NATO DAYS 2015 - 19 & 20 September

[Pablo Zibi]

Well quite nice line-up for non only aviation related event. Highlights this year are definitely french Ramex Delta and very strong participation from Swedish Air Force Historic Flight with Viggen, Draken and Tunnan in dynamic display (right now there is mistake on website, but for sure this 3 planes are definitely in dynamic)

[MRTT]

Here is the participation list

Swedish Air Force
Lockheed Tp84 Hercules (S)

NATO Heavy Airlift Wing
Boeing C-17A Globemaster III (S)

Civilian
Swedish Air Force Historic Flight- SAAB ASJ37 Viggen (F)
Swedish Air Force Historic Flight- SAAB J29 Tunnan (F)
Swedish Air Force Historic Flight- SAAB SK60 (SP)
Swedish Air Force Historic Flight- SAAB J35 Draken (F)

Austrian Air Force
SAAB J105OE (F/S)

Belgian Air Component
Lockheed Martin F-16AM Fighting Falcon (F)
Lockheed C-130H Hercules (S)

French Air Force
The Ramex Delta- 2x Dassualt Mirage 2000N (F)

German Air Force
C-160D Transall (S)
Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon (S)

German Navy
Eurocopter EC135 (S)
Westland Sea Lynx Mk88 (S)

German Army Aviation
MDD Bo105 (F/S)

Hellenic Air Force
Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon Block 52+ 'Zeus' (F)

Lithuanian Air Force
Alenia C-27J Spartan (S)

NATO AWAC Wing
Boeing E-3A Sentry (S)

Royal Netherlands Air Force
Lockheed C-130H Hercules (S)

Royal Norwegian Air Force
Lockheed P-3N Orion (S)

Polish Air Force
PZL M-28TD Bryza II (S)
CASA C295M (S)
The Team Orlik- 8x PZL-130 Turbo Orlik (F)
PZL SW-4 (F/S)

Royal Air Force
Beech King Air B200/B200GT (S)
Panavia Tornado GR4 x2 (S)

United States Air Force
Bell Boeing CV-22B Osprey (S)

[Traveller]

Can't believe I'm going to have to go to this ghastly event just to see the Draken and Viggen which I haven't seen yet. Hardly a full day event I see with what is down to fly, could be compressed into just one hour if it were back to back displays.

[Chrisse]

Belgian F-16 will be static, the solo display is at Lens and Sanicole that day.

I think you'd struggle to get the current displays into an hour Also, remember there will be Czech displays too which aren't listed yet, so it will end up around 3 hours of flying time. I'd also be very surprised if the Slovak Mig-29 doesn't turn up.

[Pablo Zibi]

Czech Air Force L-159 ALCA (D) will be there,as well as Slovak MiG-29 (D/S) and L-39 (S) (information from squadron).

Can't believe I'm going to have to go to this ghastly event just to see the Draken and Viggen which I haven't seen yet. Hardly a full day event I see with what is down to fly, could be compressed into just one hour if it were back to back displays.

This can be an advantage, there is plenty of time for static, ground displays if you are intrested in them, talking with crews, shopping or eating (well-organized gastronomy).

[Traveller]

Im going to stay 6km away and cycle in. When I say in I think I'll stay outside to the south so the sun behind and under the display line which I see is at 90deg to the runway.

[chbla]

I'm also there from Friday afternoon until sunday.

Can anyone recommend photography locations (500mm lens + extenders)?
Are there good positions outside? I assume in the south, somewhere where they are turning?

@Traveller, where do you mean you want to stay on the map? It probably isn't easily accessible

[Traveller]

Hiya. All along the south by the railway is the main access road, in blue on the map. I was just going to stop along there somewhere on the bike. So due west of village of Mosnov almost alongside the southern apron.

But the display line marked on the map I assume is where the aircraft align with but to the south west. There is an area marked off for no pedestrians but then you have both access roads (the VIP to the north and the general one to the south) which both cross it.

Hope that makes sense! Basically I just want to find a place that looks north away from the sun. Probably right next to the rail station is best? The entire roads around will be grid lock so I cannot see how anyone can ask cyclists not to stop given there will be 100s of people sat in cars!!

[Leadfoot]

Some cool last minute additions from the USAF:

B-52H - s
KC-135 - s
F-16 - s
AH-64 - d

and from the RNLAF:

KDC-10 - s

[Traveller]

Thankfully the decision to cycle in made this a semi-bearable day. Ridiculous entrance system for cars meaning it was backed up to my hotel about 9km away! But it gets worse - there was then a queue to park the push bike!! It beggars belief this 'NATO Days' as I have made the point before. Ticket system where police guard the bikes, solution to lock it against any fence which is what I did. And then the most outrageous thing I have ever seen at a show - charge to use toilets!! Hence queues to get through each pay point to the small number of toilets that were actually there. Cue everyone slashing in the bushes behind the Hungarian Antonov, even women.

Great to see the Viggen and Draken from outside. As for the inside...................

[Leadfoot]

My opinion is a bit different:

Toilets: I did not mind the 5 CZK fee, especially with free entry to the show. The number of toilets seemed rather low for such an event. I was outside the base for most of the weekend, so I did not see the lines. Nevertheless, toilets are usually a critical point at airshows. In Radom, I stood in line for 23 minutes. IN my opinion, a 5-10 minute line is totally normal.

