8 Mirages and 1 F-16B from Chiayi, which made one approach. On a Sunday!
Hsinchu, Monday 16 Nov 2015
On Monday, we weren’t the only European spotters present. Here, we met “dutchphantom”. He had given us prior warning that today would be the arrival day for next week’s airshow. Many thanks man!! We also met PS (“SquAdmin”), who became our companion for the next couple of days. He already posted some photos on this forum earlier. So, I won’t do a rerun. I only make some additions when possible.
The fun bit of such an arrival day is that, within the space of 2.5 hours, you get at least one example of almost all types in the RoCAF’s inventory.
Hualien, Tuesday 17 Nov 2015
A great day at Hualien! With only 5 RF-5E’s left, we were happy to see two of these beauties. For photos I refer to PS’s post. At the end of the afternoon, they changed the active runway to 21. Beautiful spot, on a beach with palm trees and a bar!
Taitung, Wednesday 18 Nov 2015
Initially, we had some doubts about what the best spot for photography would be. We went for an incline of a road. It turned out to be a good choice. Perfect back drop and the bridge provided some much needed shade. Anyway, before 9 o’clock already 21 F-5’s had returned from their 1st mission of the day. PS decided to give it a try at Pingtung, hoping to catch a Tracker. We decided to stay a little longer at Taitung and wait for the second wave of the morning. We had a further 1,5 weeks to go, so we weren’t in a hurry. After our Dutch friend had left, an F-16B from Hualien made an approach. The second wave also included a silver colored F-5E of the TT&DC, which acts as an aggressor unit.
After a while we were joined by a fellow Taiwanese “spotter”. Completely geared up with corresponding camera equipment. A very friendly guy, although his English was a little rusty. Based on his line of questioning (with help of Google Translate) and the fact that he took more photos of us, than of the F-5’s, we very much “doubt” he really was a spotter. Anyway, he left after about an hour. He was most courteous and we were left in peace for the rest of the day.
Pingtung North, Thursday 19 Nov 2015
With almost all Orions delivered, the days of the Taiwanese Trackers are numbered. We very much hoped to see one of these blue beasts, but we didn’t count on it. Upon arriving at this base, not much was happening. Actually, nothing happened. At the other bases, flying usually starts at 7:15/7:30 hrs. Not at Pingtung.
It was 8:30 hours when we heard the first plane taking off. Like all Taiwanese bases, Pingtung is almost completely surrounded by a meters high concrete wall, so we couldn’t see what type it was. It was either an S-2 or an E-2 (with the new props).
After an hour or so, another plane took off. The sound was similar, but not exactly the same. So we reckoned that at least one of these two could be an S-2T. A little later, a P-3 started its mission. Being ex-Valkenburg spotters, at least those engines sounded familiar!
After a while the local Pingtung spotters showed up. They told us the Trackers didn’t fly that much anymore, with only 4 or 5 still operational. They added that the S-2 was expected to be withdrawn from service in January 2016. In other words, it was now or never!!
An anxious one and a half hours of nail biting followed. Was a Tracker airborne? Would it come back and would the weather hold?
Relief came when, in quick succession, a Tracker, a Hawkeye and a P-3 arrived. Gotcha!!!
I have this strange hobby for more than 30 years now. But I must admit, this Tracker is one of the highlights of my career.
During the afternoon, as forecasted, the weather deteriorated, so we made the short drive to Tainan.
Tainan, Friday 20 Nov 2015
Tainan has two parallel runways. Runway 36L/18R is usually used by the local FCK-1’s. Runway 36R/18L is for civilian airliners and military visiting aircraft. Unfortunately, there are exceptions, with the local fighters using the “civilian” runway.
Upon arriving, the weather was fine. However, flying was slow. To make things worse, clouds moved in rapidly. This was not forecasted?! Moreover, it became very uncomfortable, with high temperatures and high humidity. So, we went back to our hotel which was only a quarter of hour away. After enjoying a cold drink and the comforts of air conditioning, I went outside for a smoke. I then noticed that the clouds were disappearing as fast as they had arrived. So, back to the air field.
Photography at Tainan’s 36 runways is especially good in the afternoon. Here are a couple of examples. The Ching Kuo is on 36L, the Herc and the Fokker 50 on 36R.
Taitung, Sunday 22 Nov 2015
On Saturday 21st November, an airshow was held at Hsinchu air base. Foreigners are supposed to apply for prior permission to be able to attend. We had done so, but we did not receive any reaction to our request. On top of that, the weather forecast for the north of Taiwan was crappy. Because we already had good shots on the arrival day, we decided to skip the airshow altogether. Instead, we would try our luck at Tainan again. Well, no luck. The weather was grey and the FCK-1’s didn’t fly. After a weather check, we headed for Taitung again. After a long, but beautiful drive through the mountains we arrived in Taitung in the late afternoon.
On Sunday morning, the first F-5’s launched at 7:30 hours. By 9 o’clock, 18 F-5’s had taken off. Fortunately, in contrast to our earlier visit, two aggressor F-5E’s in Vietnam-style camouflage did fly a mission, lasting only half an hour.
