Copyright 2015 Air Shows Review LLC.

The Aviation Magazine name and web

siteisownedbyAirShowsReviewLLC.Nopartofthisepublicationmaybereproducedin
any form without prior written consent from the publisher. Copies of The Aviation
Magazine maynotbesold.However,youarefreetodistributealinktoourwebsite.While
we strive for factual reporting of events The Aviation Magazine is not responsible
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propertyoftheirrespectiveowners.

Greatnewsforourreaders:wedecidedatThe Aviation Magazinetokeeptheissuesfreefor

anextendedperiod.However,itdoesn'tmeanthatinthefuturewewouldnotchargeasmallnominalfee.

In this issue of The Aviation Magazine we went all out to bring the Red Bull Air Race World
Championshiptoourreaders,withoutstandingimages.Whilemanyofourreportscanbefoundonour
websitewww.TheAviationMagazine.com,someofourarticlesarespecialandcanbeonlybereadandseen
heresuchasourspecialreportoftheA10sinEuropefromtheDavisMonthanAFB,Arizona,Flyingwith
the Collings Foundations B24J Liberator Witchcraft and Croatian Air Force Aerobatic Team: Wings of
Storm.

We may not be the largest emagazine on the net, but we are one of the oldest, when it comes to air
shows and other large public aviation events, publishing nonstop since 2009, bringing you our readers
uniqueandinterestingreportsallwithoutstandingandqualityimages.Makingourreadersfeelascloseas
youcangetwithoutactuallybeingthere.

TheBlenheimMkInightfighter,moreinournextissue...

2015ChristopherMifsud

Publisher:AirShowsReviewLLC.
Graphicdesigner:LaszloNyary
ContributingfulltimeTeammembers:
NorthAmerica:SteveSwiperBigg,andNormanA.Graf
Europe:PeterThivessen,WolfgangJarisch,RayPace,andPatriceOlivier
Additionaloccasionalcontributorsforthisissue:
BrianR.Veprek,ChristopherMifsud,RuggeroPiccoli,AlbertoCelsan,GusCorujo,
andRalfPeterWalter

The Aviation Magazine is published six times a year. We are de

votedtocoverawiderangeofaviationeventsrangingfromairshows,airbase
visits, military exercises, civilian spotting, pilot and veteran interviews all with
exceptional photography. The Aviation Magazine is a leader in the
emagazine format since 2009, bringing exclusive and fascinating reports to our
globalaviationenthusiastsdigitally.

Pleasenote:wedonotacceptanyunsolicitedarticlesorimagesforpublication.
Advertising:Pleasecontactusatinfo@theaviationmagazine.com

Interestedinjoiningus?Wehave(3)Teampositionsavailable.Wearelookingfor
a Far East contributor, preferably from Japan, with good English communication
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forMarketingPerson.Ifyouareinterestedinbecomingacontributoremailusat
theaboveemailaddresswithsamplesofyourwork.

SorrybutwecannotacceptanymoreOccasionalContributors.

housands of spectators came to New Jer

sey's Millville Airport on May 9th and 10th to
attend the 2015 Millville Wheels and Wings
Airshow the first air show at this location
since2011.

MillvilleAirportisknownasAmerica'sfirstde
fenseairport.Proceedsfromtheairshowwill
fund the Millville Army Air Force Museum
which tells the story of the pilots who trained
onP47ThunderboltairplanesduringWWII

HeadliningtheshowweretheUSAFF16Thun
derbirds, a team of six "Fighting Falcon" jets
flown by some of America's finest pilots, who
performedan amazing display of precision fly
ing.AlsofeaturedweretheUnitedStatesArmy

Golden Knights an 18person parachute

team;theGEICOSkytypers;AndrewMcKenna's
P51D Mustang Aerobatics; and an amazing
demonstration by an F/A18F Super Hornet of
VFA106fromNASOceana.

AlsoflyingwereWWIIvintagewarbirdsboth
fighters and bombers, that included the B25J
PanchitowhichispartoftheDisabledAmeri
canVeteransAirshowOutreachProgram.This
nobleprogramwasdevelopedtoincreasepub
licawarenessofdisabledveteransandtoserve
veterans. The B25 is a twinengined medium
bomberusedbymanyalliedairforcesinevery
theatreofWWII.

Overalltheairshowwasagreatsuccess.

TheGEICOSkytypers,top
USAFThunderbirds,middle
Bald Eagle P51D Mustang,
bottom.

2015WolfgangJarisch

NATOTiger Meet2015washeldonMay4thto16th,atthe
3nd Main Jet Base at Konya. Konya is located in the central
regionofTurkey,1200mabovesealevelwithapopulationof
approximately1,800,000persons.

Thehost squadronthis yearinTurkeywasthe192Filofrom

Balikesir with F 16 C/D Block 50. Unfortunately, some of the
Tiger Squadrons were involved in other exercises or military
operations around the world. Therfore, many had cancelled
their participation, and as such this years NATO Meet was
quitesmall.

Withthedifferenceofsocialandculturalelementswithinthe
training,guesttigerpilotsparticipatingNATOTigerMeetwere
metwithawarmwelcomebypersonnelinlocaldressesserv
ingsherbet.Flagraisingceremonywasexecutedwiththepar
ticipationofGeneralAbidinNAL,CommanderofCombatant
AirForceandAirMissileDefenceon04May2015.

Thanks to air combat training capability of Anatolian Eagle

TrainingCenter,thetrainingwasexecutedefficientlyand300
sortiesofmissionflightswereperformed.Thesemissionsen
abledparticipantstoobservethecapabilitiesofdifferentair
craftandcreatedvariousopportunitiesofjointworking.

The daily flight operations were planned in two packages, in

Composite Air Operations (COMAO) and relatively smaller
packages (SHADOW WAVE). Beside the combat aircraft, air
bornewarningandcontrolaircraft(AWACS),airrefueling

TheTurkishAirForceF16intigerscheme:lookedfantastic.

aircraft,attackhelicopters,includingsearchandrescuehelicoptersalmostallofthetypeofairoperations
canbeaffectivelyenforced.TheTurkishAirForce192ndTigerSquadron,aspartofNATOTigerMeetun
ion,performsbestrealisticexerciseintheinternationalarena,thereforecanfindagreatopportunityfor
readinessagainsttodaysandfuturethreats.Theorganizationofthehostnationwasreallybrilliant.

TheTurkishAirForcepresentedtwofantasticlookingF16sintigerscheme:onewasinyelloworange
black,andtheotherwasindarkgreyblack.ThePolishAirForcebroughtsomeoldtigerstoKonyabut
thesurprisewasanewgrey/blueschemeonone,whichlookedreallyfantastic.Nonewdesignfromthe
SwissAirForce.ThisyeartheFrenchAirForcehavepaintedaRafaleCinanunusualgreencolor.Thisti
gerwascalledGreenMonster,whichlookeddefinitelybrilliant.

ForthefirsttimeeverforanNTMtookpartthebrandnewBoeingE7TPeaceEagle,tookpart.Itisthe
prideoftheTurkishAEWCCommandwhichislocatedhereinKonya.Itwasagoodopportunitytobring
thisaircraftintoaninternationalexercisebesidetheNATOAWACSE3A.

WelcomingvisitorstothebaseweretwolegendaryPhantomF4E2000fromFilo111,Eskisehir.

2015WolfgangJarisch

TheTurkishAirForceF16intigerschemeingrey/black,above
TheFrenchRafaleinaninterestinggreentigerscheme,below.

TurkishAirForce
192Filo(Balikesir),8xF16C/DBlock50
131Filo(Konya)2xBoeingE7TPeaceEagle
NATO
AWACSGeilenkirchen,2xE3ASentry
PolishAirForce
6Elt(PoznanKrzesiny),6xF16C/DBlock52
FrenchAirForce
EC1/7BA113,(St.Dizier),4xRafaleC/B
EC5/330BA118,(MontdeMarsan),RafaleC/B(usingEC
1/7aircraft)
SwissAirForce
Staffel11(Meiringen),5xF/A18C/DHornets
ItalianAirForce
21Gruppe(Grazanisse),2xAB212CSAR

ExternalParticipants
RoyalNetherlandsAirForce
334Sqn(Eindhoven),1xKDC10
TurkishAirForce
131Filo(Konya),8xF16C/DBlock30(RedAir)

The next NATO Tiger Meet will take place in 2016 in

Spain,hostedbytheSpainSpanishTigerSquadron.

TheAviationMagazinewouldliketothankthehostnation
especiallytheTurkishAirHeadquarterinAnkarafortheir
great hospitality and assistance on base. Our special
thankstoMajorMessutYurtdanand1stLt.UmutUskup.

