Hi All,
I've participated with a friend (former spotter) in the Red Sea Challenge 2010 that started in Zandvoort (The Netherlands) and finished in Aqaba (Jordan). We also decided to drive back home through different countries than on the way up to Jordan. Our goal was to drink one local beer, see/photograph (at least) one military aircraft/helicopter and "touch" loose women..... in each country
) . At the start we received a roadbook from the organisation which we only used to write the logs in and for killing musquitos as we had our own route planned from base to base. All the other 29 Teams stayed the first night in Prague and we went to Poznan (Poland) to visit some family and friends and ofcourse to drink some beers in the well known Divorce Palace!! Well, enough said on with the logs!First stop was Bad Oeyenhausen, just to see if there were some changes since my last visit 12 years ago. No new arrivals, actually most aircraft left and again the museum was closed so the Alouette 2 inside was missed again! Most aircraft are in bad shape and have faded serials on them.
BAD OEYENHAUSEN 24 JULY 2010
(91+75) P-149D
(93+39) MI-8PS
(23+48) MIG-21MF
(25+50) SU-22UM-3K
(20+58) MIG-23UB
D-5804 TF-104G
(22+44) MIG-21SPS Mkd 353
970 MI-8PS
Next stop would have been Wunstorf to see if my last Transall was there, but as we already were behind schedule (because of our late departure in Zandvoort) we decided to skip this and drive directly to Poznan where our friends were waiting for us with wodka and beer! A good reason to skip aircraft! Ofcourse the night was spent downtown in the Divorse Palace, a night never to forget
Next morning we had plans to search for three aircraft in Poznan i had missed last October. First was a Mig-23 in a industrial area east of Sady. Not good for a photo unless you have access.POZNAN-SADY 25 JULY 2010
146 MIG-23MF Preserved
The next two were Lim-2's that should be preserved at Poznan-Lawica airfield, but these were both gone. Only interesting thing seen was medic Mi-2 SP-WXO of which i think has no mil history. We also drove past Krzesiny AB to see if anything was outside, but only the preserved Mig21 in Tiger c/s was seen.
Just after 1300hrs we left Poznan and headed for Brno were we would stay for the night. We only had just one more preserved Mig to find. A few km before Wroclaw it is nicely preserved on a pole along road 5.
PSARY 25 JULY 2010
1815 MIG-21M Preserved
Finally in the Czech Republic and heading for Brno. While driving we decided to skip Brno (as there probably was nothing new for me to see) and try our luck at Namest for some active helicopters as i needed a few. Well this turned out otherwise, we did find the base but is was already dark and it started to rain. None of the preserved aircraft were seen only 5 MI35's of who i think just came or are going to a wamer place due to the fact they were undone from there rotorblades.
NAMEST NAD OSLAVOU 25 JULY 2010
3361 MI-35 No Rotors
3362 MI-35 No Rotors
3367 MI-35 No Rotors
7360 MI-35 No Rotors
? MI-35 No Rotors
The night was spent at the local fair in Namest with beautiful Czech women and lots of beer. Another night with not much sleep as we had to go up early the next morning as there were 4 more countries waiting for us!
The next day we woke up early as we had a long day/drive ahead of us. The plan was to end in Belgrade at the military museum but a Hungarian truckdriver did not agree with that. More of that later. Our first stop was in Slovakia at the International Airport of Bratislava were the following was seen.
BRATISLAVA-IVANKA 26 JULY 2010
B-8532 MI-8PS Stored
B-8231 MI-8PS Stored
B-8427 MI-8P Stored
B-2950 MI-2 Stored
B-2909 MI-2 Stored
(B-2405) MI-2 Stored
(B-2406) MI-2 Stored
OM-BYO TU-154M
OM-BYR TU-154M
Unfortunately no activity of operational helicopters here so we drove quickly further to our next destination Papa in Hungary. We did not know which dirttrack we exactly needed to get to the stored aircraft, so our back up guy (Erik B.) was phoned and he provided us the route to the farmhouse. Just before we arrived there we could see and read one C-17 on the active ramp. From the farmhouse we only could see the stored Mig-23's and Su-22's in the beginning of the row and i knew that there was another spot to approach the Mig's from the east. So we tried another dirttrack and that one went exactly towards the old bunkers. My friend couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the aircraft and that they were so easy accessible. The following were noted without any trouble.
PAPA 26 JULY 2010
03 C-17A
41 MIG-21BIS Stored
42 MIG-21BIS Stored
43 MIG-21BIS Stored
46 MIG-21BIS Stored
47 MIG-21BIS Stored
49 MIG-21BIS Stored
1844 MIG-21BIS Stored
1867 MIG-21BIS Stored
1889 MIG-21BIS Stored
1968 MIG-21BIS Stored
2098 MIG-21BIS Stored
2105 MIG-21BIS Stored
5540 MIG-21BIS Stored
6007 MIG-21BIS Stored
6009 MIG-21BIS Stored
6021 MIG-21BIS Stored
6115 MIG-21BIS Stored Special Mks
6145 MIG-21BIS Stored
6253 MIG-21BIS Stored
6327 MIG-21BIS Stored
6384 MIG-21BIS Stored
9125 MIG-21BIS Stored
9178 MIG-21BIS Stored
4403 MIG-21MF Stored
4409 MIG-21MF Stored
8114 MIG-21MF Stored
8201 MIG-21MF Stored
8204 MIG-21MF Stored
9315 MIG-21MF Stored
9507 MIG-21MF Stored
9510 MIG-21MF Stored
9515 MIG-21MF Stored
9603 MIG-21MF Stored
9604 MIG-21MF Stored
17 MIG-21UM Stored
19 MIG-21UM Stored
53 MIG-21UM Stored
54 MIG-21UM Stored
55 MIG-21UM Stored
86 MIG-21UM Stored
91 MIG-21UM Stored
96 MIG-21UM Stored
904 MIG-21UM Stored
905 MIG-21UM Stored
906 MIG-21UM Stored
907 MIG-21UM Stored
5081 MIG-21UM Stored
02 MIG-23MF Stored
03 MIG-23MF Stored
02 SU-22M3K Stored
04 SU-22M3K Stored
10 SU-22M3K Stored
14 SU-22M3K Stored
15 SU-22M3K Stored
The next goal was to get the Mi-24's at Tököl, but here is were the truckdriver wanted attention and decided to park his truck on his side on the Budapest M0 highway. Luckely for us he did it on the other side so it only took us 2 hours to get thru..... We decided to skip Tököl and Csepel and drive direcetly to Kecskemet and hoped for some flying activity. We arrived here around 1600hrs but there was no activity at all.
I knew about the dirttrack along the fence to read the Mig-29's so we searched for that, but it wasn't a dirttrack anymore, it looked more like a muddy pool! Anyway we tried to go as far as we could go, but in the northwest corner by the dump it became really worse and we decided to go back the same way and drive through the city towards the other end of the base. Seen in the northeast corner was a Mig-29 wreck under a tarpaulin. Could this be 15 that crashed a couple of years ago? Also from here a few from the row of preserved aircraft could be seen.
