Pardubice Aviation Fair (3.4.2017)

[upnorth]

Hello all,

Yesterday, I was in Pardubice in the central part of the Czech Republic for their annual air show.

It's a largely civilian affair that features a civil fly-in, vintage aircraft of various eras and a bit of modern military aviation. There is also a display of vintage military land vehicles and historical groups reenacting ground battles in which some of the vintage aircraft participate.

Yesterday was very hot and sunny. The sun was directly overhead and a bit behind the action most of the day; there was also a ton of heat haze lower down to shoot through. As such, my shots of flying action are nothing to write home about.

That said, here's a few images from the day:

This OV-10 Bronco is a former Luftwaffe machine that now flies on the French civil register:



This was one of a pair of T-28 Trojans at the show:


I'd never seen a PC-7 at the Pardubice show before:


A pair of Yakovlev Yak-3 fighters:



Spitfire TE184 is a regular at Pardubice and seems to have different markings every time:


The Mustang "Excalibur" is also a regular at Pardubice:


This Stinson Reliant is a relative newcomer to European skies. It was brought to the Czech Republic in June of 2016:



Red Bull is a regular participant in the event. This year they brought their B-25 Mitchell, T-28 Trojan, Alpha Jet and Douglas DC-6:


Some vintage homegrown Czech GA types in the form of and Aero Ae-145, Orličan L-40 Meta Sokol and a Let L-200 Morava:




The flying started with this Beech C-45:


This Let L-410 Turbolet was part of the official show opening flypast made up of the various training types based at Pardubice:


This Beriot XI replica was enjoyable to watch:




The Red Bull DC-6 put on an incredibly nimble performance for a larger aircraft. Initially it was not scheduled to be at the show, but was a last minute replacement for a Lockheed Constellation which had to cancel for technical reasons. A fair substitute, I'd say:



This was one of a pair of Czech based Harvards in SAAF markings that put on a great performance:


A couple of the locally based training helicopters in the statics:

[zenrat]

Great pics.  Thanks for sharing.

Red Bull must spend a fortune on polish.  Or maybe their energy drink has another use?

[DogfighterZen]

Great pics for sure, thanks! Love the Blue nose B's Stang...

[NARSES2]

Many thanks for sharing, some great stuff there 

[upnorth]

Thanks, glad you all appreciate. 

[upnorth]

Great pics for sure, thanks! Love the Blue nose B's Stang...

"Excalibur" is a fascinating story in her own right. Built in 1945, she came along too late to fight in WWII. She entered the American civil register in 1963 and has been through several hands as well as being rebuilt after a serious landing accident. Prior to taking on the "Excalibur" name in the late 1990s, she carried the name "Queen B". She's been Czech owned and based since 2011:

http://www.mustangsmustangs.net/p-51/survivors/serial/45-11540

[DogfighterZen]

Thanks for the info and link!
I've just been reading up on the Spitfire TE184, pretty similar story. https://flyaspitfire.com/spitfire-te184

[reddfoxx]

Beautiful shots!  Looks like it was a great show.

[Captain Canada]

Great shots looks like a good show !

[PR19_Kit]

Super set of pics there.  LOVE that Bronco. 

Any chance you could export some of that weather???

[upnorth]

Super set of pics there.  LOVE that Bronco. 

Any chance you could export some of that weather???

I'd gladly trade a few days of this weather for a few days with decent rain as Czech summers have become increasingly hotter and drier over the last five years or so.