2015PeterThivessen

2015WolfgangJarisch

FlyingParticipantsNTMMembers

2015PeterThivessen

NATOE3ASentry,topleft
PolishF16C,topright
SwissF/A18CHornets,midleft
ItalianAB212CSAR,bottomleft
TurkishF4E2000Phantom,
bottomright.

2015PeterThivessen
2015PeterThivessen

2015PeterThivessen

2015WolfgangJarisch

2015RedBalazsGardi/RedBullContentPool

Air Race 2015 on May 30th to 31st. Rovinj is a small

citylocatedinthewestcoastoftheIstrianpeninsula,
Croatia. It's a famous touristic place for its wonderful
seacoast and its ancient city located on a hill sur
roundedbytheAdriaticsea.

RovinjreplacedSochi,Russia,accordingtoErichWolf,
General Manager of the Red Bull Air Race, said: It
would have been great to host the first Red Bull Air
RaceinRussiathisyear,butduetothecurrentsitua
tion with the international capital markets, our part
ners in Russia are facing extremely high exchange
rates.Thismakesitimpossibletosetupaninfrastruc
ture fulfilling our high standards and also to provide
ourfanswithticketsataffordableprices.Tosecurea
wellorganizedeightraceseason,wehavebeenforced
to make a decision at this stage and believe this
change was necessary. However, this gives us the
chancetoreturntoCroatia,wherewehadaspectacu
lar race last year. Nevertheless we still
hope to stage a race in Sochi in the fu
ture.

flying a new Zivko Edge 540 V3, starting some

thing new for his home race in Budapest. The
AviationMagazinewe'llbetheretoattestthere
sultsforyou!PterBesenyeitotheright,explains
thechallengesofflyingwiththeCorvus.

Thechallengercupwasintroducedin2014togive
to new pilots the opportunity to develop their
skills by flying in raceconditions. Of the eightpi
lots that participate at the Challangers Cup only
fivewaspresentinRovinj:FrancisBarros(Brazil),
CristianBolton(Chile), Mikael Brageot (France),
Peter Podlunsek (Slovenia) and Daniel Ryfa
(Sweden).

Ryfa earned his firstever win by dominating the

racewithalapin1:05.103minutes,twoseconds
ahead of Mika Brageot in second place. Only
Ryfa and Brageot closed the race without penal
ties.Boltonclosedinthirdplacewith2secondsof
penaltyduetoanIncorrectLevelFlying.Thelo
calfavoritepilotPodlunsek,fromSlovenia,hitting
apylonandhadanIncorrectLevelFlyingsohe
endedfourth.

TheMasterClassQualification
During the training, Hannes Arch experienced a
scarypilonstrike.Thefabricwrappedaroundthe
wing and created an incredibly dangerous situa
tion. The great training helped Arch to stay calm
andincontrol,hewentoutofthetrackanddida
safetyclimbout.Archwasabletoremovethefab
ric from the wing and he landed safely in Vrsar
airport (https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=z6qpNND8JaI).

2015RuggeroPiccoli

TheChallengerCup

TheMasterClassqualificationwaswonbyBonhomme
thatdemonstratedhisgreatabilityandthathewillbe
the number one candidate for the final victory of the
race.HewasfollowedbyYoshihideMuroyaandMatt
Hall,thedirectcompetitortowinthechampionship.In
the qualifications it is very important to be near the
top due to the race formula of this year. In the first
Roundof14thepilotsaredividedin7couplesand
onlythewinnerofeachcouplegainstheaccesstothe
second part of the race the Round of 8. Then the
fourwinnersmakeonelapandthefastestpilotisthe
winner of the race. The couples are build by bringing
the first qualified pilot with the last, the second with
thethirteenth,andsoon.Sothefirstinthequalifica
tion has the advantage to challenge the last. Both,
BonhommeandHall,wontheircouplesraceandthey
werechallengedintheRoundof8.Bonhommelost
so it was not possible for him to be in the Final 4,
creating agreatadvantageforMattHallwhoendedup
asthethirdinthefinalrace.

Allfilmstripimagesby
2015RuggeroPiccoli

2015RedBullContentPool

Rovinj, Croatia, hosted the third stop of the Red Bull

Afterthefirsttworaces,inAbuDhabi(UAE)and
Chiba (Japan), Paul Bonhomme is the leader of
the championship, followed by Matt Hall. Both
had a great start of the season, Bonhomme won
both the races and Hall was second. The English
lion,NigelLamb,2014championoftheseason,is
forced to chase and must earn points on Bon
homme to defend the title. The Austrian Hannes
Arch, who lost the 2014 championship in his
homeraceinSpielberglastyear,isforcedtofol
lowduetohisnotsogoodstartingofseason.

The last two pilots of the ranking are the two

rookies, Juan Velarde (Spain) and Franoise Le
Volt (France), both with zero points. As Velarde
stated us on the Saturday morning interview, for
themthechallengeistolearnalltheskillsthatare
needstocompeteintheMasterClass.

From the Saturday (May 30) morning interviews

wediscoveredalsothattheracetrackissimilarto
theoneofthelastyear,it'sonlyabitshorter.The
realchallengeforeverypilotisthewind,thaton
the Istrian coast can be intense and frequently
changesdirection.Everytimetheracersdoalap,
itfeelsliketheyareonadifferenttrack.

Compared to the past season, only Michael Gou

lianhasanewplaneofthesametype:Edge540
V2.TheotherMasterClasspilotsmadesomemi
nor improvements on their machines during the
short winter stop. Pter Besenyei is still having
thesameissuesaslastyearwiththethinwingsof
hisCorvusRacer540.WhiletheCorvusRacer540
is a good aerobatic plane however Pter cannot
pullashewouldlikeduetothewingstallandthis
resultedinalostoftimerespectoftheothercom
petitors.Toresolvethisproblemhewillbe

By winning against Pter Besenyei in the Round of

14 and against the pilot who narrowly snatched the
titlelastyear,NigelLamb,intheRoundof8Hannes
ArchwontheFinal4andbecomethewinnerofthe
RedBullAirRaceinRovinj2015,justlikehedidlasting
2014 here. It seems that Rovinj is a special place for
the Austrian ace who was supported here by many
fans.
ThenextRedBullAirRacewillreturntoBudapest,af
terfouryears,on45July.Anamazingscenarioforthe
fourth stop of the 2015 season. We will be in Buda
pesttobringourreadersourreport.

RovinjRaceResults:

2015SamoVidic/RedBullContentPool

2015RuggeroPiccoli

1.HannesArch(AUT)
2.MartinSonka(CZE)
3.MattHall(AUS)
4.MichaelGoulian(USA)
5.NigelLamb(GBR)
6.MatthiasDolderer(GER)
7.PeteMcLeod(CAN)
8.PaulBonhomme(GBR)
9.NicolasIvanoff(FRA)
10.YoshihideMuroya(JPN)
11.KirbyChambliss(USA)
12.PeterBesenyei(HUN)
13.JuanVelarde(ESP)
14.FrancoisLeVot(FRA)

2015RuggeroPiccoli

2015RedBull

PeterPodlunsek(Slovenia)wasalocalfavouritein
theChallengerCup,above.

PeteMcleodduringthe
race,above,andbefore
theraceinterviewtothe
left.

2015RuggeroPiccoli
Allimages2015RedBullContentPool,unlessnotedotherwise

NicolasIvanoffofFrance,topleft

PeteMcleod,midleft

FrancoisLeVotofFrance,bottomleft

PterBesenyei,center

HannesArchbeforetherace,background

Lefttoright:Onthepodium#2)Martin

Sonka(CZE),#1)HannesArch(AUT),and
#3)MattHall(AUS).

USAFreleasedphoto

AnF16fromthe31stFS,AvianoABItaly,approaches
forairrefuelingfromaKC135Stratotankerfromthe
100thAirRefuelingWing,RAFMildenhall,England.

