Airshows – Pickled Wings

Pardubice Aviation Fair, 2023

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Kevan V

The 2023 edition of the Pardubice Aviation Fair took place on May 27 and 28. The show is a primarily civilian show with a strong focus on vintage aircraft.

This year’s show was to the usual high standard and the weather was sunny all day. Photography was a challenge due to the sun travelling parallel to the runway and being overhead all day. It caused a lot of photos to be backlit and heat distortion played havoc with distance shots on the ground.

However, I managed a good set of shots that gives a taste of the event:

Čáslav Base Open Day – 2023

Posted on May 21, 2023 by Kevan V

On May 20 of 2023, the Czech air force base at Čáslav hosted an open day.

It was the base’s first open day in four years, and it was very much worth the wait.

The weather was fantastic for the most part and the program was pleasantly varied.

Here’s a taste of what was there:

Happy Birthday, Aeronautica Militare!

Posted on March 25, 2023 by Kevan V

In a few days, March 28 to be exact, the Italian air force will be celebrating 100 years.

The Aeronautica Militare, the modern Italian air force, was formed as the Regia Aeronautica in 1923. It was given its modern name following the Second World War.

Here’s a few photos of modern Italian air force aircraft I’ve snapped here and there:

The MiG-15 hits 75 Years

Posted on December 30, 2022December 30, 2022 by Kevan V

Like its western counterpart, the F-86 Sabre, the MiG-15 needs no introduction.

December 30 of 1947 saw the maiden flight of the legendary Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter.

To mark the occasion, here are some pictures of MiG-15 variants I’ve taken here and there over the years:

Rudolf the Red nosed Airplane – 2022 Edition

Posted on December 7, 2022 by Kevan V

December is upon us and Christmas not too far away. For those of you who have followed Pickled Wings for a few years, you’ll know I have a Christmas tradition of posting a gallery of aircraft with red noses or significant red trim in the nose area.

Over the last couple of years, due to COVID restrictions, opportunities to photograph aircraft up close were reduced and I had to improvise a bit to create decent sized galleries. That included flexing for noses in the darker end of the orange range as well as a retrospective gallery with photos covering several years.

Happily, 2022 was a different story and I can give you a gallery of proper red noses all taken in 2022.

Some of these aircraft will be familiar, as I’ve shown photos of them before, but others were new to me.

At that, sit back and enjoy this year’s selection of Rudolfs:

NATO Days, 2022

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Kevan V

September 17 and 18 saw the 2022 edition of the annual NATO Days show in Ostrava, Czech Republic take place.

I attended on the 17th. Despite the weather being overcast most of the day and making photography of flying displays tricky, it was an enjoyable show as always.

The 2022 show marked the first appearance of Brazilian and Latvian participants at the NATO Days event. It also marked the first time a Dassault Rafale fighter was in the static park, previous editions of the show have had Rafales in the flying program, and it was quite interesting to get up close to France’s most modern fighter.

On a somewhat bittersweet note, the 2022 edition of the show was the last public airshow appearance of the Czech air force Mil Mi-35 “Hind” helicopter. An iconic aircraft from the height of the Cold War to the present, the “Hind” is scheduled to be retired from Czech air force service in late 2022 or early 2023.

At that, here’s a selection of what was on view at the show in 2022:

Medlánky Oldtimers Weekend – 2022 Edition

Posted on September 11, 2022September 11, 2022 by Kevan V

September 10 and 11 of 2022 saw the annual Oldtimers Weekend event take place at the Medlánky airport in the northern reaches of Brno,Czech Republic.

The event was a mix of some familiar gliders, both contemporary and vintage that belong to the Medlánky Aeroklub, and visiting aircraft. The 2022 edition of the event had a surprize in the form of a Czech air force Mil Mi-35 helicopter on September 10, this was a very unusul aircraft to have on hand as the event is typically a fully civillian affair.

The weather forecast for the weekend was not particulary good, but the event went on anyway. I took these pictures during a practice for the event on September 9 and a window of reasonably clear weather on the afternoon of September 10.

Airpower 2022 – Zeltweg, Austria

Posted on September 3, 2022 by Kevan V

Airpower is the largest airshow in Europe and takes place on a roughly tri-annual cycle at the Austrian air force base at Zeltweg, located in the state of Styria. On September 2 of 2022, I attended the Airpower show for the first time since the 2013 edition of it.

It was a well balanced show between military and civilian aviation and a very well run show in all aspects. It’s a show I would definitely recommend attending if you have the opportunity.

As it’s a big show, I’m giving it a larger than normal gallery. Fix a beverage of your choice, take your time and enjoy:

Air Day 2022 – Břeclav, Czech Republic

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Kevan V

On July 2 of 2022, I travelled to Břeclav, in the south east of the Czech Republic, to visit the open day at the town’s airport. It was my first time at the event and I wasn’t sure what to expect.

It was a solidy civilian affair with a friendly atmosphere at a grass strip airfield nestled in the Czech wine country.

Overall, it was something between a fly-in event and an aerobatics show.

A very enjoyable event and one I’d definitely visit again.