The fifth, and final, article from our series regarding news and updates on 2024 air show season in Europe, brings you a short and subjective selection of aviation events scheduled for the second part of the season.
Our review starts with Letecký den Cheb (Aviation Day Cheb), the event to be held at the western edge of the Czech Republic on 17th and 18th August.
Cheb airfield is one of the oldest in the Czech Republic, as it was opened in 1917. It also has a well-established tradition of air shows, with the first event organized there already in 1923. The ´aviation days´ were then held for ten consecutive years by the military aviation school based at the airfield.
During the World War II, Flugzeugwerke Eger GmbH (English: Aviation works Cheb – FWE) built another airfield in the city and used it for company purposes. FWE was taking care of maintenance and repairs of the Luftwaffe aircraft, including He 111, He 177, He 219 and finally the first combat jet in the world, Me 262 ´Schwalbe´ (English: swallow).
And in fact the Me 262 will not be missing in this year´s programme of the Letecký den Cheb. It will be represented by D-IMTT – full scale replica of the aircraft, owned and operated by Messerschmitt Stiftung in Manching (Germany).
The German jet fighter will be accompanied by another iconic aircraft of the World War II, PBY-5A Catalina ´Miss Pick Up´ (G-PBYA). According to the official announcement, the Catalina will not only perform the flying display in Cheb but also will be showcased at the static display, with possibility to check interior of the aircraft.
More information about the Me 262 D-IMTT and PBY-5A ´Miss Pick Up´ can be found in our articles, previously issued within Photo of the Week series: Messerschmitt Me-262A-1C ´Schwalbe´ / PBY-5A Catalina “Miss Pick Up”.
Among other already announced participants of Letecký den Cheb there are Trenér Box (aerobatic team flying with Zlín Z-526 aircraft), SF-260 German aerobatic duo, two examples of P-51D Mustang fighter aircraft, Beechcraft C-45H Expeditor, C-11 (Yak-11) and group of three Jungmann biplanes. High-class aerobatic display will be performed by Petr Jirmus in Zlín Z-50. The programme also includes Enstrom 480B rotorcraft and Letov LF-107 Luňák glider which are going to perform their flying displays at Cheb airfield.
The next interesting aviation event planned for the upcoming month is the Swedish Försvarsmaktens flygdag 2024 (the Armed Forces Aviation Day 2024). On 24th August, gates of Ronneby air base will open for general public and the Swedish Air Force (SAF) already announced the day would be full of various displays and exhibitions related to the air force, air defence and other branches of the country´s armed forces.
The flying programme will include the Swedish Air Force Historical Flight aeroplanes, aircraft from the current SAF inventory, as well as F/A-18 Hornet (Finland), F-16 Fighting Falcon (Denmark), EF-2000 Typhoon (UK), as well as training and aerobatic aeroplanes.
The last weekend of August will be marked by another international aviation event – Bucharest International Air Show (BIAS). The event will be held on 30th and 31st August at Aurel Vlaicu International Airport in Bucharest-Băneasa and, as usual, will be merged with General Aviation Exhibition. In addition, this year´s edition of the show will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Romanian membership in NATO.
List of the BIAS 2024 participants include Hawks of Romania aerobatic group, formation of aircraft from the Flying Bulls collection (F4U-4 Corsair, B-25 Mitchell, P-38 Lightning, T-28 Trojan), Jurgis Kairys and Iacării Acrobați, Pilatus PC-9, Rafale Solo Display and T-6 Demo Team from Greece.
However, the highlight of the show will be Bulgarian Sukhoi Su-25 display. That famous attack aircraft of the Cold War years is a rare participant of any aviation event, particularly when it comes to flying displays.
Another interesting aviation event will take place on 30th August in Germany. On that day, the German Naval Aviation is going to officially retire Sea King Mk 41 helicopters from active service. Marineflieger are the last in Europe to say farewell to that once very popular rotorcraft and commemorated it by a special farewell livery of 89+58 helicopter.
On the occasion of the last German Sea King official flight, a spotter day will be organized at Nordholz air base. The event gained a great interest of the aviation enthusiasts and its full capacity was reached in just a few days after the official announcement. The lucky spotters who managed to sign up for the event, will have the opportunity to take final photos of the rotorcraft, including the aforementioned 89+58 but also 89+63, the helicopter carrying anniversary livery commemorating 50 years of the Sea King in German SAR service.
Next, we would like to draw your attention to some interesting Czech aviation events which are going to be organised in September this year.
