Every two years the airbase of Kecskemét is the venue of one of the biggest airshows in Europe. 2008 was the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Air Force so there was a show as well. It was a fantastic event with a large amount of spectacular flying displays and a very good static park including some rarely seen guests.
The airbase of Kecskemét is home to the 59th Tactical Fighter Wing, which is divided into two squadrons. Squadron 1 „Puma“ is flying on the newly acquired JAS-39C/D „Gripen“ and squadron 2 „Dongó“ is equipped with L -39ZO „Albatros“ and MiG-29 „Fulcrum“. Unfortunately the era of Hungarian MiGs is coming to an end in the near future. By the end of the year the Fulcrums will be withdrawn from service. Then the Hungarian airspace will be protected only by 14 Gripen leased from Sweden. The delivery of the first jets started in 2004 whereby the leasing period commences, and is running for ten years.  Before delivery, the twelve single-seat and the two dual-seat aircraft were modified by Saab Aerospace to be fully compatible with the NATO standard.

The flying display started with a fly past from the Hungarian Air Force. Under a dark cloudy sky a Mil Mi-17 with a Hungarian flag opened the program followed by Mil Mi-24 “Hind” gunships. A pair of L-39 and MiG-29 escorted two Antonov-26 transport aircrafts and finally three Gripen - the most modern aircraft and the pride of the Hungarian Air Force - were flying over the enthusiastic crowd. After a second over-flight with spectacular formation breaks the jets landed at the base. The program continued with an interesting CSAR demonstration (Combat Search and Rescue), where a Mil Mi-17 served as transporter covered by Mil Mi-24 “Hind” combat helicopters. A further Hind in special color scheme - even the rotor blades were painted in the national colors - was flying an impressive display dispensing a lot of flares. Also the following solo displays of the L-39 and MiG-29 were performed in some colorful machines.

The attendance of foreign aircraft at the flying program was very impressive . Nearly every European air arm was presenting their fastest jets. The Spanish Air Force displayed a Eurofighter, Sweden sent a Saab JAS-39 “Gripen” and the French Armée de l'Air was showing one of their last AMD Mirage 2000 displays. In the future all displays will be held by the AMD Rafale. A rare demonstration of a Finish Boeing F-18C could be seen as well as the already well-known but still impressive F-16 displays of Belgium and the Netherlands. Surprisingly there was a BAE Systems Harrier GR.Mk9 display of the Royal Air Force too. Officially the solo display team was disbanded because of the type’s heavy sortie commitment in Afghanistan.

Apart from Western jets there were some interesting participants from Eastern Europe. Serbia’s Air Force presented their Soko G-4 „Super Galeb“ and J-22 „Orao“ both in beautiful paint schemes. The extreme low level passes of the Orao showed what superb pilots are part of the Serbian Air Force. After the withdrawal of the Orao in Romania, Serbia is the worldwide last operator of this jet type. Due to the shortage of funds the Orao will still form the backbone of Serbia’s air force for a long time to come. The Czech Republic showed their newest development – the L-159 – twice. A trainer version of this light combat aircraft was presented by a test pilot of the manufacturer AERO Vodochody, as well as a single seater of the Czech Air Force with a special painted fin, due to 10.000 flying hours on this type.

The highlight - because is it rarely seen within the European Airshow circuit nowadays – was the display of a Romanian MiG-21 „Lancer C“. By using its afterburner very often and performing a spectacular touch-n-go it attracted the public very much. Despite all modifications on these aircrafts undertaken by the Romanian Aerostar Company in association with the Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems the operational lifetime is now drawing to a close. The decision about their successor is expected within the next month. Saab Gripen and Lockheed Martin F-16 have been designated as favorites for this 4 billion Euro purchase order.

Unusual was also the demonstration of a Boeing C-17 „Globemaster III“. The displaying aircraft started its surprisingly agile presentation from its home base which is located in Pápa / Western Hungary. NATO chose this location for its „Strategic Airlift Capability“ project. Several NATO member states as well as the two neutral nations Sweden and Finland are sharing the transport capabilities of fully three C-17. Not less than four aerobatic teams performed over Kecskemét with the Frecce Tricolori as the stars of the show. Furthermore the Turkish Stars on F-5 „Tiger“ and the Croatian Krila Oluje (Wings of Storm) on Pilatus PC-9 were flying. A relatively unknown demo team are the “Stars” from Serbia. They are a civil team flying on five ex-air force G-2 “Galeb”. The pilots of the “Stars” have all graduated on the Air Force Academy and Flight Instructor School of ex-Yugoslavia and were in the past flying for the “Flying Stars” demonstration team of the former Yugoslavian Air Force.

The static display contained some interesting aircraft. One highlight was the black painted Hellenic Vought A-7E „Corsair“ from 336th Squadron „Olymbos“ based in Araxos. This is the last operational A-7 squadron worldwide but the days of the Corsairs are numbered. A similar fate has to be accepted by the Polish Sukhoi Su-22UM which was also on display. The Polish Fitters are gradually being replaced by modern Lockheed Martin F-16C Block 52+ jets. A further dinosaur of the sky was the Romanian MiG-21 „Lancer-C“. Two Turkish Lockheed Martin F-16 of the tiger squadron in Balikesir, a French AMD Mirage 2000D and two Fairchild A-10 “Thunderbolt II” from the US Air Force were also on display. The German Luftwaffe was represented by a Panavia Tornado ECR from Lechfeld and a Eurofighter trainer from JG73 “S”. Friends of historical aircraft could rejoice in the Vought F-4U “Corsair” and a North American B-25 “Mitchell” from the Flying Bulls aircraft collection. A gem was the only flying Li-2 (built under license Russian DC-3). It was even possible to book sightseeing flights on this rare aircraft for a reasonable price. In a special historic static display of the Hungarian forces almost all Soviet types were presented.

The airshow in Kecskemét was without a doubt one of the highlights in 2008. The mix of Western and Eastern aircraft, including some exotics gave this event a special mark. Above all the large number of Russian built aircraft made this show particularly popular for aviation enthusiasts.  It’s a great pity about the declining appearance of MiGs and Sukhois on airshows. It remains to be seen if there will be a MiG display on the next show in Kecskemét.

Christian Spreitzer / CHK 6 AUSTRIA