Monday 15 August 2016

Warsaw's Armed Forces day flypast - seen from Jeziorki

This year's Armed Forces day parade and flypast were not different enough to the event I attended two years ago (see link) and rain had been forecast, so I decided to see how much of the flypast at least I could catch from the ballast mountain in Jeziorki. Arriving with a few minutes to spare, knowing the aerial armada would be flying from north to south, I kept my eyes peeled. Sure enough - same as in 2014 - Iskra acrobatic trainers opened the parade with red-and-white smoke trailing; then helicopters (Puszczyki, Mi-8 transports then Mi-24 assault types) would be followed by trainers and transport aircraft with the fast jets served as the dessert.

Interestingly, I expected to see some of this aerial action on ADSB Exchange (like FlightRadar24.com, but with the ability to see military planes), but setting off just 20 minutes before the start of the flypast, I couldn't see a single aircraft. Transponders switched off?

Below: two Polish Air Force CASA C295s follow a Lockheed Hercules, following the Royal Route from the Old Town to the Belweder Palace. Two years ago, a pair of Hercules took part.


The fast jets filled the skies over Jeziorki with noise, even though they did not get within ten kilometres of where I was standing. Below, main photo: six F-16s (two more than in the 2014 flypast); inset three Sukhoi Su-22 ground attack planes followed by three MiG-29 fighters (again, just two of each in 2014). All pics taken with my Nikkor 55-300mm lens mounted on my Nikon D3300


The whole flypast was over in 15 minutes. Jeziorki was spared the downpour which fell on the parade. I walked home, and watched as one PZL M28 Skytruck turned in over Dawidy, executing a sharp 90-degree turn to land back at Okęcie - the rest of the aircraft returned to bases at Mińsk Mazowiecki, Dęblin and Łask.

This time two years ago:
The ground parade part one: 1939

The flypast

This time five years ago:
Dworzec Zachodni ('West Wailway Shtation') before the remont

This time sixr years ago:
90 years ago today - Bolsheviks stopped at the gates of Warsaw

This time seven years ago:
Kestrel

This time nine years ago:
Armed forces day parade in Warsaw

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