InOperationAlliedForce,theAirWaroverSerbia,theBuzzards

F16 Fighting Falcons from the 31st

Fighter Wing, 510th FS, Aviano Air Base,
Italy, approaches for air refueling from a
KC135 Stratotanker from the 100th Air
RefuelingWing,RAFMildenhall,England,
March4,2015,duringExerciseIronHand
over southern France. The aircraft were
participatinginacombinedtrainingevent
designed to enhance interoperability be
tween the two wings and refine tech
niques and procedures. This type of
planned,routinetrainingallowsforakey
opportunity for U.S. Air Forces in Europe
and U.S. Air Forces Africa wings to work
witheachothertoensuretheyareready
toconductrealworldmissionseffectively
andefficientlywhencalledupon.Through
forward presence and ready forces, U.S.
AirForcesexecutesmissionsinsupportof
regionalandglobaloperationstoprovide
global vigilance, global reach and global
powerforU.S.objectivesacrossanarea
spanning104countries.
OnJuly1,1994,the510thFSwerereacti
vatedatAviano,Italy,astheBosniaBuz
zards flying the General Dynamics/
Lockheed F16CG Viper. The Bosnia Buz
zards,duringOperationDeliberateForce,
were the first F16 Block 40 squadron to
dropaLaserGuidedBomb.The510thled
theTacticalAirForceswiththefirstcom
batuseofNightVisionGogglesinanF16
during Operation Deliberate Guard. The
BosniaBuzzardsledthewaybybeingone
ofthefirstF16unitstobecomeForward
AirControllers(FAC),andwerethefirstto
employasFACsincombatintheF16.

distinguished themselves by flying more combat missions than

any other F16 squadron. Subsequently the "Balkan Buzzards"
have expanded into an Expeditionary Air Force, the worldwide
"Fightin'Buzzards"andwerethefirstAvianofightersquadronto
deploytoOperationSouthernWatchinJune2000andtoOpera
tion Northern Watch in June and December of 2001. During
thosedeploymentsthe"Fightin'Buzzards"engagedincombat
operations over Iraq in both surface attack and combat search
and rescue. In September to December 2002, the Buzzards re
turned to Operation Southern Watch and dropped 136,508
poundsofordinanceoverIraqtoincludethefirstGBU31AJDAM
inF16CGcombathistory.

The "Fightin' Buzzards" continue to fly the F16CG Fighting Fal

conbasedatAvianoAB,Italy.

TwoF16FightingFalconsfromthe31stFighterWing,AvianoAirBase,Italy,flyoverEuropeonMarch20,

2015.TheaircraftwereparticipatinginaflyingtrainingdeploymentwiththeEstonianairforceandalsopar
ticipatinginadditional,unrelatedtrainingwiththeFinnishandSwedishAirForces.

ASalutetoVeteranswasthethemeforthe2015PlanesofFameAirShow.Nearly50air
craftperformedfortherecordcrowdsof30,000andoveradozenveteranssharedtheirex
periencesinpaneldiscussions.InadditiontothewarbirdsthatoneexpectstoseeinChino
theairshowfeaturedmoderntacticaldemonstrationsbytheUSAirForcespremierfighter
aircraft, the F22 Raptor, and the Canadian Forces CF18 Hornet. Aerobatic performances
frombiplanestojetplanesroundedouttheaerialentertainment.

Except for those hardy photographers who

showedupat05:00forthesunrisephototour,
the gates opened at 08:00. Parking, as always,
was very well handled by the legions of well
trained volunteers. One of the marks of a pro
fessional air show is how well parking is han
dled. Too many shows forget that parking is
both the first thing and the last thing that visi
tors experience. Chino handles parking exceptionally well. Security and ticketing are also a
breeze.Buyingticketsonlineinadvanceisnot onlycheaper,butresultsinquickerentry.A
quickscanofthecodeandanexchangeforawristbandspedtheattendeesthroughthesecu
rity checkpoint and then on to the trams, which quickly and efficiently transported the
crowds of aviation enthusiasts to the runway. There was plenty of room along the lengthy
fenceline.Somephotographersoptedforairshowlefttocatchtheplanesastheybankedin,
otherspreferredthewesternendtoavoidshootingintothesun.Manyalternatedeitherdur
ingthecourseofthedayorfromdaytoday.Nomatterwhereyouchosetosit,therewasnot
a bad seat at this show. All of the aircraft scheduled to fly were lined up in front of the
fencelineandthisareawasopentothepublicinthemorning.

Therewerealsomanyotheraircraftonstaticdisplayonly,soittookquiteawhiletoseeallof
theaircraftupclose.TheVeteransPanelalsotookplaceinthemorning.Overadozenveter
answereinvitedtosharetheirexperienceswiththeaudience.Althoughthediscussionswere
RCAFCF18Hornet

broadcastoverthePAsystem,therewerelargecrowdsarrayedinfrontof
the stage. Another group of veterans was featured during the noontime
intermission.

Theflyingbeganpromptlyat11:00AMandalreadywiththefirstfouraircraftflighttherewasasurprise.A
baremetal Curtiss P36 was in the lead flight paired up with a similarly marked Seversky AT12 (two seat
trainerversionoftheP35).ThefreshlyrestoredHawkwasmakingitspublicdebutandonlyairshowappear
anceintheUS.TheHawkisownedbyTheFighterCollection,basedinDuxford,England.Whatatreattosee
itflybeforeitheadedofftotheUK.

Theshowwaslightonbombersthisyear,butmorethanmadeupforitwiththebreadthanddepthoffight
ers.TheArmyaircraftflightfeaturedflybysbymanyoftheelevenP51Mustangsinattendance,twoP40
Warhawks,P63KingCobra,P38LightningandaP47Thunderbolt.JoiningthefighterswereaB25JMitchell
andC47Skytrain.

TheKoreanairbattledemonstrationfeaturedtheiconicmatchupoftheF86SabreandMiG15Fagot.The
Museums Sabre featured new markings this year, honoring Captain Clifford Jolley, who shot down seven
MiG15sinKorea.Jolleyflewwiththe335thFighterInterceptorSquadron,TheChiefs,sotheSabrenow
bearsanIndianheadinfullwarbonnet,sevenkillstarsandthewordsJolleyRogeronitsnose.TwoT33
Shooting Stars joined in on the jet dogfight. Also flying during this segment werethe Sea Fury, Yak3, F4U
CorsairandP51.

TheafternoonsNavyflightfeaturedseveralGrummanCats:twoF4F/FM2Wildcats,anF6FHellcat,F7FTi
gercatandF8FBearcat.JoiningthemweretheHawkerSeaFury,TBMAvengerandtwoCorsairs.AnAichiVal
(replica)andMitsubishiZerowerealsointhepattern.

TheshowfeaturedcivilianaerobaticperformancesbySeanD.TuckerintheOracleChallengerIIIbiplane,
Rob Harrison in the Zlin 142c and Clay Lacy in the Learjet. Warbird aerobatics were performed by Dennis
SandersintheHawkerSeaFury,JohnCollverinhisNorthAmericanAT6TexanWarDog,andGregWired
ColyerinhisLockheedT33ShootingStarAceMakerII.

The Canadian Forces CF18 demonstration team started their 2015 season at this show. This years theme
commemoratesthe75thanniversaryoftheBattleofBritain:theHornetstopsidepaintschemefeaturesthe
earthtoneanddarkgreencamouflagewornbyHurricanesandSpitfiresoftheearly1940s.Itfitrightinwith
all the warbirds. This years demonstration pilot, Captain Denis Cheech Beaulieu, put on a spectacular
show,whetheritwasalowandslowdirtypassorbuzzingthetowerclosetoMach1.

CaptainJohnCummingsoftheUSAFRaptorDemonstrationTeamclosedtheshowwithanimpressivedisplay
ofmodernjetfightercapabilitiesintheF22.Chinowasoneofonly21airshowappearancesfortheRaptor
thisyear,andtheonlyrepeatshowfromlastyear.Wordistheydliketoreturnnextyear.Followinghisdemo
Taboo joined up with several warbirds for the Heritage Flight. This is one of the very few shows with
enoughwarbirdsandHeritageFlightqualifiedpilotsonhandtostageafourshipflight.OnFriday,theRaptor
wasjoinedbythreeMustangs.ButnotjustanyMustangs,threedifferentmodels:P51AMrs.Virginia,P
51BBoiseBeeandP51DSpamCan.TheweekendsHeritageFlightswerecomposedoftheP38J23Ski
doo,theP51DWeeWillyIIandtheF86FJolleyRoger.Thechoiceofaircraftwas
interestingfromanumberofperspectives:twopropsandtwojets;twosingleengine
andtwodoubleengineaircraft;twoLockheedandtwoNorthAmericanaircraft.Ku
dostotheorganizersfortheirattentiontodetail.

NewthisyearwastheadditionofapreviewdayandtwilightshowonFriday.
Thisincludedrehearsalandpracticeflightsbyanumberofperformers,
chiefamongthemtheF22andCF18demoteams.Eachteamper
formedtwiceonFriday,onceduringtheafternoonandonceinthe
evening.

Unlikemanyoftheothernightshowsin
southern California this spring, Chinos
show took place during the golden
hour of the evening, when lighting
conditions were perfect for photogra
phy.ThesunreflectingofftheRaptors
fuselage made it look goldplated. The
CF18 demo closed the show with
Cheech taking off right at sundown,
blasting the tarmac with the flames
from his afterburner as he rotated
sharplyontakeoff.Herepeatedhisper
formance from the afternoon, but the
afterburner stood out sharply in the
gloaming. The only departure from his
standardroutinewaswhenhedeployed
his tailhook on landing. The trail of
sparks lit up the night as he dragged it
the length of the runway! What a way
to end the day and start the air show
season.Twothousandpeopleattended
thenightshowandfromallaccountsit
wasahugesuccess.Welookforwardto
it becoming a standard part of the
show.

