[UPDATE HEAVY] Bahrain Int. Airshow Sakhir AFB Jan.2014

[Stefan]

Wow! Fabulous shots guys! Brilliant opening of the season!



Regards,
Stefan

[Bennie]

Looks a lot better than Dubai last November guys!!! ...
A few more images and I am seriously going to regret that I went to Singapore instead.....

[Hans Rolink]

Great shooting guys. Looks a lot better than I figured it would be judging by last time's pictures.....

Hans.

[giant]

Some of my pic's.

[Optimus]

Awesome stuff guys!

Kees

[L.M.B.]

Hi all!

Here is my selection of highlights of the Bahrain International airshow 2014.

Finding the right spot during showdays is crucial at Bahrain.
Despite the backlight during the entire (dynamic) show, I'm pretty sure we managed to deliver a lot of great shots.
Special thanks to Jurgen (4Aviation), for his succesfull recce of the surrounding area on the first showday and his good call to visit the airbase again during departures on sunday 19 January.






































In my next post I will show some of the visiting aircraft. After all, it is an International Airshow!

Greetz,

Lucien

[Hans Rolink]

Good work, Lucien. Now I know I should have gone along....

Hans.

[L.M.B.]

Here are some pictures of the other participating airforces.
Most dynamic shots were made outside Sakhir airbase during the second day of the show (17 January).

To get to the right spot on the other side to avoid backlight might proof to be tricky.
The south side and center to the west of Sakhir are blocked by the F1 racetrack and a large University compound.
Those interested to have a go at it in 2016, follow the University signs.
Directly in front of the gate, turn left into the desert and leave your car there. Walk as far south as you can and you'll find yourself close to show center!


This first picture leaves no room for mistakes where it was taken....

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Of course not all backlight airshows are a problem. Sometimes it works quite well actually...

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The Saudi support aircraft arrived early on sunday morning, offering us a great opportunity to admire the fantastic desert camo on 2 C-130H's and 1 C-130H-30.
Quite an awsome sight, considering how many aircraft have turned grey in today's Herc commuinity...

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Star of the show - well, one of many - is this RSAF Typhoon. It departed home early on Sunday morning while giving the airbase a nice farewell greating.


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As you could see in previous posts, the Mirage pilot flying an UAE Mirage 2000-9 scored high points with the photographers with it's great display.
Here it is seen departing home:

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Not to be missed, the UAE F-16E demo! This picture was shot on the second day, January 17.

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Another price winner was the RAF Typhoon demo. (And for some wishfull thinking... would the 2016 edition see such a demo in a RSAF example?)

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The USMC flew some hardware tho the airshow from a carrier while making a port visit in Bahrain...

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Another great opportunity the Bahrain Airshow offered was the time you could spend on base after the show:

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The USAF has some F-22's deployed in the area. Each day one example made a few passes for the crowd:

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Here are a few shots from the Russian Knights. No flares this time!? However, these great aircraft will impress anyway...

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Enjoy!!

Lucien

[jurgen]

Hi guys,

Some fantastic shot from a few great days out in the desert. Thanks for the pleasant company and joining us on our first trip to Bahrain.
I guess we will start planning for the 2016 edition soon.

Some shots might look similar to those previously posted, but what the heck, I post them anyway.

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[jurgen]

Hi Lucien,

To get to the right spot on the other side to avoid backlight might proof to be tricky.
The south side and center to the west of Sakhir are blocked by the F1 racetrack and a large University compound.
Those interested to have a go at it in 2016, follow the University signs.
Directly in front of the gate, turn left into the desert and leave your car there. Walk as far south as you can and you'll find yourself close to show center!

Please don't save these directions for your 2016 plans to visit the show as it will not take you to the spot we were at.
Contact me for details or even more simple: Join us for the 2016 tour, sit back and relax and we will take care of the rest!!

[Gryni]

US NAVY, USAF, MARINES, what the hell? invasion? I tought that they not flying at the airshows.

[Thermal]

Those shots of the White Knights with the sun in the background are amazing.