The date of April 25-26th, 2018 was the gathering date for all aviation enthusiasts, business owners, public, spotters, and anyone else that have at least the smallest fondness for planes or aviation, as, after 4 private days, Eurasia Airshow and its public display days have arrived. With more than 40 companies, as well as several public displays, either in air or on ground, it was guaranteed to be a thriller.
Air displays were numerous, first off, they started with props and then moved on to jets. The initiation was with Extra 300s, S Bach 342 and Pitts 2 B, coming from RedBull, Polish Air Force, and Turkey, before moving on to jets. However, just before the jets have arrived, the display of Turkish Army, Search and Rescue forces, firefighting, and finally medical forces put on several displays, followed by a firefighting plane dumping all of his water tanks just in front of audience.
Just as people thought it couldn’t get more interesting, the MiG-29 jets from Poland and Saab Gripen E jets from Sweden soared through the sky. They were soon followed by Turkish Stars and their seven F-5 freedom fighters, as well as the SoloTurk, Turkish Air Force’s F16 Demo Team.
While the adrenaline levels could not get higher in the air, on the ground, Antonov’s An-124, An-22, and An-77 were quite the excitement on the ground, as well as Boeing 777, Airbus A319, and Turkish Aerospace Industries’ Hurkus (Free Bird) and T129 Atak Helicopter. This excitement turned up even more when crowed was moved in order for the Giant An-124 to move aside to hold short, line up, and then take off. It surely was an excitement to see such giant in action and it could not be expressed by words how happy people were to be one of the members of the extremely exclusive club of people that saw them in action.
To that day, Eurasia Airshow in 2018 remains to be one of the best airshows I have participated in and cannot wait for the next one. Unfortunately, they take place once every two years, hence, it is painful to me to wait two years for the next one to come. To my luck, it is almost around in less than two months.