Entry: I don't know what you mean by "ridiculous entrance system", but the the way the parking passes were sold and the vehicles were guided seemed OK when we got there (on both days). I think the problem is with the gate and the small roads leading to the airport. There is only one main road nearby, cars arrive on that single road from both the north and the south, and the problems start where the two directions "meet". There are no alternates, no escape routes, everything leads back to that single main road. Plus the gate (leading to the parking lot) is a serious bottleneck that slows things down. Still, there is no other area suitable for parking in the vicinity of the display area. I think a better separation of pedestrian / bike / car traffic could improve things (pedestrians and cars crossed paths at multiple locations, which slowed things down + cars and bikes slalomed around pedestrians, which is neither safe nor efficient), but the issues are attributable mainly to the limitations of the local road network. This is not an uncommon problem in case of airshows... see the gigantic traffic jams around Zeltweg.
This can be tackled only one way: getting there early. We drove from Kecskemét (approx. 500 km), but still managed to get there around 8:00. In total, we stood in traffic for about (only) 30-35 minutes, and most of that was at our exit on Saturday.

My biggest problem with the organisation: why do they have soldiers guard the static planes? There is a metal fence, and no one will start climbing through with a guard every 20 or 30 metres. The static line was full of the guards, and they were always in the picture. When we were at the Alca fitted with Sidewinders and a gun pod, the guard was leaning onto the nose of the aircraft...

Some positive things about the organisation:
- They always manage to attract unique participants. See USAF participation in Radom (nothing) or the British presence at the same show (1 static Hawk) opposed to the B-52, F-16, KC-135, Osprey (+ almost Apache demo) and the dynamic Lynx (RN) and static Tornado + King Air (RAF).
- Their communication is excellent, they make good use of social media, the website is clear and informative + they publish everything in Czech and English).



As for the show: after last year's emptyness, the static was packed with interesting stuff with a lot of crew members present and plenty of opportunities to get one's hand on some memorabilia. As usual, the number of other stuff (military, police equipment, etc.) was astounding. Too bad we never have time to have a good look as those, as walking around the place (and out to the fence) takes a lot of time.

The flying program had some pretty huge gaps, but after all, this is not just an airshow, but also a military display with loads of programmes on the ground.
The Apache did not arrive (due to the lack of some kind of permit). As a replacement, the Czech Hind was sent up to perform its display Saturday morning, but it also flew the display at the originally scheduled time slot. So we got a double dose of Hind on that day.
The spotter position outside the fence makes every display special. Interestingly, the axis of the displays was pushed to the south, so many of the aircraft flew right above our heads. Which was why the other fields were closed outside the fence...
The Alca pair's display was totally new to me. It looked like they did not have mutch time to practice, but it was still great with lots of flares. It definitely has a lot of potential.
The 5-ship SAAB formation was spectacular, especially the break at the end. My favourite is the Viggen with its little trick (turning in reverse then taking off again) on the runway in its solo programme. It was also good to finally see the Tunnan.
I think the programme of the RN Lynx was flown a bit far from both the field and the crowdline. Nevertheless, it was great to see this bird, as she's a rare visitor in this part of Europe.
Surprise C-17 (B-52 support) arrival on Sunday. The NATO E-3 pass also got me by surprise, as I totally forgot the AWACS was in the programme. Fortunately, the pass was performed in the display axis, not above the runway.
The Czech helicopter role demo used only one Mi-171 in addition to the single Mi-24, and this display was a lot less spectacular than in previous years.
The german Bo-105 was a bit of a letdown on Saturday, but Sunday was totally different. The pilot threw in some pretty Red Bull-esque maneuvres.
Most of my friends found the Ramex Delta display "nothing special", but I just can't get enough of their programme.

All in all, we had a good time, and fortunately the weather also played along (lots of sun on Saturday, and a bit gloomy on Sunday, but no rain).

[Traveller]

Looks like you agree with me!! I certainly agree with all you say. I stayed in Pribor 9kms south and as soon as I passed the highway junction it was stationary traffic. There were still people coming in as I left at 1430 strangely, and an equal amount leaving. I'd rather they charged 5euros and free toilets! Yes the Viggen, display, land, turn, take off, teardrop circuit to land again, was good to see.

If we are honest, this show needs a different venue for so many reasons. The entry by car ends up into just one road as you say. I got in about 1000 since nothing of interest started until 1200. The Tornado pilot was not the one who flew it in, they were still in bed. He arrived and departed on Ryanair! And the other guy was a French exchange pilot. There should have been two Tornados.

[chbla]

Well, I think you are complaining on a very high level.

If you know airshows like RIAT, Axalp or as mentioned Airpower - your impressions of traffic jams and problems at airshow will be lifted
up to a whole new level
I have to say that for this venue and the rather difficult roads they have there, they are doing an excellent job.
The whole airshow (social media, website, app, news updates on arrivals/departures) is organized in a very professional way. You don't really
see this often. And the participants are always very interesting.
I have to admit though that they had a bit of bad luck this year with cancellations and thus the dynamic program was a bit thin.

Regarding the venue - I LOVE IT for photography. The reason for it is: You have to stay outside the public area. There is a very large field south of the display
line and this field is one of the best locations I have ever seen on an airshow: You can get there by car or walk down from the main area, there is enough space for everybody
and you are literally in the middle of all the action. Sun is in your back and planes are flying extremely close.
In that sense Ostrava is quite uncommon and this makes it unique and great for photographers.

You have to get in at around 6 AM for the good places - but as I've said that's complaining on a high level. At Axalp we need to start our hikes at 3 AM sometimes

[Leadfoot]

Basically, I agree with both of you.
This venue is practically unsuitable for an airshow, but somehow the organisers make it work, and the opportunity to get very close to the displays makes the Ostrava Airport probably my favourite airshow location.
I attended every NATO Days show since 2010, and I'm pretty sure I'll be there next year.

The collision with Sanicole was a bit unfortunate this year, as it attracted some stuff that could have easily made it to Ostrava otherwise (Swiss, Polish, Belgian participants).