Gangshan, Monday 23 Nov 2015
Sunday afternoon was used to drive back to western Taiwan. For Monday, Gangshan was on the menu. This is the sole training base of the RoCAF. T-34’s are used for elementary training, while they use the locally designed AT-3 for advanced jet training. On top of that, they have a number of Beech 1900 for multi-engine conversion.
Gangshan has also two parallel runways. However, the smaller 18L/36R is rarely used. The AT-3’s and the T-34’s don’t fly at the same time. The AT-3’s are the first to start flying. After the last AT-3 has landed, the T-34’s are launched. The days that we were there, a lot of flying was going one. A typical AT-3 wave consisted of about 15 aircraft. The T-34 waves are usually slightly smaller.
Chiayi, Monday 23 Nov 2015
During the lunch break we drove to the nearby Chiayi. This is the other F-16 base of the Taiwanese air force. Here too, a “spotter” paid us a visit. But again, he left after about an hour.
In the afternoon about 8-10 F-16 flew. Although the sun was shining, there were lot of high clouds. As white skies are not our cup of tea, we couldn’t add them to our collection. Shame!
Gangshan, Tuesday 25 Nov 2015
In the morning, the situation in Gangshan was similar to Chiayi the previous afternoon. High clouds, so again, no additional catches.
Chiayi, Tuesday 25 Nov 2015
Now, the sky was much brighter. Again about 10-12 F-16’s flew. Moreover, a two-seater Mirage 2000 dropped by for a low approach.
Gangshan, Wednesday 26 Nov 2015
Based on the weather forecasted, we headed back to Gangshan. The forecast was correct. The weather was brilliant! Again lots of planes flying. Between 7:30 – 11:00 hours, 23 AT-3’s, 17 T-34 and 2 Be1900’s.
Tainan, Wednesday 26 Nov 2015
Again, we used the lunch break to drive to another base. This time Tainan. The weather was still fine, and during the afternoon 8 FCK-1’s flew.
Pingtung North, Thursday 27 Nov 2015
We decided to give it another try at Pingtung North. Who knows, maybe we could bag an additional Tracker?! Upon arrival, a C-130 from the adjacent Pingtung South was already basing the circuit.
After a while an S-2 took off and started some pattern work. It was the 2211. Another one compared to the previous week. Unfortunately, by now the was a solid overcast. By lunch time, the weather cleared completely. However, during the afternoon nothing flew. The only thing we could to do was working on our sun tan……
Taichung, Friday 28 Nov 2015
The opportunities for good photos are limited at his base. That’s why we hadn’t included Taichung in our initial schedule. However, at the other bases we already had seen what we came for. But we hadn’t come across any 3rd TFW FCK-1’s.
According to a trip report in AIM, there should be a reasonable spot for runway 36. Quite far from the base and only during the morning. Thanks to the GPS coordinates in AIM and our satnav, we managed to find it. Without these, we would have been a mission impossible. Conditions aren’t ideal, but “do-able”. We were pleasantly surprised by an army AH-1W making an approach to runway 36!
Hsinchu, Saturday 29 Nov 2015
Our flight home would leave Taipei on Saturday evening. This meant we had some time left to spend another morning at Hsinchu. In total, 8 Mirages taxied out. Sadly, 2 had a ground abort, so only 6 took off.
This concluded our two weeks’ stay in Taiwan. Taking into account the island’s climate, we were extremely lucky with the weather. Being “no sun, no fun” photographers, this made the trip more than worthwhile. Highly recommendable!
General
When planning a trip to Taiwan, the following info might be useful.
Operations. Generally speaking, the RoCAF flies a lot more than we are used to in Europe. Flying starts quit early in the morning. Take off at 7:15 hours is normal. Missions are fairly short, so the first recoveries can be expected before 8:00 hours. During the morning there are two waves. In the afternoon is usually only one. A lunch break is observed between 12:00 and 13:00. The 2nd morning wave is back before this break. In the afternoon, ops are started up again between 13:30 and 14:00 hours. During the weekend, only one wave is launched in the morning.
Travel. Roads are well maintained in Taiwan and aren’t extremely busy. Except, of course, in the city centers. Although traffic isn’t as disciplined as in Japan, we didn’t find it very challenging to drive. Satellite navigation is an absolute must! Highway tolls are charged through the rental car company and are reasonable. We paid Euro 35 during our two weeks in Taiwan. Although you don’t have to cover very long distances, don’t be fooled. The average speed is low. Watch your speedometer, as speed limits are low and Taiwan has more speed cameras than traffic lights.
Photography. Photography of military aircraft is allowed, as long as there is no infrastructure on your photo. In other words, a plane in the sky is ok. This is the case in other countries too, but in Taiwan this rule is also enforced. When they catch you photographing infrastructure, you’ll be sent away. To say the least. Don’t be surprised when the air force sends out an undercover agent to check you out. Just like in Japan, they are very friendly. They just want to check you out. And who can blame them? When they are satisfied that you follow the rules, they will leave you in peace. So, not harm done.
Most Taiwanese bases are surrounded by a very high concrete wall, complete with (manned) sentry towers. For the number crunchers amongst us, this doesn’t make life easy. For photographers, this means no descent taxi or take off shots. When I can think of one downside of Taiwan, this is it.
In case you have detailed questions, please use PM.
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