The airshow, run by the Malta Aviation Society, was first held at the airport back in 1993 and since then has gone from strength to strength. Traditionally the display has been held at the island's only airport, but the last two years had seen the flying taking place over St Paul's Bay due to the construction of two new maintenance hangars. With that work now complete, the cross-runway was used as the display-line for a show that includes short breaks in the schedule to allow for civilian air traffic to depart and arrive.
Another thing which is immediately apparent when you visit the event for the first time is that you'll only find a couple of ice cream vans, a food outlet and the Malta Aviation Society stall on-site and that's about it; but it's great to visit such an uncluttered show. The only downside to the static aircraft displays are the big lighting poles which you can't help but include in your photography, but on the plus side, if you are lucky enough to have access after-dark it is useful for night-time shots.
Despite the 'International' tag, the airshow is run entirely by enthusiasts and volunteers who deserve huge praise for the aircraft they manage to attract each year. From early on in 2009 there had been rumours that the Libyan Air Force might be attending this year and things looked promising when clearances started to come through for an aircraft to attend the static display. But, sadly it was not to be, with their cancellation confirmed just over a week before the show. A great effort by the organisers however and hopefully one that bodes well for the future.
The event lived up to its name and still featured a decent level of international participation however with aircraft from France, Germany, the Netherlands, UK and USA on show, which, is mightily impressive when you consider that we're talking about an airshow comparable in size to that of Abingdon's event in the UK.
The American contributions to the static park were particularly welcome with rarely seen (outside of the Mediterranean at least) Naples-based examples of the US Navy C-26D Metroliner and the SH-60 Seahawk on display alongside the almost new C-130J Hercules from the 86th AW, a pair of 48th FW F-15C Eagles (both carrying MiG kill markings), a KC-135R Stratotanker and a C-21A Learjet all belonging to their Air Force counterparts.
Joining them were a brace of Armee de l'air Alpha Jets from Cazaux, a Luftwaffe Tornado IDS from Norvenich, a Marineflieger Dornier Do228 from Nordholz, a handful of RAF assets; namely two Tornado GR.4s, two Harrier GR.9s and a Dominie T.1. Also attending were two Dutch support aircraft, a KDC-10 and a Fokker 50.
Another attractive feature of the show is that the flying display aircraft are also parked on the same side of the airfield as the public, a la Kemble for example. This year they included the Dutch Air Force F-16s, the Breitling Jet Team, Team Pioneer with their Alpi Pioneer 330 aircraft, SOREM's CL-415 water bomber.
The host nation, the Armed Forces of Malta, had all their aircraft types on display, which included a Bulldog, Islander, Alouette III, CASA C212-200 plus the Italian AB-212 which is flown by joint Italian/Maltese crews in the SAR (Search and Rescue) role. The only one of the types to take to the skies in the flying display however was the CASA which served as the jump platform for the Princess of Wales' parachute display team, 'The Tigers', who were making their debut appearance at the show.
The flying display started just after 1pm with fly-bys from a Learjet 60 and was followed by three microlights making varied passes. The CASA was up next with the Tigers on board ready for their display. It was great to see this aircraft fly in the show as it's only on lease to the Maltese Air Force and will not be remaining with them for much longer. The Tigers' five-man team jumped in to clear skies, freefalling for 20 seconds at speeds of 110mph plus before opening their chutes. The team perform two maneuvers; the first is a three-man stack while the other two join together at an angle 90 degrees on to one another before all breaking away to land on the X-marked landing zone. The final action sees them all lined up ready for the CASA to fly past before landing.
The CL-415 water bomber is a highlight at any airshow and its graceful display of tight turns showed off that lovely colour-scheme magnificently in Malta's blue skies. Departing to collect a water load it returned with a full 6000 plus litres onboard and proceeded to dump it down on the runway, not just once but twice - fantastic!
A first for me was the sight of Team Pioneer, an Italian civilian aerobatic team with four red, white and blue Alpi Pioneer 330 aircraft. The team's display routine has been developed with the assistance of former jet pilots from the Frecce Tricolori, the Italian Air Force display team, and they display with a combination of colourful smoke and the aid, at one point, of a large number of flares, making them eye-catching and certainly a little different.
The Italian AB-212 put on a very good SAR role demo and a spirited display but everyone on the showground headed for the crowd line as the unmistakable whistle of the Dutch Air Force F-16 was heard taxiing out for take-off. Once lined-up, display pilot Ralph 'Sheik' Aarts kicked in the burners and filled the sky with the kind of noise that can only mean a fast jet display. Into the first loop there was a salvo of flares, quickly followed by a series of hard turns and loops. This being Sheik's last F-16 display of the season it seemed even better than I remembered it from earlier in the year but alas, all too soon though the gear was down and the F-16 returned to the airfield. All that remained was for the Breitling Team in their lovely blue and yellow L-39s to close the show with a breathtaking display on what was also their first visit to Malta.
In summary, if you fancy visiting a very relaxed, well-run show with a friendly atmosphere in warm conditions then maybe a trip to the lovely Island of Malta would be the one for you, especially in late September. With a small but interesting flying programme alongside International participation in the static display it would be well worth making the visit in 2010.
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