KECSKEMET 26 JULY 2010
01 MIG-29 Stored
03 MIG-29 Stored
04 MIG-29 Stored
05 MIG-29 Stored
06 MIG-29 Stored
07 MIG-29 Stored
08 MIG-29 Stored
09 MIG-29 Stored
10 MIG-29 Stored
12 MIG-29 Stored
14 MIG-29 Stored
16 MIG-29 Stored
18 MIG-29 Stored
19 MIG-29 Stored
20 MIG-29 Stored
22 MIG-29 Stored
23 MIG-29 Stored
24 MIG-29UB Stored
25 MIG-29UB Stored
26 MIG-29UB Stored
28 MIG-29UB Stored
29 MIG-29UB Stored
? L-39 Stored Bagged
? L-39 Stored Bagged
(47) IL-28 Dump
(002) MIG-15 Dump Mkd 1951
(684) MIG-15 Dump Mkd 1977
(805) MIG-21 Dump
4400 MIG-21 Preserved
1900 MIG-21 Preserved
(115) L-39 Preserved
(01) SU-22 Preserved
(10) MIG-23 Preserved
(301) MIG-21 Preserved Main Gate, Mkd 25
? MIG-29 WRECK
? JAS-39 In Shed
110 AN-26
407 AN-26
Any help with the 2 bagged L-39's is appreciated? They are in the same area as the Mig-29's.
Next stop was Timisoara in Romania to see if we could get close to the stored Mig-23's, but on the way to it we stumbled accross some small "airfields". First one was a old military barracks with a grass-strip just outside Sannicolau Mare. Seen here were three An-2's, YR-PMM, YR-PAJ and dumped YR-PVB. Not sure but i think none of these have mil history. Next one was just before the city Timosoara and i believe is called Timisoara Cioca Cioca. Seen here were also three An-2's, YR-FLA (ex CCCP-84625), YR-STA (ex CCCP-07765) and number three remained unidentified. Ka-26 YR-EAG was one of two helicopters here, the other one (not sure of the type) carried no visible regi.
Finally around 1930hrs (it was already dark by then) we arrived finally at Timisoara airfield. We drove to the main gate to see if anything was there, but nothing was seen due to darkness and the lack of decent lampposts! We decided to spend the night here (instead of driving further to Belgrade which we found out later was a very wise thing to do!) and try our luck the next morning for the Mig-23's. So we searched for a parkingspot close to the base to drink some well earned beers and to get some good night sleep. Btw, our car was an very old type Chrysler Grand Voyager and was converted into a camper, so we could park it anywhere we like and could easily sleep in it and so save costs instead of spending it all on hotels. There was also a fridge onboard for keeping the beer cold! While drinkin' beer our back-up guy was called again just to say we where still alive and asking for the route from where you probably could see the Migs from, he also said that there should be two aircraft preserved just behind the main gate, so we had to go back there the next morning. When we ran out of beer we tried to get some sleep but someone left a window open and before we knew it the car was filled with musquitos! That's were the roadbook came in handy.... After killing more than thirty we finally got a few hours sleep. The next morning (0700hrs!) we were awakened by the sound of lots of people and shopping carts. Apparantly we parked at the local shoppingmall!
) I would have liked to see the faces of the people who parked next to us and saw all the empty beercans......Finally it was time to drive around the base and we started at the main gate, were we found the two preserved aircraft that were hiding behind the guardhouse! And that was it, we never found the road that should let us to the Migs. Despite driving round for almost an hour and due to roadconstruction and the lack of decent roadsigns we gave up and decided to go to the next country, Serbia.
TIMISOARA 27 JULY 2010
6040 MIG-21MF Preserved Main Gate
191 MIG-23MF Preserved Main Gate
Just after the border with Serbia we found another airfield in the vicinity of Vrsac where the following could be noted.
VRSAC 27 JULY 2010
YU-BOT AN-2
YU-BKM AN-2
YU-BOU AN-2
YU-BPE AN-2
YU-BKO AN-2
YU-BNB PZL M18
Don't think any of these are ex-mil, but hope to be proved wrong! Next stop was the museum in Belgrade which was already long on my wishlist.
Everything below is read off from photo's, except the ones between brackets ofcourse
. I believe a few aircraft from the outside display left. Any help with the few ? is appreciated. There were a couple more fuselages/parts in the dump area but sadly no photo's of them.BELGRADO MUSEUM 27 JULY 2010
Outside Display:
0662 SEALAND 1 Stored
7208 JU-52 Preserved
11323 KA-25PL Preserved Mkd "IR"
? KA-28PL Preserved Unmarked, 11401?
(12013) MI-4A Preserved Unmarked
12208 MI-8 Preserved
24115 J21 Preserved On Pole Entrance
26105 MIG-21R Preserved
(61019) IKARUS 214 Stored Dismantled
70101 DHC-2 Stored
71214 C-47B Preserved
71301 IL-14P Preserved
Near Basement:
12893 SA342L1 Stored Wrecked Boom Only
Inside Lower Gallery:
2252 YAK-3 Preserved
2400 IKARUS S49 Preserved
4154 IL-2 Preserved
(9009)/B FIZIR FN Preserved
9663 BF109G Preserved
10024 T-33A Preserved
(11601) GNAT F1 Preserved Unmarked
10525 RF-84G Preserved
(11)714 WHIRLWIND Preserved
13056 P-47D Preserved
14102 F-86D Preserved
? IKARUS S451 Preserved Unmarked
? IKARUS S451M Preserved Prototype, Unmarked
21002 IKARUS T451 Preserved
22532 MIG-21F-13 Preserved
23108 G2A Preserved Mkd 6000HRS
23733 G4 Preserved Damaged Tail Only
25001 J22 Preserved Mkd Orao
30104 J20 Preserved
52102 UTVA66 Preserved
?/O HURRICANE Preserved
? SPITFIRE Preserved Mkd JK808/B
(82-0806/HO) F-117A Preserved Wing/Canopy Only
88-0550/AV F-16C Preserved Tail/Canopy Only
(95-3021/WA) RQ-1K Preserved Wreck, Unmarked
Inside Upper Galary:
? NIEUPORT XI Preserved Replica?
177 KB-6 Preserved YU-CFD
0089 POLIKARPOV Preserved YU-CNT
0736 UTVA 65S Preserved YU-BKI
0875 IKARUS AERO 2 Preserved YU-CVB
1352 UTVA 213 Preserved
2319 IKARUS S49A Preserved Tail fin only
9102 BU133 Preserved
9393 MRAZ K65A Preserved YU-COE
11503 DRAGONFLY Preserved
12513 MI-2 Preserved Mkd "AMSJ"
60132 SOKO522 Preserved
NM150 TIGER MOTH Preserved
FT152 T-6G Preserved
YU-3029 JASTREB 54 Preserved
YU-4096 IKARUS ORAO Preserved
YU-5022 KOSAVA 60 Preserved
+ More Gliders
Storage Outside:
Row 1:
(72201) DOVE 6 Stored
16158 MIG-21UM Stored
22953 MIG-21US Stored
? IJ-22 Stored Unmarked
25505 NJ-22 Stored
25506 NJ-22 Stored
25(5)09 NJ-22 Stored
24159 J-21 Stored
24122 J-21 Stored
24418 IJ-21 Stored
? J-21 Stored Unmarked
? J-21 Stored Unmarked
24128 J-21 Stored
? J-21 Stored Unmarked
30157 J-20 Stored
The 3 unmarked J-21's and the one in row 2 are probably 24001, 24142, 24155 and 24214. Confirmation is welcome!
Row 2:
24405 IJ-21 Stored
24415 IJ-21 Stored
24401 IJ-21 Stored
24126 IJ-21 Stored
24410 IJ-21 Stored
23505 NJ-21 Stored
24130 J-21 Stored
24208 J-21 Stored
? J-21 Stored Unmarked
23513 NJ-21 Stored
30145 J-20 Stored
? J-20 Stored Silver c/s, Unmarked, 30148?
