|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
See our video's on:
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
Greece is definitely Phantom country and our prime reason to fly the Skyvan photoship all the way to Tanagra airbase, host airbase of the country’s biggest airshow ‘Athens Flying Week’. Last year it was an absolutely fantastic project and of course we hoped for a repeat this year…or even better! The cooperation with the airshow team and all of the Hellenic Forces is so good that we had a few incredible new surprises for the photographers flying with us. That started right away on Wednesday morning when we flew out to the coastal region near Andravida to capture the magic F-4 Phantoms….. only it turned out to be a little more South, more Kalamata region to get a very very unique encounter with 2 Phantoms ( so twice YES!!! YES!!! )…but also the super unique and ultra-rare T-2 Buckeye. For the hardcore military photographer right away thé highlight of the entire project….or maybe not? After some formation passes with the two F-4’s we got a real join up from the Buckeye, and what a fantastic looking aircraft that is. Who knows what 2020 is gonna bring us ?? |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The other star of the Hellenic Air Force is the Mirage 2000, and we are privileged we can call them our big friends at Tanagra. They came out for us this time with 4!! of them, giving us unique formations and solo join ups alike. Have a look at that knife edge break, where in the world could you see such a great scenery with such a sexy looking jet? | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| All of the armed Forces in Greece are very supportive towards the airshow and our part of the photomissions. We were very lucky to see up close the finest equipment they have to offer. The Army presented 2 different types of Apache, and a great 2-ship set up, while the all-time ‘classic’ UH-1 Huey in special colours was a delight to see so close in flight….and loud! | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The Hellenic Navy came like last year with a formation of the AB212 and two of their Seahawk helicopters. However, the biggest surprise and probably the highlight of this photoflight project, was the freshly upgraded P3 Orion for an also unexpected low level photomission…yes, it can be bad weather in Greece too! More Hellenic military power came with the T-6 Daedalus demo team, once solo and once as a great 2-ship formation with smoke. Unfortunately the Zeus F-16s had a mechanical, so we keep them for next year. | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
And 4 Extras together, that are of course our friends from the Royal Jordanian Falcons, who returned to Athens Flying Week after a long absence. We had the opportunity to see them together with the demo T-6….too bad the weather was just not on our side. | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Of course Athens Flying Week is also very high on the wish list of civilian airshow performers, and so we got to welcome some of the finest aerobatic aircraft with the Italian Silver Chicken, the German Extra 300, Dutch Rush and the super bright yellow Extra from France. Some cool formations too! | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Dimitris Vervelis showed us the stylish black Colibri with smoke, while we also got two interceptions from the Red Bull Corsair. Sunset flying is another advantage that we have in Greece, and with a good planning that resulted in a very sweet Italian evening with the old MB339 and new M346, both as a solo and a fantastic 2-ship set up. | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
For the first time Austria participated in the airshow, and so for us a great opportunity to meet the Saab 105s over the Hellenic landscape….have a look at that special tiger colours! Another world exclusive feature we can offer in Greece is the Acropolis overflight. And what an overflight it was this year….the 8 jets of the Patrouille de France smoked up the skies over Athens with the biggest Hellenic flag in the world, at moments like this we know our team is very lucky to be able to fly missions like this. Of course it’s always thanks to an incredible support and corporation of so many people. |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
That corporation resulted also in our big wish to see the F-4 Phantom again on the departure day. The pilots still struck all of our minds at some speed very close to the maximum speed of the Skyvan photoship. The most brutal and beautiful of all classic jetfighters had already fully satisfied all the photographers onboard with an incredible private airshow, only to let our photopilot Phillip know they were gonna come back for another pass, and another….and another. Yes, we réally got 42 minutes with this fantastic machine. 42 like in fourty two actionful adrenaline minutes, I wonder how many photos were taken by all the photographers. For sure we will be back in the 2020 season, and the first aircraft confirmed for the photographers is…the F-4 Phantom! And that is flying, right in front of your lens. If you like to join us in another superb Hellenic photoflight adventure, just send a short email to to receive all the information. |
|||
 |
|||