We would like to thank Jerry Wilkins

andHarryGeierforarrangingthemedia
accessandtothemanypilots,sponsors,
staff and volunteers who made this air
show such a success. If you missed the
showthisyearmarkyourcalendarsand
joinusnextyearonthefirstweekendin
May in Chino for one of the best war
birdshowsaround.

P51AMrs.Virginia

P51BBoiseBee

P51DSpamCan

BoeingP26Peashooter

F22RaptorHeritageFlight

FockeWulfFW190
2LockheedT33ShootingStarswithaNorthAmericanSabreF86F

MesserschmittBf108Taifun

HeritageFlight:F22,F86F,P51D,andP38J

SeverskyAT12Guardsman

CurtissP36Hawk

WhatbetterwaytocelebrateArmedForcesDaythanbyattendingawarbirdairshow?Manyairshowsfea
turewarbirdsaspartoftheirflyingorstaticlineup,buttheMilitaryAviationMuseumsWarbirdsOverthe
Beach air show is one of the very few that flies warbirds exclusively. This show, one of two the museum
hostseachyear,isdevotedtoWorldWarIIanddrawsprimarilyonthemuseumsowncollection,butalso
includes a variety of visiting aircraft. World War II military reenactor groups and period comics and musi
ciansprovideadditionalentertainmentontheground.

Thegatesopenedat9:00AMeachday.Parkingwasefficientlyhandledbyacadreoftrainedvolunteersandit
wasashortwalktotheshowline.Planeswerealreadyflying;warbirdridesaleswereavailablefrom8:30AM
to1:00PMandaftertheshowintotheevenings.Therewasplentyofroomtosetupfoldingchairsorclaima
spotinthebleachers.Personalcoolerswithwater,sodaandsnackswerepermitted;manyfamiliessetuppic
nicareasandsettledinfortheday.Theflyingperformanceswerescheduledtobeginat1:00PMsotherewas
plentyoftimetoviewtheaircraftonstaticdisplay.Alloftheaircraftscheduledtoflywerearrangedonthe
edgeofthegrassrunwayandvisitorswereencouragedtogetupcloseandpersonal;therewerenoropesor
stanchionskeepingpeopleawayorintrudingonphotographs.

AdditionalaircraftweretobeseenintheFighterFactoryrestorationhangarorinthemuseumsotherbuild
ings.ThemuseumalsohasanextensivecollectionofWorldWarIreplicaaircraftthatareflownduringitsan
nualBiplanesandTriplanesAirShow(scheduledforOctober34thisyear).InJune,2013,shortlyafterour
lastvisit,themuseumfacedseverefinancialdifficultiesanditwasfearedbymanythatthemuseumwould
havetoclose.Althoughthesituationturnedoutnottobeasdireasfirstreported,themuseumwasforcedto
selloffanumberofaircraft,chiefamongthemtheB17GChuckieandtheFW190A8.How
ever,themuseumisnowdoingwell,andnewaircraftareonceagainbeingacquired.

JunkersJu52topleft,andaFockeWulfFW190Wrgerabove.

JunkersJu52PolikarpovPo2Mule

Soonenoughitwastimefortheshowtobegin.Unlikeduringourlastvisit,theweatherwasperfect:clear
blueskieswithpuffywhitecloudsandalightbreeze.Allofthewarbirds,exceptfortheMe262,takeofffrom
andlandonthegrassstripadjacenttothemuseum.Thisprovidessomeexcellentphotographicopportunities
ofthesephasesoftheirflight.However,becauseoftheproximityofthetreesontheothersideoftherun
waytheairshowboxistothewest.Thismakesphotographyoftheaircraftintheairdifficult,asoneislook
ingattheundersideoftheaircraftastheycirculateinthepatternandoneisalsoshootingintothesun,mak
ingforbacklitimages.Thepilots,however,dotheirbesttoamelioratethesituationbybankingasmuchas
possible during their approaches. The flying began with formation flights by several AT6 and SNJ trainers.
ThiswasfollowedbyaparatrooperdropfromtheC46TinkerBelle.Unfortunately,Sundaysplannedjump
fromtheJu52transportdidnottakeplace.Therestoftheafternoonsflyingwasarrangedthematically,be
ginningwithtrainersthenproceedingthroughflightsfromthevarioustheatersofoperations.TheU.S.train
ersandliaisonflightfeaturedtheBoeingStearman,StinsonL5Sentinel,theNorthAmericanAT6Texanand
thePiperNE1,theNavysversionoftheL4Grasshopper.Thebreadthofthemuseumscollectionallowed
foraseparateflightofforeigntrainersandliaisonaircraftcomposedofthedeHavillandTigerMothandChip
munk,theFockeWulfFW44Stieglitz,thePolikarpovPo2MuleandtheMesserschmittBf108Taifun.

TheU.S.aircraftwereseparatedintoEuropeanandPacificflights.TheformerfeaturedtheNorthAmericanP
51D Mustang, B25 Mitchell and the newlyacquired P64 replica, which were joined by the Curtiss P40
Warhawk. The U.S. Pacific flight was composed of the Consolidated PBY Catalina, Grumman TBM Avenger
andFM2Wildcat,VoughtFG1DCorsairandtheDouglasSBD5Dauntless.AlthoughtheAD4Skyraidertech
nicallydidnotseeserviceduringWorldWarII,itdidnotlookoutofplaceflyingwiththeothers.

TheEuropeantheaterforeignflightwascomposedofBritish,GermanandSovietaircraft,rangingfromthe
JunkersJu52tothelatewarMesserschmitt262jetalongwiththeHawkerHurricaneandYakovlevYak3.The
SupermarineSpitfirewasontheflightline,butdidnotfly.TheHurricanewaslaterjoinedintheskybywhat
manyinthecrowdconsideredthestaroftheshow,thedeHavillandMosquito.Theyflewanumberofpasses
information,thenindividually.Wewouldhavewelcomedafewlowlevelpassesbutunderstandtheflight
restrictionsthatneedtobeadheredtoduringtheairshow.Astheformalflyingended,thewarbirdridesre
sumed,sotherewasnorushtotheexits.ManystuckaroundonSaturdayforthesteakdinnerandhangar
danceorsimplytoviewtheaircraftonemoretime.Manyofthemilitaryreenactorsbivouaconsite,sothere
wasnocurfewandvisitorscouldstayaslateastheywanted.

FockeWulfFW44StieglitzMesserschmittMe262

YakovlevYak3
JonathanLichtensteinandMarkWhallteamedupagaintoprovidenarrationandkepttheaudiencewellin
formed.AirBossJeffComeau,assistedbyDonSiemieniak,didagreatjobofkeepingtheflyingsafeandon
schedule.

IdliketothankChrisVtipilforcoordinatingthemediaaccessandprovidingassistanceduringtheairshow.
Wed like to thank Jerry Yagen for keeping them flying and all the sponsors, performers and volunteers
whomadethisyearsshowsuchasuccess.

DouglasAD4Skyraider

The airbase (BA Base Arienne) 705 Tours is

locatedsome250kilometerssouthwestofParis,
FranceinthevalleyoftheLoireriver.

Themaintaskofthebaseistotrainpilotsforthe
French Air Force. The aircraft type used for this
purpose is the Breguet ALPHAJET E. Additionally
theairportisusedforcivilairtrafficaswell.Inthis
casetheBA705providestheessentialsupportin
air traffic control, fire and rescue equipment,
runwaymaintenance,etc.Theairportthusserves
bothmilitaryandcivilianpurposes.

SixyearsafterthelastairshowwasheldinTours,
the BA 705 celebrated its 100th anniversary
Meeting du Centenaire on Sunday, the 7th June
2015, and this was the actual air show day. On
June 5th, Friday there was a spotters day when
aviation enthusiasts could watch the arrivals as
well as some rehearsals of various participants.
June 6th, Saturday was reserved for the VIP day,
when invited guests and school classes could
attendtobecomeacquaintedwithaviation.

In line with the central theme of the centennial

anniversary of the air base the flight program
(from10:00h18:00h)highlightedlotsofhistoric
airplanes. Of course the most modern aircraft of
the French Air Force as well as several National
aerobatic teams, like the Patrouille de France,
LEquipe de Voltige, and Patrouille Cartouche
Dormadetheirpresencefelt.