Row 3:
24454 IJ-21 Stored
24145 J-21 Stored
24210 J-21 Stored
24213 J-21 Stored
24156 J-21 Stored
23502 NJ-21 Stored
24457 IJ-21 Stored
(23)506 NJ-21 Stored
23507 NJ-21 Stored
30106 J-20 Stored
30109 J-20 Stored
6015. SOKO522 Stored Last digit?
YU-AHB SE210 Stored
Row 4:
24404 IJ-21 Stored
23512 NJ-21 Stored
? KA-28PL Stored Unmarked, 11402?
12512 MI-2 Stored Yellow c/s, Mkd AMSJ
? J-20 Stored Camo c/s, Unmarked
? J-20 Stored Camo c/s, Unmarked
? J-20 Stored Camo c/s, Unmarked
Row 5:
23636 G4 Stored
236(2)9 G4 Stored
Row 6:
25118 J-22 Stored
GAP
25120 J-22 Stored
22909 MIG-21U Stored
17405 MIG-21bis Stored
23156 G2A Stored
16152 MIG-21UM Stored
26103 MIG-21R Stored
Row 7:
22818 MIG-21M Stored
22805 MIG-21M Stored
22735 MIG-21PFM Stored
? IJ-22 Stored Unmarked
? IJ-22 Stored Unmarked
25723 IJ-22 Stored
25511 NJ-22 Stored
GAP
25107 J-22 Stored
The two unmarked IJ-22 and the one in row 1 are probably 25719, 25721, 25724. Again confirmation welcome.
Dump Area
? SOKO522 Dumped
11025 F-86E Dumped Side Panels Removed
(11054) F-86E Dumped Fuselage only
11088 F-86E Dumped
(17402) MIG-21bis Stored Unmarked
? C-47A Stored White c/s
(12506) MI-2 Stored
(12514) MI-2 Stored
(12515) MI-2 Stored
10501 F-84G Dumped
? F-84G Dumped Also mkd 501
Also the wing of IL76 RA-76513 marked as 31674 USAF
Stored next to Museum Entrance:
51001 UTVA66 Stored Tail Separate
51145 UTVA66 Stored Tail inside Fuselage
40186 AERO 3 Stored YU-CZA
(41104) ZLIN 526M Stored Fuselage only
51002 UTVA66 Stored Tail Separate
? UTVA66 Stored Fuselage only 51221?
YU-BGL ZLIN Z37A Stored Red c/s
YU-BMX PZL M18 Stored Fuselage only
Seen at the airport itself was the following. Took no photo's here, so can't confirm YU-BDE or BDL (difficult to read) was a C-47 or a separate aircraft and can't remember either....
BELGRADO-SURCIN 27 JULY 2010
E7-AAU CESSNA 340 GOVERNMENT BOSNIA??
YU-ADO CV-440 Dump EX-JAT
(7)011 LI-3 Dump
YU-BDE or L C-47? Dump
Can anyone confirm the operator of the Cessna? Can't seem to find anything on this, except for 1 pic on airliners, but thats not much of a help either!
The next base on our route was Nis, but while driving from Belgrade to Nis we saw 6 Mi-2's, including two in yellow colours, in a compound on the right side of the highway a few km after the tollgates. Unfortunately there was no exit nearby so they remained unidentified.
Another disappointment was Nis, there was a lot to be seen but nothing could be read due to heathaze. I think best time to go here is in the early morning and not in the heat of the day as we did!
NIS 27 JULY 2010
3X AN-2 Stored Green c/s
1X AN-26 Stored Green c/s
2X MI-8 UNIT? Dark Green c/s
15X SA341/2 Stored No Rotors, 2x VIP c/s
? MI-8 Stored No Boom, White c/s Red Cross
? MI-8 Stored No Boom, Green/Grey c/s Red Cross
? MI-8 Stored No Boom, Green Camo c/s
? MI-8 Stored No Boom, Green/Grey c/s
? MI-8 Stored No Boom, Green/Grey c/s
The two darkgreen Mi-8's were operational as one departed when we left....!! The other Mi-8's without booms are stored close to civil terminal.
Our last stop of the day was in Plovdiv, Bulgaria for the museum at Krumovo AB. But as we arrived here well after closing time (2200hrs) it was the first thing to do the next morning. We parked our car in the carpark next to the entrance, and in no time we had a visit from the Bulgarian military. It turned out to be a military car park as the main gate of the base was here too. After convincing the Bulgarian military that we would only stay here for the night and waiting for the museum to go open, it was ok. Well it costs us actually a couple of beers, but hey we got new friends in return!
The next morning we were awakened (0700hrs) by the sound of an overflying Mi-17, must say thats much better then an alarm on your phone! After our ritual morning exercise, you can guess what it is..... ofcourse, put new beers in the fridge.....
we visited the museum and logged the following. Again everything is from photo, only did not log the Yak-11 which should be here, not sure its gone or i forgot to photograph it! Any help with the three unmarked Migs on the dump is appreciated.PLOVDIV 28 JULY 2010
025 AN-2M Preserved
110 AN-14 Preserved
01 ANTONOV A-11 Preserved
3 ARADO 196A-3 Preserved
4 IL-2M3 Preserved ex 425
97 IL-14T Preserved
43 IL-28R Preserved
11 L-29 Preserved
10 L-200D Preserved
20 L-200D Preserved
(062) LET-410 Preserved Unmarked
(12) MI-1 Preserved Unmarked, Green c/s
(LZ-5017) MI-1 Preserved Unmarked, Bare Metal c/s
209 MI-2 Preserved
52 MI-4A Preserved
53 MI-4A Preserved
302 MI-8T Preserved
812 MI-14BT Preserved
101 MI-24D Preserved
202 MIG-15UTI Preserved
30 LIM-5R Preserved
71 MIG-17F Preserved
150 MIG-17F Preserved
21 MIG-17PF Preserved
22 MIG-17PF Preserved
030 MIG-19S Preserved
506 MIG-19P Preserved
882 MIG-19S Preserved
936 MIG-19PM Preserved
05 MIG-21US Preserved
20 MIG-21PF Preserved
52 MIG-21MF Preserved
62 MIG-21PFM Preserved
501 MIG-21F-13 Preserved
613 MIG-21M Preserved
021 MIG-23UB Preserved
50 MIG-23BN Preserved
79 MIG-23BN Preserved
390 MIG-23MLD Preserved
670 MIG-23MF Preserved
206 SU-22UM-3K Preserved
818 SU-22M-4 Preserved
27 TU-2T Preserved
27 YAK-9U Preserved ex 7
23 YAK-23 Preserved c/n 3123133
45 YAK-23 Preserved c/n 3123177
63-899/8-899 CF-104 Preserved
02 YAK-52 Preserved
(CCCP-13381) LI-2T Preserved Unmarked
LZ-011 ZLIN 326A Preserved
(LZ-307) ZLIN Z37 Preserved Unmarked
LZ-130 PZL-101 Preserved
LZ-501 YAK-50 Preserved c/n 791509?
LZ-ANE AN-24B Preserved
(LZ-6018) KA-26 Preserved Unmarked
? Popovski H11B-1 Preserved Unmarked
LZ-K19 Polikarpov PO-2 Stored in Hangar
LZ-M34 Laz-7M Stored in Hangar
51 MI-4A Preserved Main Gate
54 MI-4A Dump
? MIG-15/17 Dump
? MIG-15/17 Dump
? MIG-15/17 Dump Fuselage only
301 MI-8T Preserved Inside Base
708 AS-532AL 24VAB
710 AS-532AL 24VAB
140 MI-24 24VAB
144 MI-24 24VAB
410 MI-17 Stored?
412 MI-17 Stored?
413 MI-17 Stored?
416 MI-17 Stored?
417 MI-17 Stored?
420 MI-17 Stored?
421 MI-17 24VAB
+3 MI-17 24VAB
After this museum we headed for the next one which was in Istanbul, Turkey. So again we had some driving to do.
