Swedish Air Force
1926 - 1996
70 years
At the end of the summer of 1996 celebrated the Swedish Air Force its 70th birthday. The celebration took place on the military airport of Ljungbyhed with a full day really spectacular air show. Approximately 80 000 visitors gathered together to watch one of the biggest air shows in Swedish history. Planes of all ages of the aviation history were presented in the air and on the ground. The Swedish Air Force invited also two of the worlds best groups, Frecce Tricolori from Italy and Patrouille de France from France. I had the pleasure to be there and took a lot of pictures. Some of them will be presented here.
By the way, it is soon time for the celebration of the 75th birthday. Visit http://www.airshow.mil.se/index.php?lang=eng to get more information.
All the photos are taken by me, you have to contact me if you want to publish these pictures anywhere.
Copyright Josef Simko.
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32 planes formation flight. This day is also the 70th birthday of the F5 Air Force squadron which is written in the sky using these 32 planes.
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A really spectacular show from Italy.
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Patrouille de France is flying a very close formation where the distance between the planes is only about a half meter. If you want to know more about Patrouille de France, visit the official web site: http://www.defense.gouv.fr/air/dossiers/indexpaf.html It is in French only, but still worth the visit even for the ones who don't speak French. |
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The Swedish Air Force has its own display group. I will add some of my photos here. For now, you should visit the Team 60 official web page. Mainly in Swedish, but you can read the history in English. A beautiful site. Many beautiful pictures and timetable for the coming shows. |
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At this time the Gripen is still new, not yet operational. This was understandably not a spectacular display flight. Very careful formations, never over the public. This was the first public flight after a catastrophic display flight over Stockholm. The pilot lost control over a crowded area of Stockholm Water Festival. Ejected just a few seconds before the plane hit the ground and exploded in a big ball of fire. It hit the ground in a park, on one of the few areas where nobody was standing. Miraculously nobody got hurt in this accident. Rumours say the pilot aimed at that spot just before ejecting to avoid hitting the crowd. If that is true, I think he should have received the highest possible medal in Sweden. He risked his own life to save many lives that day. If you want to see more beautiful pictures and read more about Gripen, visit: http://www.gripen.saab.se
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PA31 Navajo 1
The Flight Academy placed at the airport had its own display. Not as noisy as the other formation flights, but considering the type, it was also beautiful. If you want to read more (in Swedish) about the commercial pilot education programme in Sweden visit: |
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