As usual the tactical performance of the "Ramex

Delta Team", flying two Mirage 2000N from EC
2/4 "La Fayette" (BA 125, Istres) were very im
pressive. In the same league played the solo dis
play of the AMD Rafale C from EC 1/7
"Provence"(BA113/St.Dizier)aswellastheBel
gian Air Force Lockheed Martin F16 MLU solo
demonstration. This particular aircraft showed a
brandnewstrikingcolourscheme.

Afeastfortheeyeswerethemanyuniquehistoric
militaryaircraftfromdifferentperiods.Thegrand
finalewasperformedbythePatrouilledeFrance,
whichofcourse,isinaclassofitsown.

BroussardMH1521

A10CfromDM

MD.311312315DassaultFlamantsinformation

RafaleNATOTigerschemeMS505Cap232GreenMarch(Morocco)F16fromBelgiumNorth1101Noralpha(MesserschmittBf208)

RamexDeltasMirage2000Ns

BreitlingBcker

EVAA

ThePatrouilledeFrance

2015WolfgangJarisch

TheAnatolianEagleExercisewasconductedfrom
June 8th to 19th, at the 3rd Main Jet Base at
Konya,Turkey.

Similar in scope to the Red Flag and Maple

Flag exercises Anatolian Eagle is the only
tactical training center between Europe and Asia
minor. The operational environment covers an
area of 300x400 km and without any restrictions
over the air space. The Training Center develops
scenarios in line with the participant countries
and arranges missions according to their training
needs.

AnatolianEagleisintendedto:
Increase the operational training level of the
pilots and air defense personnel in a most
realisticoperationalenvironment,
Exercise and develop joint and combined
operationalprocedures,
Decreasethelossestoaminimumlevelandto
increase mission effectiveness to a maximum
levelinrealoperationalenvironments.

AccordingtotheTrainingCentretheirfunctionis
aimed to train the participants as they fight on
various mission types and train them to survive,
andmaintaintheircombatreadiness.

The elements of Anatolian Eagle were split into

the White HQ, the Red, and the Blue Force. The
White HQ did the operation for the training
scenarios,monitoringandcommanding,evaluating
andanalyzingthetraining.TheRedForcewasthe
trainingaidfortheBluefighterswithF16sandF
4Es. The Blue Force was the primary target
audience.
AnotherelementofAnatolianEaglewastheuse
of different groundtoair defensive systems like
the SA6 Gainful, SA8 Gecko, SA11 A/B
Gadfly, ZSU234 Gundis, Skyguard Sparrow
andHawkmissiles.

For this years event 102 aircraft from Turkey,

Pakistan, USAF, Spain, UK, Germany, and NATO
and1350personnelweredeployed.Airrefueling
wasprovidedbyaTurkishKC135RandaGerman
LuftwaffeAirbusA310.Attheendoftheexercise
some 1022 missions had been flown by the
participatingaircraftandcrews.

The Aviation Magazine Media crew would like to

expressourthanksandappreciationtotheTurkish
Embassies in Germany and Austria, especially to
theAETC(AnatolianEagleTrainingCenter)Squad
ron Commander Lt.Com. Hasan Saffet Celikel, the
headquarters of the Turkish Air Force in Ankara,
Major Mesut Yurtdan, 1st Lt. Umut Uskup and all
thepersonnelonthebasewhoassistedusfortheir
supportandhospitality.
Foradditionaldetailsseeoursitereviewbyclicking
here.

2015RalfP.Walter

TurkishBoeingEW7T"Wiseman"(Boeing7377ES)
2015PeterThivessen

2015WolfgangJarisch

2015WolfgangJarisch

F16softhePakistaniAirForce
2015PeterThivessen

2015WolfgangJarisch

2015PeterThivessen

TheMiG29killerF15C
fromtheUSAF

2015PeterThivessen

TheTurkishF4E/2020,the
Phantomsstillflyinghere...

TheSpanishEF18M

DassaultFalcon900DassaultFalcon20EurocopterAS532CougarTAIT129SikorskyS70A28EBlackhawk
Allimagesunlessnoted2015WolfgangJarisch

2015WolfgangJarisch
2015RalfP.Walter

TheNATOBeoingE3AaboveandtheTurkish
CASAIPTNCN235M100,below

2015PeterThivessen

2015PeterThivessen

TheTurkishF4E/2020Phantomsaboveandthe
TyphoonFGR4/T3fromUK,below

Allimagesunlessnoted2015PatriceOlivier

The Meeting de l'Air from June 27th to 28th at the

French Air Force Base Arienne 116 LuxeuillesBains
wasthelastofonlythreeFrenchAirForceairshowsin
the2015season.TheothertwowereattheBaseAri
enne 126 Solenzara, island of Corsica and at the Base
Arienne705Tours.

LuxeuilisoneoftheoldestairbasesinFrance,located
inthenortheasternpartofFrance.Itsoriginsdateback
toWWI.From1966until2011theairbasewaspartof
theForcedeFrappe(nucleardeterrenceForce)operat
ing aircraft that could fly conventional strike and nu
clear missions with the Mirage IIIE, Mirage IV and Mi
rage2000N.TodayitishometotheGroupedechasse
01.002Cigognes,flyingtheMirage20005F.

Some40.000visitorswerepresentedanexcellentmix
tureofwarbirdsandactivemilitaryaircraft,alongwith
three of the world's top aerobatic jet teams: Red Ar
rows from the UK, Frecce Tricolori from Italy and
FrancesownPatrouilledeFrance.

Theeighthoursnonstopflyingprogramstartedat10

a.m. on both days. The French Air Force impressively

demonstratedthecapabilitiesoftheirFrenchmade
fighters.ThepilotofaRafaleCshowedwhatamodern
fighter is capable of: tight turns with high gloads, in
credible climb rates and very fast acceleration/
deceleration. Two Mirages 20005Fs, based at Luxeuil
demonstratedtheinterceptionofasingleenginepro
peller aircraft and showed the lowspeed flying per
formance of the Mirage. The tactical demo of the
RamexDeltateamwithitstwoMirage2000Ngavean
excellent impression of the capabilities of the aircraft
and the maneuvers used when operating in challeng
ing combat environments. The loudest part of the air
show was the display of a Swiss Air Force F/A18C. It
wasamazingtoseehowthisaircraft,designedalmost
40yearsago,stillperformsthesedays.

AnotherhighlightwaswhenoneofthefewEC725R2
Caracal the French Air Force Special Operations Com
mand has in its inventory demonstrated a fast rope
insertionofaspecialforcesunitandtheirextractionin
ahostileenvironment.

Not flying, but part of the static display were

twoA10Cofthe354thFighterSquadronfromDavis
MonthanAFB,Arizona.Theyareassignedtothe354th
ExpeditionaryFighterSquadronanddeployedtoEast
ernEuropeanNATOcountriesaspartofatheaterse
curitypackage.Otheralsorarelyseenaircraftwerea
Sukhoi Su22 and a Mil Mi24 from the Polish Air
Force, the Slovakian Air Force sent a Let410 and a
Mig29AS.

Wewouldliketothanktheorganizersandallthemen
andwomenwhohelpedtohavemorethanahundred
aircraftpresentandtwodaysofflyingactivity.

TwoMirage20005FsbasedatLuxeuil,above,

Rafale demo with the NATO Tiger scheme, to the

right.

2015RalfP.Walter

2015PatriceOlivier

Nobigairshowiscompletewithoutaerobaticteams.
Flying on both days were the French Patrouille de
France with Alpha Jet and the Cartouche Dor with
TB30andfromItalytheFrecceTricolori,celebrating
their55thanniversarythisyear.OneoftheirMB.339,
theaircraftoftheCommander,wasgiventhecelebra
tory number #55. The Red Arrows flew their display
onSundayonly.

Whenitcomestowarbirdstherewasawidevariety
oflegendaryaircraft.Theoldjetagewasrepresented
byaDeHavillandDH.100VampireFB6andaHawker
Hunter F.6A. Not only jets from the past were on
show. The mighty Douglas AD4N Skyraider along
with the smaller Supermarine Spitfire PR.XIX and
HawkerSeaFuryFB.11alsogaveafineandpowerful
display.

MoraneSaulnierMS.406,leftandonthefirsttwo
filmstripimagesbottomright,

CurtissH75CIReplica(T6modified)topright

MoraneSaulnier MS733 Alcyon, last film strip

bottomright.

2015RalfPWalter

2015RalfPWalter

Allimagesunlessnoted2015PatriceOlivier

2015PatriceOlivier

2015PatriceOlivier

2015RalfPWalter
2015RalfP.Walter

PatrouilledeFrancerighttopandbottom,

Extra 330C of the EVAA (The air force aerobatic

teamofFrance)akaEquipedeVoltigetopright,

Camille of Ramex Delta and Cap. Alexander Or

lowskiEVAAmeetingthecrowds,bottomleft.

