In August 2013 I attended my first ever Hungarian airshow at Kecskemét that was being organised by the Hungarian Ministry of Defence in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the air force. Since the previous edition held in 2010 brought some star attractions and was considered by many to be one of the best in Europe, as well as the rumours that mentioned the participation of the rarely seen Russian Knight Display Team for this year’s airshow, I decided to attend the event.
The show itself was very challenging, not in terms of photography which was awesome since all days of the show were sunny, but in terms of keeping hydrated and focused since the temperatures reached highs of 38 degrees C on each day. Rumours about the Russian knights attending were confirmed when on the Wednesday before the show, the Russians turned up with 5 Su-27 flankers and an Il-76 in support, much to my joy as I had never seen the Russian Air Force Demo displaying at any other event in Europe until this show.
On Friday, we positioned ourselves at various designated spots specifically designed for spotters throughout the day in order to make best use of the available photo opportunities that would present themselves throughout the day. Several aircraft had already arrived on the Thursday before the show (Spanish Air Force Casa-295, Spanish Air Force Patrulla Aguila, Turkish Stars Display Team, Belgian Air Force C-130H, Austrian Air Force Pc-7 etc.) and some of them could be photographed from these spots in the morning, such as the Russian Air Force Il-76 and the Patrulla Aguila Display Team. The day kicked of with the arrival of two C-295s acting as support aircraft, one from the Czech Air Force and one from the Polish Air Force, both bringing support equipment and personnel for the Czech hind demo, the czech gripen demo, the Czech ALCA demo, and the polish air force Su-22 demo team.
Following the arrival of these support aircraft, a trio of Polish Air Force Su-22 fitters made a run in an break to land, one for the static and a pair for the flying display. This set the mood nicely for the rest of the day as more and more aircraft from around Europe arrived in the overhead. More arrivals in the morning consisted of a rarely seen Bulgarian Sukhoi Su-25UBK Frogfoot operated by the 1st Ground Attack Squadron from Bezmer Air Base, as well as a C27J Spartan acting as support. Adding to the static was a Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27UB Flanker, originally hoped to be flying, but unfortunately relegated to static due to safety concerns. Supporting the Ukrainian fighter was an Antonov An-26. Further notable mentions for morning arrivals included a Slovakian air force Mig-29 for the static display, a Romanian C-27J Spartan and a Serbian Air Force An-26 as well as the rarely seen Wings of Storm Display Team from the Croatian Air Force.
More arrivals were scheduled in the afternoon, including the arrival of the much anticipated Romanian Air Force Mig-21 Lancer that was to take part in the flying display and the Romanian Air Force IAR-330L that was also a first for me. Other rotor highlights that arrived in the afternoon included a search and rescue Mi-17 Hip from Slovakia and a Slovenian Air Force Bell-412. These were supplemented by a German Navy Seaking Mk.41 (89+55) painted in a special scheme to mark the hundredth anniversary of the German Navy Air Arm, as well as a Belgian A-109, and two Italian AW-139s, one belonging to the Italian Air Force and one belonging to the Italian Coast Guard. The day ended with the arrival of the Royal Air Force, that participated with 2 RAF Hawk T1s and one Panavia Tornado Gr4, together with some practice displays, such as the Czech ALCA, the Romanian Mig-21 and the Orange Lion from the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
The airshow days were both blessed with clear blue skies and scorching temperatures, providing many photographic opportunities for us aviation enthusiasts. The most notable highlight were the displays by the Romanian Air Force Mig-21 Lancer and the display by the Russian Knights, a truly memorable experience seeing them display especially on Saturday in the Golden Light at sunset. More memorable was the unusual ‘boom’ heard in the sky as the Mig-21 engaged its afterburner. Needless to say, me and my friends were beaming and smiling on both days as many spotting dreams came through during this show.
Other notable highlights included the Hungarian Air Force Demo consisting of SAAB Gripens, an Mi-17 and an An-26, and the display by a SAC C-17 Globemaster based at Papa air base in Hungary. Crowd favourites also included the polish air force fitter demo team, the Frecce Tricolori and the Turkish Stars with their F-5 freedom fighters. An unexpected highlight in the form of an Austrian Air Force PC-6 Turbo porter arrived on Sunday for the show, acting as support aircraft for the Austrian contingent at the show. Other visitors included a Dassault falcon 900 from the Italian Air Force and a Swedish Air Force Gulfstream V that brought VIPs to the show. In addition, despite the US sequestration from airshows that was in effect in 2013, a US Air Force Beech C-12C Huron was present in the static show.
It was indeed a event to remember, hopefully returning soon in the European Display Calendar. More images can be found in the following link: Kecskemet Airshow 2013
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