|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
    |
||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
The F-4 Phantom day is traditionally our first project when we fly out to Greece, so the adventure starts with the long ferry flight to Tanagra airbase. That itself is always an experience, as you see the landscape below changing and we fly usually at 20.000 feet with oxygen. This time we came from Belgrade, where we just finished our epic flying with the J-22 & Mig-29 as highlights. So plenty of amazing days in just a short time! Another fine tradition is that we start our Phantom day with a flight to Kalamata, where we were once again greeted in the air by the trainers of the Hellenic Air Force. The T-6 Texan II – with smoke – was first, but not alone, as it was joined by the M346 Silver Hawks. It remains a fantastic sight and privilege to see the aircraft in its natural habitat of the Greek mountains and Mediterranean Sea. The fuel stop we made with the Skyvan at Kalamata also gave the photographers a chance to meet the pilots and have the first of many refreshing drinks… |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
| But of course the project is called ‘F-4 Phantom day’ and so the tension and hope builds up once we took off again, direction Andravida! Before landing on the holy grounds of Hellenic Airpower we were already welcomed by two spooks for a number of nice flybys, the unicorns came out again! The visit to the last remaining F-4 Squadron in Hellenic service, 338 Sqn, is another highlight as the photographers got to meet real Phantom pilots and their hospitality as always is perfect. More refreshing drinks before we were ready for the main flight of the day, a sunset encounter with the legendary ‘royalty’ jets once more, still top of the wish list for so many photographers! And they did not disappoint – that is simply not possible with F-4s – seeing, hearing and photographing two Phantoms in the warm Greek sunset light for a good 30 minutes is something to remember Phorever. | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Phorever as in 1 year, as we will be back of course next year! The days of the Phantom are most certainly numbered and every opportunity we get will be accepted with the greatest appreciation. We already started the countdown again… | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||