Allimagesunlessnoted2015PatriceOlivier

PC7DisplayfromAustrianAFrighttop,

RedArrowspilot(rightinset)andRedArrowsperformingbottomleftandtopright,

FrecceTricolorifromItalyandcrew,midandbottomright.

TheRedBullAirRaceWorldChampionshipreturnedtoBudapeston45thJulywiththeracetracksoverthe
DanubeRiver.TwelveyearsaftertheRedBullAirRacemadeitsspectaculardebut,andsixyearsafterthelast
race,theworldsfastestmotorsportserieswasbackagainon4thand5thJulyinBudapest.

The twotime champion Paul Bonhomme leadsthe standings with 25 points, but Matt Hall is close behind
with three straight podiums. 2008 champion Hannes Arch is red hot after winning the last race in Croatia.
Archexplains:IfIreachthesamementalstatusofRovinj,I'llwin.

HungarysPeterBesenyeiwasbelookingforatopresultinhisnewEdge540V3airplaneinfrontofthetradi
tionallyenthusiasticandenormousBudapestcrowds.BesenyeiexplainedIamveryhappytoraceinHun
garyafterfiveyearsasnotonlythefansarewaitingforit,aswellarethepilots.InHungary,itwillbeeven
morespecialformetoracemynewplaneforthefirsttime.Thepreviousplane(Corvus)isagreatpieceof
technology(theonlyEuropeanplaneintheRace),butunfortunatelynotcompetitiveinracing.Withmynew
Edge,Iexpecttoclimbupintherankings.Theplaneisfasterandmadeforracing.Besenyeiandhisnew
Edge540V3arethemostexpectednewsoftherace.Thousandoffanswaitedfortheresultstoseeifthe
issuewasreallytheplaneorifthepilotlostabitofhismastery.

TheraceinBudapestisveryspectacularbecausetheplanesflyingjustabovethewatersandpeoplewatch
theracefromtheriverbankscanseetheplanesflyingbyatspeedsofupto370km/h.Theplanesenterthe
racetrackbyflyingbeneathBudapest'siconic19thcenturyChainBridge.Weaskedifthisiswasdangerous
butBesenyeiexplainedIdidthishundredsoftimes,includingupsidedown.It'snotaproblem.

AccordingtoPeteMcLeod,fromCanada,racingwithsocloseobstacleslikebridgesorbuildingswasnota
securityissue,thanktothegreatprofessionalismofthepilots.Theprobleminsteadwastheveryhottem
peraturesthatinsidethecockpitcanbecomes44to45Celsiusdegrees.

2015RedBullJoergMitter/RedBullContentPool

Challengers
SixchallengersfoughtforthevictoryinBudapest.DanielRyfa,fromSweden,confirmedhisgreat2015sea
son. Milkael Brageot from France gained the second place and Peter Podlunsek arrived third. All six pilots
maderacelapswithoutpenaltiesandlaptimeswereveryclose.TheonlydifferencebetweentheMasters
andChallengersisthestart:forChallengersisovertheChainsBridgeversusunderthebridgefortheMas
ters.

Masters
Qualifying
Forthefirsttimeinhiscareer,theAustralianMattHallwonthequalifieronSaturdayandbecomethemanto
beatontheSundayRace.MattHallstoppedtheclockinablazingtimeof58.323seconds.YoshihideMuroya
ofJapantooksecondplaceandHannesArchofAustriabouncedbackfromtrainingresultstotakethird.Be
senyeitook10thplaceinQualifying.Hisstrategywastomakeafirstconservativelaptohaveagoodplacein
thequalifying,withouttheriskofapenalty,thandoaveryfastsecondlap,totrytogetagreatqualifying
place.However,apenaltyduringthefirstlapforcedPetertochangestrategy,andunfortunatelyforhimand
histhousandsoffansitbecameadisappointingrace.

PeterBesenyeiofHungaryleadsFrancoisLeVotofFranceandMartinSonkaoftheCzech
RepublicduringtheReconflightovertheParliamentBuildingpriortotheRedBullAirRace
WorldChampionshipinBudapest,HungaryonJuly02,2015.

Qualifying Results: 1. Matt Hall (AUS) 58.323, 2. Yoshihide Muroya (JPN) 59.011, 3. Hannes Arch (AUT)
59.328,4.PeteMcLeod(CAN)59.480,5.KirbyChambliss(USA)59.496,6.NigelLamb(GBR)59.553,7.Mar
tinSonka(CZE)59.756,8.PaulBonhomme(GBR)59.812,9.NicolasIvanoff(FRA)1:00.151,10.PeterBesen
yei (HUN) 1:00.862, 11. Francois Le Vot (FRA) 1:02.364, 12. Juan Velarde (Spain) 1:03.839, 13. Matthias
Dolderer(GER)1:03.974,14.MichaelGoulian(USA)1:04.403

2015RalfPSamoVidic/RedBullContentPool

Roundof14
InthefirstroundBesenyei,withthenewplane,beatChamblissbutreceiveda2pointpenalty.Inthesecond
runPeteMcLeodeasilywonagainstLeVot,oneofthetworookies,thatmadealapwithoutpenaltiesbut3
seconds slower than McLeod. Ivanoff exceeded maximum Gs and did not finish. Is seems very easy for
Lambtowintheround,hesimplyhadtoclosethelap,but,incrediblyhemadethesameoverGmistakeon
thesameturnwereIvanoffdid,andhealsodidn'tfinishthelapbuthewontheroundthankstothebetter
qualificationtime.

InthefourthroundArcheasilybeatVelardewithatime3,575secondsfasteralsobecauseVelardegotan
incorrectlevelflyingatgate2.AgainstPaulBonhomme,MartinSonkalostbyonly0.060seconds,anincredi
blelapforayoungpilot.Sonkagainedhisplaceontheroundof8becausehewasthefasterlooser.Inthe
sixthroundMuroyalostagainstDolderer.InthelastroundHall,thewinnerofthequalifying,wonagainst
Goulianwhoalsogetapenaltyforincorrectlevelflyingatgate10.

Roundof8
InthefirstroundBensenyeimadeanincrediblelap,aperfectlap.Allpeoplebelievedthatitwasquiteim
possibletodobetterandthanPeterandhewillwintheround.However,McLeodwhileyoungbutatruly
expertpilotwasabletogainmillisecondoneachturn,hemadetheturnattheMargaretbridgeflatterthan
anyotherpilot.AndbythismaneuverMcLeodgainedhisplaceintotheFinal4.InthesecondroundLamb
didagainthesameoverGerrorattheMargaretbridgeandArchdidaclearlapensuringhisplaceintheFinal
4.InthethirdroundDolderergainedthefinalplacefortheFinal4.AveryimportantresultforBonhommeto
havetheopportunitytostayatthetopofthechampionship.Thelastroundgaveeveryoneasurprise.The
formerCzechmilitarypilotMartinSonkawonagainstthewinnerofthequalification,MattHallwholostthe
opportunitytodefendhispositioninthechampionship.

Final

JuanVelarde(ESP)above,
HannesArch(AUT)theeventwinner,below.

1.HannesArch(AUT)2.PaulBonhomme(GBR),
3.MartinSonka(CZE),4.PeteMcLeod(CAN),5.
Matt Hall (AUS), 6. Peter Besenyei (HUN), 7.
Matthias Dolderer (GER), 8. Nigel Lamb (GBR),
9.YoshihideMuroya(JPN),10.KirbyChambliss
(USA), 11. Michael Goulian (USA), 12. Francois
LeVot(FRA),13.JuanVelarde(ESP),14.Nicolas
Ivanoff(FRA).

FromundertheChainBridgePeterBesenyei
PaulBonhommeofGreatBritaininfrontofthe
Parliament,Budapest,below.

WorldChampionshipstandings:1.Bonhomme
34points,2.Arch29,3.Hall29,4.Sonka16,5.
McLeod14,6.Lamb13,7.Dolderer13,8.Gou
lian8,9.Ivanoff6,10.Besenyei,11.Muroya4,
12.Chambliss2,13.Velarde,14.LeVot
2015JoergMitter/RedBullContentPool

PeterBesenyei(HUN)NigelLamb(GBR)PeteMcLeod(CAN)MatthiasDolderer(GER)HannesArch(AUT)

2015PredragVuckovic/RedBullContentPool

Allimagesunlessnoted2015RuggeroPiccoli

AlllapsintheFinal4wasmoreorlessperfect.
OnlyMartinSonkamadeamistakeontheloop
at the Chain Bridget. It pulled up too fast and
the plane stalled causing a loss of a few sec
onds and ended up in third. Pete McLeod get
the fourth place, Paul Bonhomme was second
andHannesArchconfirmedhisgreatstatusby
winning the second race in the season after
Rovinj.