If you drive from Plovdiv to the Turkish border (Edirne) you can find 2 aircraft nicely preserved along the road.
CHESHNEGIROVO 28 JULY 2010
66 MIG-23BN Preserved
SVILENGRAD 28 JULY 2010
74 L-29 Preserved
Well, finally in the country of my favorite food! The first stop was the museum at Istanbul-Ataturk Airport where we arrived just before closing time. As we had to hurry we did not note what was inside and took no photo's either. However, i believe there were 7 or 8 "old" aircraft inside. The following were noted in about 20 minutes time and are all outside. Again everything is read off from photo's and between brackets is not actually worn on the aircraft.
ISTANBUL-YESILKOY 28 JULY 2010
(6930)/9-930 AT-11 Preserved
6008/H-008 C-47B Preserved
(6052)/YSL-52 C-47A Preserved
(10683)/ETI-683 C-54D Preserved
69-022 C-160D Preserved
(67-0360) F-4E Preserved Unmarked, Repainting
14460 F-5A Preserved Is this really 14466??
(3022)/22 NF-5A Preserved Turkish Stars c/s
3070/3-070 NF-5A Preserved
97147/5-147 RF-5A Preserved
89-0032 F-16C Preserved
19953/953 F-84G Preserved
110572 F-84G Preserved
28941/941 F-84F Preserved
11901/1901 RF-84F Preserved
11917/1917 RF-84F Preserved
19207/207 CL-13 Preserved
(19268)/268 CL-13 Preserved
54-2089/3-089 F-100C Preserved Marked 54-2009!
(54-2245)/E-245 F-100D Preserved
56-3788/8-788 F-100F Preserved
53386/386 F-102A Preserved
(22)344/4-344 F-104G Preserved On Pole
12619/FG-619 F-104G Preserved
6868 F-104S Preserved
63-5725/9-725 TF-104G Preserved
69-15724 UH-1H Preserved
52-7577 UH-19B Preserved
(7021)/DE-21 P-47D Preserved
149877/TCB-877 S-2E Preserved
(7504)/04 T-6G Preserved
35744/5744 T-33A Preserved
1543/8-543 RT-33A Preserved
(24216)/OK-16 T-34A Preserved
(24220)/OK/2-220 T-34A Preserved
39835/TE-835/2-835 T-37C Preserved
430 VISCOUNT 794D Preserved
10013 DO-28 Preserved
10020 DO-28 Preserved Near Entrance
10022 DO-28 Preserved
10104 BELLANCA 7G Preserved
10293 DO-27H-2 Preserved
10370 ROBINSON R22 Preserved
11357 U-17A Preserved
? MAVI ISIK G Preserved Unmarked
TC-ABA SE-210 Preserved
TC-ECL PZL-104 Preserved
TC-EAF SIAT-223 Preserved
Also the mil ramp was checked but nothing was seen and not knowing there was an Air Academy just a few miles away from here, we missed another 5 or 6 aircraft there. Ah well something for next year..... Our final destination for today was Ankara which was another 6 hour drive, if your not in a trafficjam! Anyone who experienced the Bosphorus bridge around 1800hrs know what i mean!!
While driving towards Ankara we passed Akinci AB, where a lot of F16's came back from a nightflying sortie. Well i assume it were F16's, only saw the strobe lights as it was already dark. Finally we arrived around 2330hrs at Ankara-Etimesgut where we searched for a parkingspot close to the museum. At first we parked at the museums parkinglot, but the Turkish military did not agree with that. We couldn't persuade them, despite having offered them a couple of beers, so we searched for another spot and found one just across the street. Here we drank a few well deserved beers and discussed what to do the next day before we went to sleep.
The next day we had another long drive ahead of us as we would like to be in time in the south of Turkey were we hoped to meet up again with the other teams and cross all together the border with Syria. But first we visited the Etimesgut museum and we also tried to read stuff on the mil ramps. Well easier said then done, you can see a lot but heathaze was a big problem! The following were noted.
ANKARA-ETIMESGUT 29 JULY 2010
? C-47 Preserved On Base, 39°57'17.99"N 32°41'14.60"O
004 CESSNA 650 212FILO
008 CESSNA 550 212FILO
TC-TKT CL-215 UNIT??
91-051 CN235-100M ?FILO White c/s
92-055 CN235-100M 212FILO Grey c/s
93-058 CN235-100M 211FILO Grey c/s
96-122 CN235-100M 212FILO Grey c/s
? CN235-100M 211FILO Grey c/s
? CN235-100M 211FILO Grey c/s
? CN235-100M 211FILO Grey c/s
? CN235-100M 211FILO Grey c/s
? CN235-100M 211FILO Camo c/s
? CN235-100M ?FILO White c/s
? CN235-100M ?FILO White c/s
? CN235-100M ?FILO White c/s
? CN235-100M ?FILO White c/s
? CN235-100M ?FILO White c/s
? CN235-100M ?FILO White c/s
91-003 G1159C 212FILO
? G1159C 212FILO Mil Serial
10-002 G550 212FILO
? S-70A UNIT?? Dark Green c/s
? S-70A UNIT?? Dark Green c/s
76-3239 C-12C USAF/DSCA Ankara
TC-CBP T-67M Flying School
TC-HCH AS355F2 Flying School
TC-ZYF AN-2R Flying School
TC-ZYY AN-2R Flying School
TC-ZYS AN-2R Flying School
Visit:
73-0991 C-130E 222FILO Turkish Stars c/s
69-019 C-160D 221FILO Grey c/s
Museum:
159 LIM-5 Preserved Bulgarian AF
4123/123 SHENYANG J6 Preserved Pakistan AF
9308 MIG-21MF Preserved Hungarian AF
(6830)/3-880 AT-11 Preserved
(6073)/073 C-47A Preserved
69-039 C-160D Preserved
? CL-13 Preserved Unmarked, Flying Swamps c/s, Is this 19190?
67-0230 F-4E Preserved
69-7490 RF-4E Preserved
? RF-4E Preserved Forward Fuselage Only
10575/5-575 F-5A Preserved
65-14465/3-465 F-5A Preserved Forward Fuselage Only, Inside
21208/3-208 RF-5A Preserved
4014 NF-5B Preserved
(1)4901/3-901 F-5A Preserved
7186/186 F-84F Preserved
51-1924/924 RF-84F Preserved
52-3011/52-011 F-84G Preserved
54-1766/3-766 F-100C Preserved
54-1877/3-877 F-100C Preserved
062368/368 TF-102A Preserved
62-642/8-642 CF-104D Preserved
62-711/8-711 CF-104 Preserved
62-770/8-770 CF-104 Preserved
8205/8-205 F-104G Preserved On Pole
? AK-1 Preserved Marked "Fethi"
? MAVI ISIK B Preserved
2017 PZL P24A Preserved Replica
(151663)/TCB-663 S-2E Preserved
93-0815/2-815/OK SF-260D Preserved
14284/4-284 T-33A Preserved
51-6764/3-764 T-33A Preserved Forward Fuselage Only, Inside
(24218)/OK-18/2-218 T-34A Preserved Correct Serial?
90331/TE-331/2-331 T-37B Preserved
72-1410/HVHO-410 T-41D Preserved
69-15720 UH-1H Preserved
After spending almost 2 hours here it was time to go for another 7 hour drive towards Yumurtalik where we would meet up with the other teams. Just as we were an hour underway we received a text (from our backup guy) asking if we also visited the army base 5km east of Etimesgut. Uhm what base?? We didn't know about that, yeah i know, i failed to do my homework (again)! But we would come back here the following week so it wasn't that bad.
