Boeing Stearman

Já que estou nos clássicos, mais um destes aparelhos, desta vez em voo.
O Boeing Stearman da Aerofenix, há já quase 10 anos atrás, no Portugal Air Show 2009, que se realizou em Évora...infelizmente, o último deles...

N62TS em voo...neste caso, sabia bem um vídeo, já que o som destas velhas glórias é algo de fantástico :)
Aparentemente está em manutenção profunda...a ver se regressa aos céus nos próximos tempos

Sunsetting on the Alouette III

Despite beeing an already known decision, Leonardo has announced the Portuguese Air Force order of 5 AW119 Koala  (with an option for plus 2) to replace the good old Alouette III (check HERE)
The first units should be already delivered this year ....

With 55 years duty on the Portuguese Air Force, the remaining 6 (?) helicopters have seen a lot during all these years, from the war in Africa, and since then all the other missions in Portugal, instruction, SAR, surveillance, etc....
Maybe the sun is setting on them but, for now, I'm sure they'll still have some more to give...

EHM: 25 Anos!

Faz hoje 25 anos que a Esquadrilha de Helicópteros foi activada. O tempo realmente passa...
Parabéns a todos os elementos da Esquadra por estes 25 anos de operações, repletos de missões e um registo de segurança imaculado!

Westland Lynx Mk.95 19203 numa demo de infiltração de fuzileiros por fast rope

Bons voos!

Calendário Dezembro 2016

Com o início de Dezembro, regresso a uma pequena brincadeira que iniciei há algum tempo e que depois, por falta de pachorra, acabei abandonando...o desktop mensal com calendário...

Fica então o wallpaper deste mês, o Hawker Sea Fury F-AZXL que marcou presença no Portugal Air Show 2009, o último que se realizou...uma máquina fantástica, com um barulho inesquecível :)

Início de ano de luto na aviação ligeira nacional

Esta tarde a aviação ligeira nacional ficou de luto com o segundo acidente aeronáutico do ano que, desta feita, provocou, até ao momento, um morto.

Não o conhecendo pessoalmente, éramos amigos "virtuais" numa das redes sociais e por tudo o que seguia do seu perfil e reacções daqueles que o conheciam pessoalmente, perde-se alguém com uma grande paixão pela aviação, pela vida e pela família...
Os meus pêsames a estes últimos...

Fica um registo feito ao avião que caiu hoje, com o malogrado piloto aos comandos, tirada aquando do Portugal Air Show 2009....

CS-UPH em Évora (LPEV) durante o PAS2009, com o José Borga aos comandos.
RIP

21000 Horas de voo...

Pois é...é muita hora.... Foi o bonito número que atingiu a Esquadrilha de Helicópteros da Marinha, com os seus 5 Westland Lynx Mk.95...

19203 durante uma demo no Portugal Air Show 2009, em Évora.

Mais sobre este assunto, no site da Marinha, AQUI.

Parabéns a todos pelo marco atingido!

Nova foto da Semana: Jets en Patruilles

Tive hoje uma surpresa ao surgir-me no correio uma encomenda inesperada...

Abrindo a coisa com curiosidade, deparei-me com um par de livros prometidos há alguns anos e já completamente esquecidos...pelo menos por mim...

Trata-se de um par de cópias do livro Volez, JETS en Patrulles / Flyning, Jet Teams, um livro fotográfico sobre diversas patrulhas acrobáticas e no qual colaborei com algumas fotos da Equipa Acrobática do Ejercito del Aire Espanhol, a Patrulla Águila, tiradas aquando do Portugal Air Show 2009, o último que se efectuou.

Poderão ver mais algumas foto desse dia AQUI

Nova foto da semana: Aos velhos tempos...

A foto desta semana vai dedicada aos velhos tempos...(e não me refiro apenas aos aviões...)

ES-AKE, DC-3 da FlyLPI em Évora (LPEV) no Portugal Air Show 2005

Velhinhos....ou nem por isso...

Estava há dias a brincar com alguns filtros e lembrei-me que tinha as fotos ideais onde aplicar os mesmos...

Esta lembra-me as fotos tiradas há 40 anos atrás durante as operações destes helicópteros na Guerra no Ultramar...
Quase 50 anos depois de entrarem ao serviço, ainda estão aí para as curvas e missões!
(Allouette III 19401, no Portugal Air Show 2005)

CS-AZX, um Chipmunk ex-FAP do Museu Aerofénix, também no PAS 2005

Sea Fury, no PAS2009 (F-AZXL)

Boeing Stearman N62TS

ES-AKE, the C-47 from Fly LPI

CS-DIE, outro avião Aerofenix (Piper Cub) numa bela demonstração!

Smokewings

Still no interesting traffic this week (by the way....thank you so much Air Berlin, for only bringing D-ABMC to Madeira when had already removed the Christmas special livery....thanks for nothing...)

So, decided to share a few pics from another place: Évora (LPEV), back from the Portugal Air Show 2009.

That year, the airshow was quite weak but it still had some interesting stuff.
This couple of portuguese aerobatic pilots were one of those things: Smokewings....

RA3420K  amd  RA3466K

These Yak-52 have a fantastic warbird look....

