Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Photos of warbirds, classic jets and museum visits
Daniel
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Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Daniel »

This day has switched between hope and despair, but ended in euphoria. The pictures have been edited in a quick fashion, so please bear with me for some imperfections like tilting horizons and such. Rather than just posting 3-4 images I decided to try to visualize the entire event...

Everything seemed like smooth sailing for a first flight after lunch. The Swedish Transport Agency (STA) was to perform the last checks before signing the appropriate papers declaring this rather powerful civial airplane airworthy.

That was before the main office of STA (some 350kms away from F7 Såtenäs) was evacuated due to a bomb scare. Things looked so bleak so I started packing my car for the 250km trip home, using a lot of cursing words about this being a rather expensive daytrip (6 hours behind the wheel). Driving out of the base I look over my shoulder and can see the AJS 37 being towed out of the hangar, hit the brakes and perform a u-turn in front of a rather surprised guard. Back to my holding are and tring to find some information: "Yes there is still hope, but we´re pushing it timewise....either it will happen now or we´ll have to wait until friday"

I head out to the tarmac were there is a growing crowd of people. The Viggen is there, and also its intended chase plane/photo ship: a J 32 Lansen.

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Note the registration under the base of the fin:
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Everyone was waiting for the final go ahead, but time was running out. 16:00 had come and gone and some were just about to leave when a phone rang and there was a cheer....let´s go!

That might have been premature though because there was once Stellan (the pilot) had entered the cockpit, more anxious waiting ensued, do we need another signature,somewhere?...until....another phone call:

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Gentlemen, start your engines!

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Viggen heading out to runway 19:

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Starting take off roll, at about 16:35

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Rotate!

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Gear up

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How about that! Aviation photography is often about getting close, using every millimetre of the zoom lense...but sometimes, an iconic profile against a blue afternoon sky is enough....more than enough

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Part 2 coming soon!

RoverDriver
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by RoverDriver »

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Last edited by RoverDriver on Sun 08 Jul 2012, 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Daniel
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Daniel »

Part 2!

Lansen taxing for take off. That take off displayed what all of us gathered at F7 felt at that time: steep elevator climb with a nice roll at the top...Thanks Alf.

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Meanwhile, a silver Viggen moved majestically at altitude above us, before heading out over lake Vänern:

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Two ship that has not been seen for a while...in a few weeks add J29, J35, Sk 60 and JAS 39, for a true heritage flight.

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The Lansen landed first:

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And settled down:

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And after a graceful landing, using bot aerodynamic braking and a touch of reverse thrust ( I think so at least, think I heard the engine revving up) the Viggen arrived:

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It´s been a while since I took photos of a Viggen and completely forgot that this jet fighter is one of the few where you can get prop blur.....well well, next time maybe :-)

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Cheers Stellan! Many years of hard work has finally reached the desired end result. We owe you and the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight a lot. The are a lot of dark clouds ahead but hopefully they will scatter, because this is our history, legacy and pride.

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Last edited by Daniel on Wed 28 Mar 2012, 4:49 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Rob666
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Rob666 »

A great story and so great to see the mighty Viggen back in the air, thanks for posting. :rock:

Surprised that only two people have replied out of the 28th who have viewed. :sad:

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Danny
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Danny »

Superb, great to see it back in sky! :clap:

Rob666 wrote:Surprised that only two people have replied out of the 28th who have viewed. :sad:

Remember that the view count figure also takes guest views into account. Currently 168 guests online for just 38 members. :smile:
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krustydave
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by krustydave »

Great stuff,
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Sky Pirate
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Sky Pirate »

Great to see that beast back in the Air.

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sgkoksijde
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by sgkoksijde »

Fantastic news to see the Viggen back in the skies!!!

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JackyRIATWilson
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by JackyRIATWilson »

Fantastic. Absolute gem, back in the air where she belongs :clap:

You can just hear all of the airshow organisers crying out for an appearance by it!

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Ben H
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Ben H »

Fantastic! RIAT please :biggrin:

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Agg
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Agg »

Its fantastic to see her back in the air, hope I get to see her sometime this summer :)

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Cimmerian
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Cimmerian »

What a wonderful sight. Thanks for sharing.
Regards, Ken

Maisie
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Maisie »

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!!!!
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Blue_2
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Blue_2 »

Awesome!!! :yahoo: :yahoo: :clap:
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Dragon Rapide
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Dragon Rapide »

Just FANTASTIC!!!! :clap: :biggrin: :biggrin: This is a companion thread to the other Viggen topic, but there are no pictures on that one!!
Listen to that Gipsy music.....

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D90Man
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by D90Man »

Great story of the day - congratulations :win:

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DeanW
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by DeanW »

Brilliant!

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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by duxfordhawk »

I am so glad to see she has flown, I think I only ever saw a Viggen fly once and really hope to see her at an airshow soon.
Well done all involved.
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chrisward123
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by chrisward123 »

Wow, what a fantastic post, some good news in Aviation for once!

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timuss
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by timuss »

What a beauty would love to shoot that :cool:
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Tim Laurence
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Tim Laurence »

Hej Daniel,

Thanks for sharing these pictures. A great set and a fantastic day for Swedish aviation heritage! What a beast :)

Tim
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Chrisse
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by Chrisse »

Enjoyed this story, and the images. Thanks!

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DamienB
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by DamienB »

Fantastic news and great shots.

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PChaplin
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by PChaplin »

Great shots. Would love to see her at RIAT :smile:
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davers
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Re: Welcome back to the skies Viggen!

Post by davers »

Fantastic story great pics ,and yes riat please :clap:

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