We also drove past Incirlik AB where 4 C-17's and a Turkish KC135 could be seen from the highway, we didn't stop here to read them off as we wanted to be in time (and in daylight for once) in Yumurtalik. The rest of the day/night was well spent with swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, drinking beer and sharing stories together with the other teams.
The following day it was time to cross the border with Syria. After hearing stories from people (who did this trip before) that it almost took them 6 hours to cross the border we took off early with a group of 8 cars. Indeed they were right, what a mess and what a lot of paperwork to cross the border, but we did it in 4 hours. Normally they search every car, but money helped a lot and off we were without being searched! Six out of the eight cars we were with, had a hotel pre-booked in Aleppo, so we drove there with them and hoped there were some more rooms availeble and ofcourse we hoped to see something at the military base. The hotel was easily found and a room was availeble, we also drove past the military base where all you could see was a large concrete wall and lots of trigger happy military guards! No mil aircraft!
I won't bother you guys with what we experienced military wise in Syria, lets say we found a lot of bases and saw aircraft but nothing could be read off!! I still have nightmares about this.... However we did see a preserved aircraft at a park when you drive from Aleppo to Hamah 36° 6'0.60"N 36°59'40.01"O, not sure what it was as we saw only a glimpse of it but we called it a C-47 look-a-like. Any help is appreciated!
Again we got seperated from the other teams as they wanted to play with their car in the desert, while we headed for Damascus Airport. Here we finally succeded in reading military aircraft off and easy too, from the balcony of the hotelroom! Why aren't there hotels next to a Mig-25 base.......
The following were noted in the 2 nights we stayed here.DAMASCUS 31 JULY / 1 AUGUST 2010
YK-AYA TU-134B-3 585SQN
YK-AYB TU-134B-3 585SQN
(YK-AYC) TU-134B-3 Stored
(YK-AYD) TU-134B-3 Stored
(YK-AYE) TU-134B-3 585SQN
YK-AYF TU-134B-3 585SQN
YK-AQA YAK-40 565SQN
YK-AQF YAK-40 565SQN
(YK-ATA) IL-76M 522SQN
(YK-ATB) IL-76M 522SQN
(YK-ATD) IL-76M 522SQN
(YK-ANC) AN-26 522SQN
(YK-AND) AN-26 522SQN
(YK-ANE) AN-26 522SQN
(YK-ANF) AN-26 522SQN
(YK-ANG) AN-26 522SQN
(YK-ANH) AN-26 522SQN
(YK-ASC) FALCON 900 575SQN
? FALCON 20 575SQN
After a frustrating Syria it was time for Jordan, were we decided to don't do any spotting as it was way to hot (49,4°c max) any finally relaxing (means drinking beer in a pool) a bit. We drove from Damascus to the Dead Sea where we would swim for a couple hours and then drive further to the finishpoint in Aqaba. But underway we stumbled on two nicely preserved F104's.
IRBID 2 AUGUST 2010
915 F-104A Preserved
? F-104A Preserved Unmarked
These are not preserved together, the unmarked one is just outside the city along route 55.
While driving from the Dead Sea to Aqaba we received various text messages from friends that there were rocket-attacks on Aqaba that morning...... Now we knew what the military guards meant when we crossed the border. They asked us where we headed to, we said Aqaba, while he answered; Ah Aqaba, Aqaba Boem! We didn't understand at first but now we knew..... But when we arrived in Aqaba there was nothing to be seen that looked like there was rocket attack that morning. If you didn't know you probably never knew.
Here for the first time our car got sick and vomited! Yes on the middle of the boulevard around 2200hrs in the evening. Nice! It seemed the radiatorfan was broken and thats why the engine suddenly became too hot. Lots of locals came to help and after letting the engine cool down we drove to a nearby hotel and decided to go to a local garage the next day. The next morning i woke up by sound of a helicopter, jumped out of bed an ran outside to see what it was! It was an S-70 in sandcamo who flew overhead the hotel and inbound the airport. I was too late for a photo but my friend said there was a large 03 on the boom. Again any help is appriciated, can't seem to find any photo's of it on the net.
After the car was fixed, we tried our luck at the local airport to see if it was still there, but just before we arrived it took off and departed followed by an Hughes 500 and both remained unidentified. Nothing else of interest was seen at the airport. The rest of the day and the following day we didn't see any aircraft so nothing to report, we only drank lots of beer and made new female friends......
Time for the return leg, we still had 15 countries to go! We said goodbye to Jordan and headed back to Syria where we would try one more time to see active military aircraft. Well helicopters actually as we decided to go to Latakia Navy Base. And again we were disappointed, the ramp was packed with Kamov's and Mil's, but nothing could be read off! Two Mi-14's were right in front of us but carried no serials!! Even one Kamov started up, and i had my camera ready, but it was shut it down after a couple of minutes....§&ç@!! I think we ran out of luck in Syria! It's an excellent country, friendly people, good food and you can even throw the trash on the street as it seems that everybody does that.
We arrived in Turkey and went back to Ankara for the Army base, but we had planned this wrong as it was a saturday! First we passed Etimesgut again and the following could be read off from the West-side of the base.
ANKARA-ETIMESGUT 7 AUGUST 2010
005 CESSNA 650 212FILO
92-055 CN-235-100M 212FILO Grey c/s
93-061 CN-235-100M 212FILO Grey c/s
93-064 CN-235-100M ?FILO White c/s
94-067 CN-235-100M ?FILO White c/s
94-068 CN-235-100M ?FILO White c/s
94-077 CN-235-100M ?FILO White c/s
94-080 CN-235-100M ?FILO White c/s
95-091 CN-235-100M ?FILO White c/s
95-104 CN-235-100M 212FILO Grey c/s
(96-117) CN-235-100M ?FILO Turkish Stars c/s
97-140 CN-235-100M ?FILO White c/s
1x CN-235-100M ?FILO White c/s
4x CN-235-100M ?FILO Grey c/s
Visit:
97-... CN-235-100M 202FILO Grey c/s
Not sure, but it looks like that the CN235's wear different badges, 212Filo on the right and 211Filo on the left, and the white one's wear none.
Next was finally Guvercinlik, the main army base, you can see a lot but reading off is another story, lot's of heathaze again! We found a good spot but were send away by locals as this was a private road. Where you have another good view is the footbridge by the maingate, but this is a spot for the die-hards as military guards can see you.
Unfortunately the score was very low here, the following are id'd from photo.
ANKARA-GUVERCINLIK 7 AUGUST 2010
(10126) Bellanca 7GCBC Preserved
? ? Preserved
10101 Piper Cub Preserved
10395 OH-13S Preserved
? AH-1S Preserved Unmarked
? AB-204B Preserved Unmarked
10016 DO-28 Preserved Blue c/s
10160 O-1E Preserved
? AB-204B Preserved on hill, Unmarked
901 AH-1S Preserved
? U-17B Dump Cockpit section only
? AH-1S Dump Cockpit section only
10267 T-42A White c/s
10269 T-42A Green c/s
10227 U-17B Green c/s
10235 U-17B Green c/s
There were about 50+ helicopters on the ramp and 25+ light aircraft, definately a base to go back too!
The first 8 aircraft are all preserved in a compound by the main gate, the ? is a U-17 or another Bellanca, can't say for sure they look the same to me.