The end of the display...Smokewings indeed...

Patrulla Aguila on book...

Talking about publishing...looks like the Spanish Air Force (Eda) display team will be the theme on a new book to be published before the end of the year.... ;)

Check a few more pics HERE

Flying Legend.... the Stearman

One of the Airshows that's definitely in my wishlist is the "Duxford Flying Legends" that took place last weekend.

This was not the year yet, but felt like publishing something that fits rather nicely on the theme....
Aerofenix Boeing Stearman....

N62TS during Portugal Air Show 2009

A couple more...

On request for some special followers ;) here's a couple of more shots of ES-AKE, the C-47 on this week's photo....

Indeed, like Nuno remembered, the nose artwork is really nice...
(notice the containers under the engines to collect the oil from the engines...)

ES-AKE, Fly LPI's C-47 / DC-3 from the back....

New Photo of the Week - C-47

This week nothing was ringing a bell for a Photo of the Week.
Was expecting to put one of Monarch pics but none was really worth it...

So, after some browsing, decided that this one should do the honors ;)
It's a beautifull plane (just love those old birds) and it's definitely something worth remembering with the extra that you don't get to see those here...(at least not in our days... ;))

ES-AKE, the C-47 / DC-3 from Fly LPI on static display during Portugal Air Show 2005

Aerobatica's Pitts

When posting the Pic of the Week, with the Chipmunk, noticed on my disk some other beauties that made a presence in Portugal Air Show 2005.

Today decided to share a couple of pics from Aerobatica's Pitts, after all it's not something you get to see around here...

CS-DAY and CS-AZX

New Photo of the Week - Chipmunk (60 Years...)

On January, 29th took place in Air Base number 1 (BA1 - Sintra) the Celebrations of the Chipmunks 60 Years of Service with the Portuguese Air Force.

Aerofenix CS-AZX at Portugal Air Show 2005
Portuguese Air Force ex-1334
Check plane's history HERE

The Portuguese Air Force had a total of 76 of these planes on duty:
The first 10 came from De Havilland, in England and the other 66 were built under licence at OGMA, in Portugal.

In March 1989, 5 Chips (1306, 1315, 1316, 1335 and 1339) are delivered to the Air Force Academy for towing gliders. These planes got new engines which altered a little bit their front look.

In 1993 one of the original Chips was delivered to the Madeira Aeroclub...
After some time it got completely revised and got a new and fantastic paintjob...
On one of my birthdays, a friend from Porto was around and arranged a flight for us on that day...
As it was my birthday, I would be the first one to fly....
Unfortunatelly, as the pic shows, I was already completely equiped and getting ready to get in the plane when we got informed that the airport was beeing closed, due winds...

After a while the Chip was sold to the UK and I never got to fly it....

Bibliography: Aeronaves Militares Portuguesas no Século XX, por Adelino Cardoso

New Photo of the Week - Spanish Mil.

This week arrived to Porto Santo a military Fokker 27.
It's quite a nice and diferent plane...
Yesterday, I was told it was making some touch&go's at Madeira's runway 23...unfortunately I was at Funchal and wasn't worth going there...it would be long gone before I arrived....

Anyway, it was more than time for a new Photo of the Week, so decided for a Spanish military theme this week.
A pic I hadn't realsed yet, regarding the Patrulla Águila display on Portugal Air Show 2009 (a very nice display, by the way....)
You can check some more pics of that display HERE

New Photo of the Week - Rotores de Portugal

According to the Official program, by the end of the month we should have some displays by the PoAF helicopter display team "Rotores de Portugal".

After the visit of the Pope João Paulo II to our island, back in 1991, this is only the second time the PoAF AL.III is at Madeira and the first that the "Rotores" will display...big moment indeed (or at least it's expected to be a big moment....)

On countdown for the begining of the Celebrations, it's a good ocasion to remember the last display I saw of this team, in Évora, during Portugal Air Show 2009....

New Photo of the Week - Aerofenix's Piper Cub

Today, a couple of PoAF C-130 came to Madeira with some cargo (probably) related with the PoAF celebrations at Madeira.
On the afternoon, they went to the Southern coast of the island (on it's west side) to train some formation flight.
Although I didn't managed to get them, I was thinking that the "Bisontes" would be a good theme for this week's photo...when I received Aerofenix newsletter...

Though then that one of the Aerofenix's planes would also make a good and diferent theme, specially because it's not one of those things we can see around here...

Ended up choosing this pic, taken back in 2005, at Portugal Air Show of the fantastic display of this Piper Cub...

Military...

It's been a busy week, with virtually no posts at all...

Last weekend was Monte Real Air Base aniversary. That's the base were Sqn.201 and 301 (F-16's) are stationed.
They organised a spotters day/open day base and during this week national spotters have been publishing photos of the event.
I must admit I still haven't seen much of it....

Anyway, around here, F-16's (or pretty much any kind of military planes, exception made for the PoAF C-130, C-295 and C-212) are quite rare birds...
Next month we'll have PoAF Celebrations around here, so maybe we'll have finally the oportunity to see some great mil.traffic and operations....
Definitely the "100" should be a confirmed presence...but the real interest should be in more flyable stuff...lets hope those come too.... :))