First of all, there is a 100th anniversary of Letiště Letňany (Letňany Airfield) in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The event is scheduled for 7th September and, according to its organizers, list of participants should include exactly one hundred aircraft.
Among the participants disclosed so far, there are Z-37 Čmelák, C-11 (Yak-11), Avia BH-1 (replica), Evektor EV-55 Outback, Aero Ae 145, Zlín Z-381 and P-51D Mustang.
A bit different but no less interesting aviation-related event will take place on 7th September in Kovářská, a small town in the Ore Mountains, Chomutov District.
Eighty years ago, the town witnessed a large air battle that took place over the area between the B-17 bombers of the 100th Bomb Group (the Bloody Hundred), escorted by P-51 Mustangs from the 55th and 339th Fighter Group, and German Bf 109 and Fw 190 fighters from II and III Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 4. More than fifty aircraft were shot down on that day and their wreckages fell down in the vicinity of Kovářská and on the town itself.
Fifty years later, a group of aviation and history enthusiasts started to explore the area in search of remains of the aircraft shot down there back in 1944. Thanks to remote location of Kovářská, being surrounded by mountains, forests and swamps, many of the crash sites survived almost untouched. Recovered parts were placed at the local museum founded by aforementioned enthusiasts and, shortly after, the tradition of annual meetings on anniversary of the battle was established.
This year, during the 27th edition of the commemoration meeting, Kovářská will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Air Battle over the Ore Mountains. As always, the event will bring several interesting lectures on aviation history, presentation of re-enacting and military history groups, display of historical vehicles and a short trip to explore one of the crash sites from 1944.
Although it is not an aviation day and there will be no flying displays, the event in Kovářská is also worth visiting, as it provides a perfect opportunity for a fascinating history lesson.
Another centenary will be celebrated one week later, this time in Brno. There, on 14th September, an aviation day is going to be organised at Medlánky airfield, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of local Aeroclub.
The programme of flying and static displays includes a variety of light, sport and utility aeroplanes, such as Yak-55M, Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann, Zlín Z-226 and Z-326, Z-37 Čmelák, Antonov An-2, as well as ultralight replica of Messerschmitt Bf 109. It is also worth to mention the numerous representation of gliders, including so far LF-107 Luňak, LG-125 Šohaj, LG-130 Kmotr, L-13A Blaník, Z-24 Krajánek and VSB-62 Vega.
On the same day of 14th September, another edition of open-doors day at Letiště Točná (Točná airport), in Prague, will take place. Public days at Točná are organised on a regular basis and you may read more about those events – as well as the aircraft collection located there – in our earlier articles: 2022 aviation season opener – Točna open day and An afternoon with legendary aircraft – open day at Točna airfield.
14th and 15th September are also the date of Athens Flying Week. The annual aviation meeting at Tanágra Airport is not only a showcase of the Hellenic Air Force but usually brings an eye-catching variety of military aircraft and demo teams from all over the Europe.
List of already disclosed participants of this year´s edition of the show includes the Romanian Air Force (An-26), Patrouille Requin Mike (2x Rafale) from France, PC-7 Team from Switzerland and Eurofighter Typhoon.
The end of September 2024 will be marked by Sanicole International Airshow. This year, that well-known Belgian aviation event will take place between 20th and 22nd September, approximately two weeks later than usual.
Traditionally, the Sanicole weekend will offer three separate events: a spotter day at Kleine-Brogel air base on Friday, Sunset Airshow on Saturday evening and a full air show event on Sunday.
Although there are more than two months left to that event, main part of its flying programme was already disclosed and we dare to say it is going to be really spectacular. The list of participants includes Airbus A400M, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (Spitfire, Hurricane and Avro Lancaster), Rafale Solo Display, C-130 Hercules, B-17 ´Sally B´, Patrouille Suisse, Jet Pitts S2S, Red Devils, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, EF-2000, UH-60 Blackhawk, PC-9M and many others.
Our reports from previous edition of the show, as well as some additional information about the event, can be found following the Sanicole tag on our website.
Last but not least, there is another event to be held at Letiště Točná on 12th October 2024. This time, the traditional open day will be expended to meeting of Zlín Tréner aircraft. That iconic training and aerobatic aircraft developed in the former Czechoslovakia, performed its maiden flight in October of 1947 and the meeting will be an opportunity to celebrate its 77th anniversary.
More information about the Zlín Tréner family, its development and operational history can be found in our article Made in Czechoslovakia – Zlín Trenér family, issued in October of 2021.