Have only half of it on photo. The AH-1 is preserved by another gate along the same road. Help with the questionmarks is appreciated.Next was Akinci, we decided to look here if something was outside, but as it was a saturday, everything was ofcourse locked up. We drove round the base and only could see 3 CN235's on the ramp, but again heathaze was a problem. The 5 preserved aircraft are all parked together mid field. Any help with the F-104 is appreciated. Guess this is not the one from the roundabout?
ANKARA-AKINCI 7 AUGUST 2010
(53106/4-106) T-33A Preserved
? F-104 Preserved
(53392) F-102A Preserved
(19103) CL-13 Preserved
(46-840) AT-11 Preserved
(35792)/4-792 T-33A Preserved, South-West Gate
? CN-235-100M ?FILO Camo c/s
? CN-235-100M ?FILO Grey c/s
? CN-235-100M ?FILO White c/s
And now finally where we came for in Turkey, no, not Phantoms but gliders, yes military gliders! That was actually our goal of this trip so we headed to Yalova and hoped they would fly in the weekend. And yes finally we were lucky! They flew with 6 gliders, and managed to get 3 of them on photo. Not bad at all!
The ramp also contained T-41's and a couple of Huey's, it seems that 5 Filo has moved from Yesilkoy to here. A nice bonus!
About glider 989, i'm 99% sure, it was the first one i read off, did they receive a new one? Unfortunately no photo of this one. The same for T-41 418, did they rebuild it? Again not on photo, but they are easy to read off.
YALOVA 7 AUGUST 2010
976 SZD-50-3 5FILO
977 SZD-50-3 5FILO
982 SZD-50-3 5FILO
986 SZD-50-3 5FILO
987 SZD-50-3 5FILO
989? SZD-50-3 5FILO
? SZD-50-3 5FILO Near ATC Tower, stored?
74-22488 UH-1H A&KK Camo c/s
? UH-1H A&KK Camo c/s
72-1408/HVHO-408 T-41D 5FILO
72-1409/HVHO-409 T-41D 5FILO
72-1411/HVHO-411 T-41D 5FILO
72-1413/HVHO-413 T-41D 5FILO
72-1414/HVHO-414 T-41D 5FILO
72-1415/HVHO-415 T-41D 5FILO
72-1416/HVHO-416 T-41D 5FILO
72-1418/HVHO-418 T-41D 5FILO
72-1420/HVHO-420 T-41D 5FILO
72-1421/HVHO-421 T-41D 5FILO
72-1423/HVHO-423 T-41D 5FILO
72-1425/HVHO-425 T-41D 5FILO
72-1426/HVHO-426 T-41D 5FILO
72-1427/HVHO-427 T-41D 5FILO
72-1435/HVHO-435 T-41D 5FILO
72-1437/HVHO-437 T-41D 5FILO
72-1470/HVHO-470 T-41D 5FILO
72-1471/HVHO-471 T-41D 5FILO
72-1473/HVHO-473 T-41D 5FILO
72-1475/HVHO-475 T-41D 5FILO
2x T-41D 5FILO
After this we took the ferry to Istanbul and headed for Thessaloniki.
Finally a "new" country, Greece. We headed to Thessaloniki only for the stored F-5's, everything else we would see was a bonus. I've got most of them on photo and comparing my list with another from 2 years ago, it seems that 2 are gone from the compound. On the left side 01613 is missing and on the right side 3012 or 3069. The other between brackets should be correct according the position they were in 2 years ago.
THESSALONIKI-MIKRA 8 AUGUST 2010
Group left of C-47:
01380 F-5A Stored
(01)609 F-5B Stored Marked 609
13378 F-5B Stored
(38)381 F-5A Stored Special c/s, Marked 381
38409 F-5A Stored
38419 F-5A Stored
63420 F-5A Stored
69135 F-5A Stored
97173 RF-5A Stored Camo c/s
Group right of C-47:
? F-5A Stored 3012 or 3069?
(01398) F-5A Stored
(01)608 F-5B Stored
(01)611 F-5B Stored Camo c/s, Marked 611
13367 F-5A Stored
38412 F-5A Stored
38422 F-5A Stored
69164 F-5A Stored
(69230) F-5B Stored Camo c/s, Wreck
(70379) F-5A Stored
(89068) F-5A Stored Saturn c/s
(89)075 F-5A Stored Camo c/s, Marked 075
89092 F-5B Stored
In the shelterpark were another two F-5's, have one on photo and it seems it wears a different tail. The fuselage is grey and the tail is two tone blue, btw its an A model. Could these two be 01613 and the other one one of the two ex-Dutch examples?
Also 2 F-5's are preserved near the old HQ building mid-field. One in special c/s. Any help with these 4 appreciated.
? F-5 Preserved Near HQ, Special c/s
? F-5 Preserved Near HQ, Grey c/s
2x F-5 Stored Shelterpark
(KP255) C-47B Stored Unmarked
(92613) C-47A Preserved Aeroclub
(6)12 F-5B Preserved Main Gate 113PM
97167 RF-5A Preserved Special c/s, South-East Gate
(26866) F-84F Preserved Special c/s, South-East Gate
19294 CL-13 Preserved Gas Station down the road
We found the Sabre by accident and we also didn't know about the F-5 near the watershore. Yeah i know homework, homework.....
Something for next time!The following were on the 113PM ramp. There should also be an special coloured F-5B here but it wasn't seen. Gone or....?
1060 CL-215 113PM
1123 CL-215 113PM
2052 CL-415GR 113PM
2053 CL-415GR 113PM
2054 CL-415GR 113PM
UR-27126 MI-8MTV-3 United Nations
67-345 F-4E Stored
Next was Sedes on the other side of the highway. Here we didn't manage to read anything off, well it looks like all the C-47's are unmarked can't see any serials on my photo's, so all are assumed from other reports. The preserved aircraft can be seen from the southside of the base as are the Dak's.
THESSALONIKI-SEDES 8 AUGUST 2010
(KN575) C-47B Stored Camo c/s
(KN475) C-47B Stored Camo c/s
(92638) C-47A Stored Camo c/s
(92635) C-47B Stored Camo c/s
(92634) C-47A Stored Camo c/s
(92627) C-47A Stored Camo c/s
(516713) T-33A Stored Camo c/s
(KN542) C-47B Preserved White c/s
(89065) F-5A Preserved
(37682) RF-84F Preserved
(61031) F-102A Preserved
(5708) TF-104G Preserved
(53241) N-2501D Preserved
(21367) T-33AN Preserved
(35629) T-33A Preserved
The last base was an Army one, Alexandria. Small base and they are easy to read. We managed to get the following. No sign of an OH13 near the gate.
ALEXANDRIA 8 AUGUST 2010
EΣ-504 AB-206B 3TEAS Camo c/s
EΣ-515 AB-206B 3TEAS Camo c/s
EΣ-627 UH-1H 3TEAS
EΣ-818 UH-1H 3TEAS
EΣ-820 UH-1H 3TEAS
EΣ-821 UH-1H 3TEAS
EΣ-834 UH-1H 3TEAS
EΣ-836 UH-1H 3TEAS
EΣ-273 U-17A Stored
EΣ-299 U-17A Stored
EΣ-300 U-17A Stored
Time for country number 15, Macedonia. One of the two countries who has (we think) the most beautiful women of Europe! Damm! When i think of it..... We stayed in a hotel somewhere near a lake and there were lots of loose women, ow and some rare guys with camouflaged 2 star militairy outfits. Not sure where they were from but they drank lot's of wodka and beer with us. Well actually we drank with them, they paid....