Paul Bonhomme keep his leadership, at the

same time Arch reached Hall as number of
pointsbutArchissecondbecausehewontwo
races.Thechampion,NigelLamb,isinthesixth
placeandhewasnotabletogainpositions.

ResultsBudapest:

2015BalaszGardi/RedBullContentPool

2015RuggeroPiccoli

PeterPodlunsekofSlovenia,above

2015BalaszGardi/RedBullContentPool

MikaelBrageotofFrance(L),DanielRyfaofSweden(C)andPeterPodlunsekofSlovenia(R)celebrate
duringtheChallengerCupAwardCeremony,above
PaulBonhommeofGreatBritain(L),HannesArchofAustria(C)andMartinSonkaoftheCzechRepublic
(R)celebrateduringtheMasterPilotsAwardCeremony,below.

Foroveraquartercentury,theCollingsFoundationsWingsofFreedomtourhasbeenbringinghistoric
aircrafttoairfieldsaroundtheUS.Thetourhastwogoals:tohonorthesacrificesmadebyourveterans
thatallowustoenjoyourfreedom;andtoeducatethevisitors,especiallyyoungerAmericans,abouttheir
nationalhistoryandheritage.Everyyearthetourvisitsoverahundredcities,buteveryMemorialDaythey
canbefoundinLivermore,California.IwasinvitedtoflyalongontheflightbetweenMoffettFederalAir
fieldinMountainViewandLivermore.

Thisyeartherewerefouraircraftatthesestopsonthetour.TheBoeingB17GFlyingFortressispaintedin
the markings of the 91st Bomb Group plane NineONine which completed 140 combat missions. The
ConsolidatedB24JLiberatorispaintedinthemarkingsofWitchcraft,whichflewthefirstandlastmis
sionsofthe467thBombGroup.Amazingly,nocrewmanwasinjuredorkilledinthe130combatmissions
flown by Witchcraft in that period. The North American B25J Mitchell is painted in the markings of
Tondelayo,whichwasassignedtothe345thBombardmentGroupinthePacificTheater.Returningfroma
bombingraidoverRabaulononeengine,itsuccessfullyevadedfiftypursuingJapanesefighters,downing
fiveandbeingcreditedwiththelossofanadditionalfourwhichcrashedtryingtoshootdownthebomber.
JoiningthesebomberswastheworldsonlydualcontrolNorthAmericanTP51CMustangBettyJane.

Ateachstopalongthetour,theaircraftspendmuch
ofthedayonstaticdisplay,withflightsscheduledin
themorningsandafternoons.WorldWarIIveterans
areadmittedatnochargeandmanyshowupwear
ingtheiruniforms.Listeningtothemsharetheirhis
toriesisarewardingexperience.AsIwaitedonthe
tarmac for the local volunteers to finish ushering
thelastvisitorsoutthegateandthecrewmembers
readying the aircraft for our flight, I met Walter
Hughes, one of these few remaining veterans. He
hadvolunteeredforArmyAirForcePilottrainingin
1942,wascommissionedandcompleted35bomb
ingmissionsasa93rdBombGroupB24pilotflying
fromEnglandtoGermany.HewaswearinghisClass
AuniformandwouldalsobeflyingtoLivermoreon
theLiberator.Soonenoughitwastimetoboard.

Wewouldbestrappedinduringtakeoffandland
ing,butwouldhavetherunoftheairplaneinflight.
ThetakeoffoutofMoffettwasexciting,passingby
thehistoricairshiphangarsandflyinglowoutover
thecolorfulsaltpondsintheSanFranciscoBay.We
passed low over the East Bay Hills, the shadow of
our plane looming large below us. Finally we had
climbedenoughandthebuzzersounded,signalling
thatwewereallowedtomoveabouttheplane.

I lost no time getting to the tail gunners position

andlookingbacktowardstheBay.TheflighttoLiv
ermore was but a twenty minute hop and I didnt
wanttomissexperiencingtheflightfromallvantage
points.

The large, open, sidegunners windows provided a

wonderful view of the countryside. I watched as Lt
Hughes gazed out into the distance. I wondered
what he was thinking on this Memorial Day week
end. Walking over the catwalk in the bomb bay
brought me to the cockpit. The instruments were
mostly historically accurate steam gauges, al
though augmented with modern equipment for
safety. Getting to the bombardiers station in the
noseoftheplanerequiredgettingonmyhandsand
knees and crawling forward, but I was determined
toexploreeveryinchoftheplanebeforelanding.

Looking through the Norden bombsight as we

passed over towns, bridges and factories made me
wonder what the crew flying real missions must
have been thinking as they flew over their targets.
AsIsawLivermoreapproachingaheadIexpectedto
hearthebuzzercallmebacktomyseatatanymo
ment. However, we kept flying, continuing past
ByronontotheSacramentoRiverDeltaatAntioch.
Thereweturnedwest,circlingMountDiablobefore
heading south to Livermore. Wed been in the air
almostanhour!Whenwelanded,theotheraircraft
were already there. The local volunteers expertly
guidedusinandmadetheaircraftreadyfordisplay.

Outside, long lines of visitors were eagerly waiting

forthegatestoopensotheycouldseetheseplanes
close up. Another stop on the tour was about to
start. To find out whether the Wings of Freedom
Tour will be visiting an airfield near you, check out
their tour schedule at: http://
www.collingsfoundation.org/events/category/
wingsoffreedomtour/

The Collings Foundation relies solely on private

funding for its support. Walkthrough tours of the
aircraftwhileonthegroundareavailableforamod
estfee($12foradult,$6forchildren12andunder).
Halfhour flights aboard the aircraft can also be
booked (B17 or B24 is $450 per person, B25 is
$400perperson,30minuteflighttrainingontheP
51C is $2200). Membership and sponsorship infor
mationcanbefoundat:
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/thefoundation/
sponsorship/

IdliketothankMickHanou,Presidentofthe91stBombGroupMemorialAssociation,forinvitingmetopar
ticipateinthisflight.http://www.91stbombgroup.com/

IdalsoliketoexpressmyappreciationtotheCollingsFoundationandallthevolunteerswhoseinvaluable
assistancekeepthemflying.

WeatTheAviationMagazineareproudtofeaturearticlesaboutflyingwarbirds.Ifyourorganizationwould
liketobefeaturedpleasecontacttheEditorviaemail.

CanJetBoeing737800atYYZ/CYYZ2015GustavoCorujo

WestJetDisneyWorldLiveryakaMagicPlaneBoeing737800atYYZ/CYYZabove,andAirCanada
RougeBoeing787300ERatYYZ/CYYZbelow,2015GustavoCorujo

GulfHelicoptersagustawestlandAW189atMLA/LMML,top2015RayBiagioPace
LOTPolishAirlinesBoeing7878atMLA/LMML,middle2015RayBiagioPace
SWISSAirbusA320atMLA/LMML,bottom2015RayBiagioPace

LuxairBoeing737800atMLA/LMML,top2015RayBiagioPace
SASScandinavianAirlinesBoeing737NG(737883)atMLA/LMML,middle2015RayBiagioPace
LIBYANAirlinesCanadairCL6002D24RegionalJetCRJ900ER,atMLA/LMML,bottom2015Ray
BiagioPace

TheFirstTenyearsofKrilaOluje

MedaviaMediterraneanAviationDornierDo328atMLA/LMML,top2015ChristopherMifsud
RoyalNavyLynxMk8atMLA/LMML,middle2015ChristopherMifsud
PrivateBombardierBD7001A11Global5000atMLA/LMML,bottom2015RayBiagioPace

Despite the the fact that they do not fly loud and mighty jets but rather elegant turboprop trainers, the
CroatianAirForceaerobaticteamearnedremarkablerespectinthefirstdecadeofitsexistence.

KrilaOluje(WingsofStorm)theCroatianAirForceAerobaticTeamthisyearcelebratesitsfirsttenyearsof
existence.Officiallyformedin2005andperforminginEurope,theteamquicklybecamefamouswiththeir
attractiveaerobaticprogramonsixPilatusPC9Mturboproptrainers.Presentingsomeofthemostdemand
ingformationmanoeuvres,theKrilaOlujeisstilltheonlymilitaryflightdemonstrationteamintheworldthat
performstailslideinformation,earningremarkablerespectevenfromtheircolleaguesinsomeofthemost
famousjetflyingteams.

ZadarTradition
The Krila Oluje team consists of the pilots from the Croatian Air Forces training FixedWing Squadron
(EskadrilaavionaEA)ofthe93rdAirbase(93.zrakoplovnabaza)atZadarZemunik.Fortheirrehearsalsand
displaystheKrilaOlujedoesnothavespecialplanesandequipmentasmajorityofteamsintheworlddobut
theyusetheairplanesfromtheirsquadron,whicharesmartlypaintedinattractiveCroatiancolours.

