Vietnam Air Force Yak's @ Nha Trang

[HansvD]

Inspired by the topic posted by Thijs (http://forum.scramble.nl/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=76919) I decided to try my luck at Nha Trang as well.

I arrived at my hotel last Friday at 7am and I noticed that the first flights were already in the air so I decided go to the beach (which is very close to the runway) as soon as possible. As there were numerous locals at the beach and the road near the beach and runway is very busy, I did not want to expose myself too much (I guess spotting is not widely known and accepted in Vietnam..). I ended up booking a room (only 6 euro’s..) at one of the small hotels near the runway. Of course I didn’t use the room but went straight to the roof top terrace which had a nice overview of both the runway and landing.

It turned out to be my lucky day wit no less then 17(!) Yak’s flying during the 3 hours I spent on the roof (serials 01, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 11, 14, 15, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27 & 28) . All flying activity ended by 11am and I haven’t seen any activity later that day (while I was sipping my cocktails at the beach)

As I don’t want to bore you with all 17 Yak’s please see below a small selection of the pics I made that morning. Please note the photos may not be of the best quality as the light conditions were quite harsh and I only did some quick & dirty editing on a netbook (with a freeware program..). Nevertheless I’m quite satisfied with the results as you don’t see the Vietnamese Air Force every day..

Best,

Hans













[IMG]http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k61 ... 042b-1.jpg[/IMG

[Coati]

Nice! Did you see the L-39s parked somewhere on the airfield? I wonder if they are still present at Nha Trang.

Joost

[Stefan]

Nice! Did you see the L-39s parked somewhere on the airfield? I wonder if they are still present at Nha Trang.

Joost

Hi Joost,

AFAIK all of those that visited the base in the last 4, 5 years have only noted Yak's and no L-39s. User 'Bart' (in the other thread), indicates that he knows that they have left. Makes you wonder where they are now though.

Regards,
Stefan

[TAZZ]

Very nice shots of rare birds!
Thanks for sharing

[Thijs]

Nice shots Hans. Comparing the numbers it looks like we saw almost the same

[Trabanti]

Hi all, the L39 are since some years stationed elsewhere, Phu Cat was mentioned as a possibility but I have never heard of any actual sightings there. Also on satellite images the base looks deserted. So where are they now?

From Wikipedia:
" * Nha Trang Airport - closed in 2005 and replace by Cam Ranh Airport. (Commercial flights were moved to Cam Ranh, military and cargo still work from this airbase for take off an landing practice using YAK-52)

* Note: While Nha Trang Airport is shown as "retired" by the VPAF, that means primarily that it's no longer an airbase where regular air force units are stationed. A VPAF flight training school is active on the boundary of the field, however."

There are still some L39's left at Nha Trang under sheds, possibly stored, although I understand officially there are still 36 on strength, which would mean the full complement of 24 originals + 12 second hands from CZ.

You can also stay in Hotel The Light, which is quite affordable compared to the quality offered (the lady who owns it started a few years ago and to compete with the bigger names she keeps the prices low). I requested a room on 1 of the higher floors facing north. Windows in the room cannot be opened but in the corridor you can (I took a An26 from there with a 200mm and 2x converter (x1,6 digital) - OK-ish. From here you can look into some of the sheds and it's a short walk to the right spot at the beach. Or if your budget is sufficient: Try Evason Ana Mandara (Six Senses), perfect location, lovely resort!

I will be there again in 2013.

Best regards, Bart

[Stratofreighter]

That beach is rapidly becoming a "hotspot" for aviation tourists to Vietnam I guess.

[Thijs]

Did a flight Cam Ranh - Hanoi, there are several shelters / sun sheds and hangers at Cam Ranh, they could easily house some Yak52s or L-39s but no aircraft were seen. There are also talks that Nha Trang will close in the near future and use the area for more hotels and resorts. See also the Vietnamese Wikipedia for that.

There are a large number of hotels with view on the airport, i remember also the rooftop hotel. And even from the Sea and Sun hotel, where i stayed, you could see a part of the airport and some hangers.

Ah the resort, its great, but just too far away from the runway for pictures.

[Stefan]

Hi Bart,

Hi all, the L39 are since some years stationed elsewhere, Phu Cat was mentioned as a possibility but I have never heard of any actual sightings there. Also on satellite images the base looks deserted. So where are they now?

Phu Cat shows the same shelters as Da Nang. At Da Nang they contain MiG-21s and Phu Cat is supposed to be home to 920 Fighter Training Regiment with MiG-21 as well. So, I wouldn't directly conclude it is deserted.

Regards,
Stefan

[Trabanti]

Could the shelters/sun-sheds at Cam Ranh be the old Su22 area?

I heard the same thing when I was in Nha Trang; the base is due to close. Not only to build hotels, also to avoid noise pollution for the tourists (reason for the L39s to leave).

[Thijs]

The shelters / hangars I refer to are here 11.995257, 109.213859

The hangar at the platform side looks quite newish

[Stefan]

Could the shelters/sun-sheds at Cam Ranh be the old Su22 area?

Cam Ranh Bay used to be, amongst others, a Soviet base. AFAIK no Fitters were based there.

Regards,
Stefan

[Trabanti]

Hi Stefan, apparently there have been Fitters at Cam Ranh in the past. But I am not sure if this was permanent, prior to Phan Rang, or just a deployment (runway repairs at Phan Rang?). And yes, wouldn't it be great if we could have been near Cam Ranh in the 80s: Floggers and heavy bombers!

[Trabanti]

L39s moved slightly to the north. They are nowadays based in Dong Tac airbase, Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen province. Again, very close to the coast!

Bart