Another night well spend i would say!The following morning was again an early start, we had to do a few more countries today. We first started in Skopje airport, where a lot of construction is going on, and the road on the south side towards the terminal was off limits and only accessible for dumptrucks. The other side was also difficult, we saw a couple Mi-8/17's in compounds but none could be read off! The only thing what was seen on the mil ramp where the three new Air Tractors.
SKOPJE-PETROVEC 9 AUGUST 2010
(Z3-BGT) AT-802AF
(Z3-BGU) AT-802AF
(Z3-BGV) AT-802AF
Disappointed we drove towards Kosovo, but after seeing a couple of women at the border we all forgot about aircraft! The rest of the day was a very long drive through the mountains of Kosovo (the 2nd country with beautiful women) and Albania (if you don't drive a stolen Merc, you don't belong here!) and brought us in Podgorica, Montenegro. The country where they hate foreigners! Great! But we found a hotel with the only women in the city who spoke English. Well, i think it was the only hotel in the city! Anyway she had local beer and when she ran out we went to the pub, with her!
The next morning it was time to take a look at the local base, but its rather difficult to see anything from outside. There are a couple dirt-roads but we only take them when we have a rental-car! This one had to bring us home.
The only things of interest noted were,PODGORICA-GOLUBOVCI 10 AUGUST 2010
503 / 505 or 509? F-84G Dump Forward Fuselage only
RA-1039K L-39C ex FLARF-01039?
Well the F-84 is on a grassfield opposite the terminal parkinglot and easy to see, but not easy to id! Have it on photo but can't read the last digit clearly. When i search for this on the net i find three different serials. Any help? Also the correct former id of the L-39 is appreciated.
Country number 19, Croatia. Our first stop was Dubrovnik Airport to see if there where some CL415's on TDY, but none were seen. Also nothing else of interest. If you drive from here to Split you will drive in and out of Bosnia, so that was country number 20. Yeah, i know, i said in the beginning that we tried to get at least one aircraft of each country on photo but we didn't succeed in that, due to the lack of time we had to skip some bases.
Just before dark we arrived in Split and the following were noted in 10 minutes time at the army barracks.
SPLIT-DIVULJE 10 AUGUST 2010
201 MI-8MTV-1 20TrE
202 MI-8MTV-1 20TrE Camo c/s
215 MI-17 20TrE
251 MI-8MTV-1 20TrE
274 MI-8T 20TrE
275 MI-8T 20TrE
The evening was well spent at a "dutch" campsite somewhere between Split and Zadar along the beautiful Croatian coast. Again an early start the next morning as it was a few miles towards Zadar. When we arrived here they were busy with flying and some were captured nicely on photo.
ZADAR-ZEMUNIK 11 AUGUST 2010
H-151 MI-8T Preserved
195 MIG-21UM Preserved
661 G-2A Preserved
701 J-20 Preserved
(50503) UTVA60 Preserved
(71203)/7312 C-47 Stored
401 ZLIN242L 1ETO
404 ZLIN242L 1ETO
607 BELL206B 3EOPH
811 CL-415T 855PpE
844 CL-415T 855PpE
855 CL-415T 855PpE
866 CL-415T 855PpE
877 CL-415T 855PpE
888 CL-415T 855PpE
890 AT-802AF 855PpE
896 AT-802AF 855PpE
? AT-802AF 855PpE
? AT-802AF 855PpE
Visit:
5D-HV AB212 2LTHubSt KFOR Markings
The Austrian 212 came in and parked on the civvie-ramp.
After Zadar we headed for Trieste, Italy and that brought us through country number 21, Slovenia. Again no aircraft were seen here due to lack of time and no bases on the route. In Italy, the plan was to go to Aviano and catch my last few F-16's there, but i've learned onroute that most of them were elswhere on TDY, so we skipped Aviano and headed straight for Ghedi to see if there were still some stored Tornado's outside. We arrived here just before dark and could only see one on the ramp and 6 in the sheds. So i think most are kept inside nowadays? Ofcourse none could be read off, so we searched for a hotel nearby and try again the next morning.
Today it was the day of rain! We drove back to Ghedi and it looked they had a none flying day. Perfect! It was very quiet here, we drove round the base and only the following could be noted.
BRESCIA-GHEDI 11/12 AUGUST 2010
(MM6601)/6-26 F-104G Preserved Main Gate
(MM6703)/6-21 F-104S-ASA Preserved 154 Gruppo
(MM6522)/5-01 F-104G Preserved 102 Gruppo
(MM53-6740)/5-855 F-84F Preserved 102 Gruppo, mkd 36855
(MM54284)/6-75 MB326 GIA
? TORNADO Dump No Tail, No Canopee, Mock up
? TORNADO Stored? On Ramp
6x TORNADO Inside Sheds
Any help with the dumped Tornado is appreciated, or is this maybe the wooden one that should be here?
Next was a quick peak at Vergiate were it isn't easy to look on the ramp anymore. Besides that it also rained, but we still managed to get a few.
VERGIATE 12 AUGUST 2010
NZ340(2) A-109LUH For New Zealand AF, mkd 82 in window
? A-109LUH For New Zealand AF, inside Hangar
? NH90-TTH For ?, Green c/s, large code on tail
? NH90-TTH For ?, Green c/s, large code on tail
?/EI-216 NH90-TTH For Italian AF
?/EI-217 NH90-TTH For Italian AF
?/EI-218 NH90-TTH For Italian AF
?/EI-219 NH90-TTH For Italian AF
? NH90-TTH For Italian AF
? NH90-NFH For RNethAF, inside Hangar
The last digit of the first 109 was obscured by the tailrotor, it had 82 on the cabindoorwindow, could that be the last two of the con number? The five Italian examples were perfectly on a row but the last one was partly hiding behind a tent and therefore escaped id.
On to the next country, number 23, Switzerland, where it even rained harder! Well in the south that was, therefore almost everything was probably locked up at Magadino.
LOCARNO-MAGADINO 12 AUGUST 2010
A-858 P3-05 Preserved on pole
V-616 PC-6 LTSt7
? PC-6 LTSt7
As it wasn't the perfect day to photograph aircraft we decided to change our route a bit and drive through sunny Liechtenstein towards Austria, countries number 24 and 25, and playing tourist. As good tourist as we are we stopped just across the border in Feldkirch, Austria, fueled up the car and drove back to Switzerland to Stans-Buochs were we arrived just before dark! We did a quick drive around the field but nothing of interest was noted. We had better luck the next morning, there was some kind of a "burn rubber porsche meeting" and the gate was open and we were allowed to wander around. The following were noted in various hangars.
STANS-BUOCHS 13 AUGUST 2010
U-122 P2-05 Private HB-RBC
A-870 P3-05 Private HB-RBR
(888)/MCB PC-6 French AF
HB-HMV PC-7 F-HGPM, ex A-911?
A-927 PC-7
C-403 PC-9
HB-FOG PC-12
A-101 PC-21
A-102 PC-21
A-106 PC-21
J-2313 MIRAGE 3S Preserved
A quick look in the city for the two Mirages.
STANS 13 AUGUST 2010
R-2110 MIRAGE 3RS Preserved Black c/s
R-2116 MIRAGE 3RS Preserved White c/s
And then over to Alpnach, were it was quiet too. Do they fly less in holiday season?
ALPNACH 13 AUGUST 2010
T-355 EC635P2
T-359 EC635P2
T-362 EC635P2
T-363 EC635P2
T-364 EC635P2
T-366 EC635P2
T-369 EC635P2
V-274 SA316B
V-618 PC-6
Counted 12 Puma's inside, but none could be id'd. The EC's are easier as they have there last two on the nose.
