Following on from the success of MIA 2014, MIA 2015 continued to exceed expectations with an even better line up, with a vast number of participating countries contributing aircraft to the airshow, including the first ever appearance by the Romanian Air Force and the much welcomed return by the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Hellenic Air Force. In addition, following on from 2014, the organisers managed to attract another fast jet solo demo for the flying display in the form of a Belgian Air Force F-16 that wowed the crowds on both days with its brilliant livery.
MIA 2015 managed to attract two national display teams to participate in the flying display, in the form of the Swiss Air Force PC-7 Team and the Polish Air Force ‘Team Orlik’. Both teams alternated their flying times on the show days, giving each team the possibility to close off the show on both days. The perfect weather conditions gave aviation enthusiasts the possibility to capture perfectly their displays against a stunning blue background, as can be seen in the images below.
The Armed forces of Malta put on a stellar performance as it was the first time that the AW-139 and the King Air B200 performed a dynamic duo display. The display consisted in an initial series of flypasts, before breaking off at show centre and proceeding to perform a demo showing the maneuverability of the AW139 and King Air B200. Another coup for the show was the presence of the AFM Islander in the flying display, as it acted as the ‘jump’ aircraft for the British Army Tigers Freefall parachute display team. It is not often that aviation enthusiasts get to see this aircraft flying throughout the year, thus it was a very much welcomed addition to the flying display. Besides elements of the air wing, the SAR presence at the airshow was also complemented by the presence of an Italian Air Force Agusta Bell 212, an aircraft based in Malta that is used to support SAR operations on the Island.
A very welcome addition to the flying and static display of the show came from the Hellenic Air Force that participated in force this year with the presence of 2 Mirage 2000s in the static display and 2 Hellenic Air Force T-6 Texans, one for the static display and one for the flying display. For most aviation enthusiasts it was the first time seeing Hellenic mirages, thus their participation was greatly anticipated with excitement.
alistairzammitphotography.com 