2015JadrankoEimovi

Incomparisonwiththemajorityofaerobaticteamsintheworldwhosepilots'singletaskistotrainanddo
aerobaticdisplays,theprimarytaskofthepilotsfromtheKrilaOlujeistrainingofthefutureaviatorsofthe
CroatianAirForceandAirDefence(HrvatskoratnozrakoplovstvoiprotuzranaobranaHRZiPZO).Follow
ingthetraditionoftheformationaerobaticflyingatZadar,whichdatesbackfrom1967,theallmembersof
theKrilaOlujewereactiveflightinstructors,untilnow.

Forthefirsttimethetraditionischangedthisyear,whenallsixofexperiencedKrilaOlujeinstructorpilots
wereinvitedtojoinanunspecifiedprojectinQatar.Thepilotswerenotlegallyboundtotheirmilitaryservice
inCroatiaanymoreandwerefreetogoaftertheyprovidedsupporttoDamirBarii,oneoftheformerKrila
Olujesleaders,totrainthenewteam.Probablythefirsttimeinthehistoryofmilitaryformationaerobatic
flyinginZadar,twopilotswhoarenotflightinstructorsjoinedthedisplayteam.However,theyshouldreach
thatstatussoon.

Todate,theKrilaOlujeflewin13deferentcountrieswithtotalof15pilots.Amongtheteamhighlightsisalso
thefactthatCpt.DianaDobowasamemberoftheKrilaOlujefrom2005to2007beingthethirdwomanin
theworldhistorytoflyinamilitaryaerobaticteam.

Thecandidatesfortheteammembersintraditionalredflightsuitshavebeenchosenamongstthemostex
perienced pilots who must meet the excellent standards in flying techniques, have needed psychophysical
predispositions,tendencytoteamworkandaminimumtotalof600flighthours.Theyalsomustshowthe
bestresultsinformationaerobaticflyingin2shipformation.Thechosencandidatesthengothroughade
mandingtrainingofaerobaticflyinginformationsfromtwotosixairplanes,duringwhichthepilotstrainper
formingthespecificaerobaticelementsatminimalaltitudeabovegroundandatextremelyclosedistances
betweentheplanesinaformation.

TheKrilaOlujewereofficiallyformedtofulfilthetaskofthepresentationofskill,discipline,teamworkand
thehighdegreeoftrainingqualityoftheHRZiPZOandCroatianArmedForcesingeneral.Theveryfirstflight
oftheteamisconsideredtobeaformationaerobaticdisplayoffourPC9Msduringtheopeningceremonyof
EuropeanSailingChampionshipinZadaronJuly23rd,2004.Ontheoccasionofthe10thanniversaryofthe
militaryandpoliceliberatingOperationOLUJA(theStrom),afterwhichtheteamwasnamed,theKrilaOluje
AerobaticTeamhasbeenofficiallypresentedtotheCroatianpubliconAugust5th,2005inthetownofKnin.
By the end of the 2005 the team grow up to 5ship formation and first flight with 6plane formation was
madeatMarch25th,2009.Thisseason,theteamstartedtoperformin5shipformationplanningtoflythe
secondhalfoftheseasonin6ship.

DemandingManoeuvres
AerobaticdisplayperformedbytheKrilaOlujeis20minuteslonganditisperformedatthealtitudesfrom50
to1,000mandattheminimumdistancefromtheaudienceofabout230m.Theprogramcomposesofsome
20 formation aerobatic manoeuvres. Purchase of a smoke system for the Krila Oluje is not priority in the
HRZs procurement list yet. To compensate the lack of the visual effect of smoke trail, the team performs
someoftheverydemandingmanoeuvressuchasthe3shiptailslide,triplemirrorand2shipstallturn.Dur
ingthedisplay,theirPC9Msflyatthedistancesevenlessthantwometersfromeachother,atspeedsofup
to550km/handtheGloadsthatpilotsendureperformingthecertainprogramelementsarefrom2.5Gsto
+6.5Gs.Theminimumloweraltitudeduringtheperformanceisdeterminedbytheairshoworganizersandit
isusuallyfrom50to100mabovethegroundlevel.

Initsfirsttenyears,theKrilaOlujewonseveraltrophiesforthebestdisplayatinternationalshowssuchas
theRDAF2012inDenmark,CIAF2012andCIAF2014inCzechRepublic.Asinalmostanyaerobaticteamin
theworldtherearenobackuppilots.Thetrainingforeachpositionintheformationisspecificandcontinu
ous;thereforeitisalmostimpossibletohaveatrainedbackuppilotwhowouldbeabletoreplaceanyoneof
the pilots from the team. In case a pilot is ill, the team performs a shortened program with five planes or
makesacancellationofthedisplay.

2015JadrankoEimovi

2015KrilaOlujeWingsofStormwiththecrewandpilots.
Thepilotslefttoright:#4Slot1stLt.DarkoBelani(flightinstructorwith1,260flyinghours)#3RightWing1stLt.GoranGrgi(760flyinghours),#1TeamLeaderLtCol.DamirBarii(flightinstruc
torwith1,900flyinghours),#2LeftWingCpt.IvanAni(flightinstructorwith1,360flyinghours),#5SecondLeftWing2ndLt.Denisivalji(760flyinghours)#6SecondRightWingCpt.Zvonimir
Mravunac(flightinstructorwith780flyinghours).

WhilstinEuropeworkingalongsideotherNATOarmedforces,twoA10sfromthe354thFighterSquadron
(fromDavisMonthanAFB,Arizona)weredeployedtotheUnitedKingdomtoparticipateinoperationsfora
weekfromRAFLakenheathaspartofatheatresecuritypackage.TSPsaugmenttheUSAFEsexistingefforts
aspartofOperationAtlanticResolvebyconductingflyingtrainingandaircraftaredeployedtoavarietyof
forwardoperatinglocationstoparticipateintrainingandexercises.Aswellasflighttraining,thecrewshave
also provided the two aircraft as static displays at RNAS Yeovilton and the Royal International Air Tattoo
(RIAT)heldatRAFFairfordintheUKandseveralotherairshowsonthemainlandinEurope,wherethejets
havereceivedaverywarmwelcome.

TheA10issuchaniconicaircraftandrarelymakeanappearanceintheUKthesedayseventhoughthere
wereanumberofsquadronsspreadacrosstheSouthEastoftheUKinthe80sand90s,sowhentheoppor
tunityarosetophotographandinterviewthecrewsofthesetwovisitingjets,wejumpedatthechance.Hav
ingenduredathreehourand220milejourney,wearrivedatgate2ofRAFLakenheathandboardedthebus
thatwouldtakeustothepanwherethejetswerewaitingforus.Asweroundedthecorner,theretheywere,
standing tall and still looking menacing! We had around an hour before the ground crew would arrive to
readytheaircraftsowegottoworkphotographingandvideoingthehogsalongwiththeresidentF15s
thatweregettingairborneatregularintervals.Thegroundcrewsarrivedandstartedtopreparethejetsfor
theirflightfollowedminuteslaterbythefourpilots,twoforthisparticularflyingsortiealongwiththeother
twowhodbeleftonthegroundandwouldtryandanswerthequestionsfromthegatheredmedia.Oneof
thepilotshasonlybeenflyingtheA10sinceMarch2014priortowhichhewasanavigatoronB52s.When
askedwhythechange,histongueincheekanswerwashewantedawindow!Accordingtotheothera
femalepilotJess,hercallsignJackpotWyblie,A10wasfirstaircrafttypetoflysincegraduatingandhas
amassed600hoursonthejetwithin3yearstheHogisadreamtofly,yankingandbanking,lookingoutside
allofthetime.

WewereamazedastohowwelcomingtheUSAFEweretowardsuswhilst
the airfield was live. Checks complete, salute given and returned, the
hogswereontheirwayandjoinedinwiththedepartingF15s.Around
two hours later, the A10s reappeared and returned to their temporary
standsonthepanoutintheopenwithoutanycover,althoughtheground
crewssaidthattheywerehappyintheseconditionsastheplaneswerea
loteasiertoworkonanddidntrequirebeingpushedbackwardsintotheir
hardenedairstands.Landingcheckscompletedand,alongwithadebrief
tothecrewchief,thelogbookswerehandedoverandanothersuccessful
flyingsortiewascompleted
Likeeverything,theA10Thunderbolthasanuncertainfutureanditwasa
pleasure to spend a few hours with the aircraft and the people that fly
themandkeepthemflying.ManythankstothePublicRelationsteamat
RAFLakenheath.

NormanA.Graf