On towards Emmen where it was again quiet, probably because of some runway repairs..... Only aircraft seen was preserved Hunter F58 J-4070, all hangars were we could look into were empty. Therefore we tried our luck at Dubendorf and there they did fly, albeit not that much. We also visited the museum again, last time was 11 years ago, well a lot has changed here!
DUBENDORF 13 AUGUST 2010
(T.2B-165) CASA352L HB-HOY
A-702 JU-52 HB-HOT
A-923 PC-7
J-4020 HUNTER F58 Preserved
T-341 AS532UL
T-356 EC635P2
T-357 EC635P2
T-721 BEECH 350C
T-729 BEECH 1900D
T-741 DHC-6
V-249 SA316B
V-622 PC-6 PdS c/s
V-633 PC-6
Museum Outside:
J-1126 Vampire FB6 Preserved
Museum Hangar 1:
A-251 BU181B
J-2113 P-51D
A-100 Fi156C-3
C-534 C3603-1
J-276 D-3801J
J-355 BF109E-3
A-209 BF108B-2
331 FOKKER C.VE
180 EKW C35
A-51 BU131B
640 FOKKER D.VII
257 DEWOITINE D27
459 HAEFLI DH5
? HAEFLI DH13 Unmarked
653 HANRIOT HD.1
245 HAEFLI DH1
? BLERIOT XI Unmarked
(607) N28C-1 Unmarked
A-803 P3-03
V-23 SO1221S
(607/F-MADB) UH-12B Marked KAB-202
? ALOUETTE 2 Unmarked
Museum Hangar 2:
HB-HOI N1203
J-1153 VAMPIRE FB6
J-1753 VENOM FB54
U-134 P2-06
A-901 PC-7 ex P3-05 A-871
(B-8) C45F HB-GAC
? N20 AIGUILON
A-801 P3-02
X-HB-VAD P16 MkIII
J-2011 MIRAGE 3DS
R-2118 MIRAGE 3RS
U-1224 VAMPIRE T55
J-4152 HUNTER F58
V-49 ALOUETTE 2
J-4001 HUNTER F58
A-713 BEECH E50
AD-04 UAV
C-497 C3605
D-101 ADS-90 UAV
(J-1751) VENOM FB54 Pod Only
(J-1580) VENOM FB50 Pod Only
? VAMPIRE T55 Pod Only
We had our lunch at the top floor of the parkinggarage of the airport Zurich-Kloten and stayed here for an our or so, an excellent view but nothing military was seen.
The next country came in sight and that was France, number 26, so we headed for Basel-Mulhouse Europort and hoped for something of interest. Here we found two government aircraft in the maintenance area.
BASEL-MULHOUSE 13 AUGUST 2010
A7-AAZ B737-BBJ Qatar Government
P4-ARL A-319 Ukraine Government
Well thats enough for France
, on to Germany for Snitzels and Beer! We had a hotel pre-booked next to the best XXL restaurant in the world! 35oz Snitzel and a 3 liter glas of beer. Hmmm And let that be close to the main gate of Ramstein AB! Perfect! Why did we went to Jordan as its so close to home..... ow yeah for charity!Well you can understand why we missed the first couple of aircraft in- and outbound Ramstein, yes, we had a visit from the little guy with the big hammer! We only missed a stateside C-21 and a couple C-17's so nothing special actually. Finally a relaxed day of spotting, just sitting in a chair with a beer in one hand and a camera in the other, perfect combination! A thankyou has to go to Mr D (wont say his name maybe he doesn't want to be associated with us, lol) from the Eindhoven area, we traded serials for beer. Ofcourse later in the evening we went to the same restaurant again.
RAMSTEIN AB 14 AUGUST 2010
(02-05294) AH-64D 2-159AVN
(03-05357) AH-64D 2-159AVN
70-0453 C-5A 445AW
85-0006 C-5B 439AW
86-0021 C-5B 439AW
87-0031 C-5B 439AW
87-0045 C-5B 436AW
93-0601 C-17A 62AW
00-0177 C-17A 62AW
01-0187 C-17A 62AW
01-0190 C-17A 437AW
02-1103 C-17A 62AW
03-3114 C-17A 172AW MS ANG
03-3116 C-17A 172AW MS ANG
03-3117 C-17A 172AW MS ANG
03-3126 C-17A 305AMW
04-4132 C-17A 305AMW
05-5144 C-17A 452AMW
84-0081 C-21A 76AS
95-00123 UC-35A F/6-52AVN
92-3022 C-130H 910AW
08-8601/RS C-130J-30 37AS 86AW-CO
08-8603/RS C-130J-30 37AS 37AS-CO
08-8604/RS C-130J-30 37AS
08-8605/RS C-130J-30 37AS
08-8606/RS C-130J-30 37AS
07-8608/RS C-130J-30 37AS
06-8610/RS C-130J-30 37AS
06-8611/RS C-130J-30 37AS
06-8612/RS C-130J-30 37AS
07-8613/RS C-130J-30 37AS
07-8614/RS C-130J-30 37AS
(59-1467) KC-135T 171ARW PA ANG
(59-1504) KC-135T 171ARW PA ANG
61-0304/D KC-135R 100ARW
62-3543 KC-135R 459ARW
63-8043/AK KC-135R 168ARW AK ANG
We paid also a quick visit to Landstuhl, as there was a rumour that there were DC ANG UH-72's in Germany and nobody knew where they were stationed, so we hoped they would be here. No they weren't, but i've learned since that they are at Hohenfels, so have to visit there soon before the're back home!
LANDSTUHL AHP 14 AUGUST 2010
79-23330 UH-60A C/1-214AVN
82-23756 UH-60A C/1-214AVN
84-23951 UH-60A C/1-214AVN
87-24656 UH-60A C/1-214AVN
87-26004 UH-60A C/1-214AVN
88-26045 UH-60A C/1-214AVN
88-26075 UH-60A C/1-214AVN
88-26080 UH-60A C/1-214AVN
The next morning Ramstein was covered in fog, a few aircraft could sometimes be seen on the ramp from the Bismarcktower, but as there was probably nothing new to see we left for Spangdahlem where the weather was much better.
SPANGDAHLEM 15 AUGUST 2010
86-0023 C-5B 439AW
87-0032 C-5B 60AMW
07-7175 C-17A 436AW
After Spang we could choose, drive straight to home in 2 hours and not get 28 countries or a 4 hour detour via Luxembourg trough Belgium and then home. Ofcourse we chose for the last option. So we headed to Luxmbourg-Findel, nothing mil was seen, lots of rain however! The next airfield was Bertix in Belgium were my last glider is stationed, but as it rained very hard we thought they wouldn't fly so we headed straight to Brussels where we noted the following;
BRUSSEL 15 AUGUST 2010
130306 CC-130E 8WING
CS-TMT A-330 21SM
CH-04 C-130H 20SM
CH-07 C-130H 20SM
CH-12 C-130H 20SM
CA-01 A-310 Stored
CA-02 A-310 Stored
Both A-310's looked stored, not sure they are.
Well, that was it, oh yeah i have also P-191 noted in my book, the gateguard at Gilze-Rijen airbase, that was our RNethAF aircraft, but i see that one almost every day.
13500km on the clock in 23 days through 28 countries and about 1000 aircraft in the book on a non-spotting holiday.
Again a trip never to forget!Ofcourse any additions, corrections, questions always welcome!
Cheers and Beers,
DJ & Coyote ©
/elal.gif)
Can't remember because of the "piwo" 
Nice to see we did write some numbers 
Highlight my side was off course Poznan, never saw a Mig-23 before.. 
Next year we're going to catch the last Turkish glider together with some Mongolian Mig-21's....