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What would be a good way to describe the action for our team at Athens Flying Week…? AFW is amazing!! Yea, sure it is, but it’s much more… AFW, friendly people, super airshow team, inexpensive food. True, but it’s much more… AFW, fantastic scenery, unprecedented variety! Yes yes, all that, but it’s much more… AFW, the epic week with all the unicorn the aviation photographers dream of. I agree, but it’s much more… Athens Flying Week is simply next NEXT level when it comes to aviation photography. Even when you go to the airshow – sun in your back all day – or as a spotter, this week in Greece has so much to offer for the die-hard aviation enthusiast. We can no longer be humble, as this is really one of that absolute highlight on our calendar, every year again. This is the sixth time we flew the Skyvan photoship to Tanagra airbase for a week of five star extravaganza and seeing dreams coming true. Every join-up we had came in second-best, with the first prize going to another longtime dream we achieved, an opportunity to catch the Canadair CL-415 ‘waterbomber’ in action… on THAT single evening with a cloudless sky. |
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We flew 3 busy days for the ‘arrivals package’ , sunset flights included and the Sunday and Monday for the departures. All the photographers got to admire their number 1 wish… 338 Sqn lived up to its reputation and showed us the F-4 Phantom multiple times. But no matter how small the aircraft is, we are always grateful to welcome any pilot who wants to join the Skyvan. And we did have smaller, but ‘great!’ aircraft as the Pipistrel, T-41 and Tecnam. An always super enjoyable Dutch Rush with his Su-26, lovely! |
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| Trainers are always on the menu, with the Austrian Air Force sending us the PC-7 and the home team bringing the M-346 – in Hellenic Air Force called the Silver Hawk – and the T-6, both in normal colors and the bright Daedalus demonstration bird. | |||
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Helicopter action was presented by the Hellenic Navy with two of their Seahawks, and a fantastic photomission with the red BK-117 from the fire alert service. Aerobatic teams, yes please, with the final chance for us to welcome the Spanish Air Force Aguilas and Swiss Air Force PC-7 Team. It remains a phenomenal view for the photographers onboard the Skyvan to see a formation of these sizes holding nicely on to us. |
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The Hellenic Air Force is supporting the aerial photomissions in full, but we missed the F-16, not all the timings always align… Another premiere was a freshly refurbished C-130B, one of the many super rare join ups to enjoy. However, thé biggest surprise from the hometeam was their radarplane Embraer EMB-145H, what a stunning looking aircraft!! A classic, in the real sense of the word, is the precious Spitfire in authentic Greek colors, that warbird is going to grace the next AFW calendar! | |
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| Our crewmember Peng had worked for months on a special join-up for this week, with yet another premiere for us, the largest aircraft we had for this edition. Quite impressive to see a real Boeing 787 Dreamliner floating in the air behind the Skyvan. Where most airliners are white, Juneyao Air brought their most colorful airliner especially for this photomission. Happy, happy, happy! |  |
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So another excellent week in the books. Oh wait, did we forgot something…? Oh yes…’the jets’. Athens Flying Week will never disappoint when it comes to raw jet action. We had the pleasure to welcome many shapes, types and Air Forces. The German Air Force joined us with the Eurofighter, the Italian Air Force gave us the first sunset join up with an F-35 – light that afterburner baby! – and the French killed it with the three Rafales of the ‘Requin Mike’ team. |
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The nicest jet flight was for the Tanagra based 331 & 332 Sqn, with a full hour of pure French made magic while the sun was setting. We only get once a year a chance to fly with two Mirage 2000 and two Rafales in various formations and spectacular maneuvers. Can’t wait for another round in 2025. None of this aviation highlights would be possible without the superb support of the Hellenic Air Force, Navy and Army, and of course the amazing team behind the Athens Flying Week airshow. A special round of applause for Fokion ‘Fixer’ who is just doing that… fixing the hottest aerial join-ups in the world! |
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