+elephant 36 Posted May 22, 2013 I had the priviledge, earlier this afternoon, to watch a fantastic, breathtaking, Red Arrows' show from my very balcony, in my hometown Patras, Greece! These lame cell phone pictures can't describe the glorious performance of those RAF boys... Only if they haven't brought their British weather with them! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Cliff7600 1,148 Posted May 22, 2013 LUCKY MAN!!! ; ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted May 22, 2013 Ah, you lucky man - I had the chance to witness one of their performances back in 1973. They were flying Folland Gnats back then. What are they flying today, I wonder? In that weather it must have been tough to perform such figures! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast 153 Posted May 22, 2013 Well it wouldn't have been a proper display without English weather... but yeah you lucky guy I have seen them before and they are extremely good... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+elephant 36 Posted May 23, 2013 (edited) The performance was absolutely stunning! About the weather, it's rather warm here but kind of windy and clowdy the last days (raining Sahara dust frequently)... The Red Arrows are flying the Bae Hawk. In Greece they are based in Andravida Base, which is the home of the modernised Fantoms of the HAF, along with the Greek Top Gun equivalent school. The last couple of months were based in Acrotiri, Cyprus, practicing and prepearing for their summer tour. I don't know when they are leaving... May be it's worth a trip over there to watch their practice... It's just a bit over half an hour driving from Patras. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ULgwL7ilwaI#! EDIT: I linked the video to the HD version. Edited May 23, 2013 by elephant Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+elephant 36 Posted May 23, 2013 The performance was absolutely stunning! About the weather, it's rather warm here but kind of windy and clowdy the last days (raining Sahara dust frequently)... In Greece they are based in Andravida Base, which is the home of the modernised Fantoms of the HAF, along with the Greek-Hellenic Top Gun equivalent school (SOT=Gun Tactics School). The last couple of months were based in Acrotiri, Cyprus, practicing and prepearing for their summer tour. I don't know when they are leaving... May be it's worth a trip over there to watch their practice... It's just a bit over half an hour driving from Patras. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RnhwfqfjT9s Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dimus 0 Posted May 23, 2013 Wow, elephant, you live right next to the port right? I pass through this port every summer with the family to go to my wife's island, Ithaki, on vacation. I didn't know the Reds were here. Do you know if they have other shows scheduled? I'll go check their site maybe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted May 23, 2013 Wow, that was nice to watch it from an inside view! What a nice job - training in Greece, flying over England and maybe on guest appearances elsewhere! Greece is much greener and juicier than I had thought - must be great to live there, elephant and Dimus. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adger 87 Posted May 23, 2013 They will be at my local airshow R.A.F Cosford next month,along with the only flying Vulcan Bomber,both put on great shows,fingers crossed for good weather 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dimus 0 Posted May 23, 2013 Wow, that was nice to watch it from an inside view! What a nice job - training in Greece, flying over England and maybe on guest appearances elsewhere! Greece is much greener and juicier than I had thought - must be great to live there, elephant and Dimus. Looks like a HAF pilot was taken for a ride and recorded these views. I bet he enjoyed it! Olham, the western and northern parts of Greece are quite green as they get a lot of rain during the whole year. I know that as every year in Ithaki I have to make a lot of repairs on the house due to damages from water and moisture, most of my vacation is spent doing that. The Andravida area where this base is located is a fertile farmland as obvious from the video. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted May 23, 2013 Ah, I see, thanks, Dimus! I always see travel flyers with naked rocks with white houses on, which have blue window frames and doors. I'll check Google Maps for Andravida now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Derk 265 Posted May 23, 2013 Great !!!! BTW if you use autocorrect in Microsoft Picture Manager the world looks a lot brighter (though the weather may very well have been as gloomy as in the pics) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dimus 0 Posted May 23, 2013 Ha Ha, I know what you mean Olham, That is the Greek summer vacation stereotype, and it is true for most of the Aegean islands. It is appealing to a lot of people missing the sun. Not so much for me though. I like trees and their refreshing shadow in the summertime. Back on topic, I checked the Red's schedule and they will apparently leave the country now to go to France for their next show and then back to England. Until next time... Now, I need to start flying OFF a bit more again. It's been a while... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+elephant 36 Posted May 23, 2013 Hey Dimus, I have friends in Ithaki and have spent many summers there... (my friend's place is in Levki). I've also worked there a few years ago, restoring a kind of famous, Icon of Christ, in Vathy... (attributed to el Greco, according to the wild imagination of the local ecclesiastic authorities! ) I've born in Patras but my father's side origins are from Kefalonia, as a matter of fact the lights of my granfather's village (Komitata) are easily seen from Ithaki. Anyway, Olham, I found a HD panoramic shot of the the Red Arrows looping in formation over Andravida Base (you can see Fantoms parked outside the hangars) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+elephant 36 Posted May 23, 2013 Thanks Derk, I posted the pics unedited... BTW, here is a HD version of the above video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ULgwL7ilwaI#t=30s Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted May 23, 2013 Not sure how you recognised they are "Phantom" jets (or did you know it?), but this photo is brilliant! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+elephant 36 Posted May 24, 2013 Ha-ha, I know... As said in one of my previous posts Andravida is the home of the modernised Phantoms and the Gun Tactics School (SOT). I have a friend (former school-mate) that serves as a Major in one of the 2 Squadrons based there (338 Fighter Bomber) We've passed forty so no much flying for him any more, but still... Here is a video celebrating the 60 years of the Sqn (1952-2012) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cZDVSuMWIGM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+elephant 36 Posted May 24, 2013 And a bonus vid... Insane low pass during Navy-Air Force joint excersise in the Aegean (cell phone recording)... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dimus 0 Posted May 24, 2013 That picture is brilliant Elephant, but it should be classified. You can see the whole base layout there. (Btw that is good info if I ever decide to make this one for FSX, thanks!) The F-4 is my favorite jet ever! Your friend was lucky to be flying it. My schoolmate who made it to the academy (I didn't ) was flying the Mirage 2000. After a lot of hectic years of interceptions over the Aegean, he is now flying the EMB-145 AEW. I consider myself lucky to after all these years of longing to fly I am able to fly Cessnas. I know the story about the Icon. It's great you got a chance to work on it. Do you ever go to Kefalonia now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) I consider myself lucky to after all these years of longing to fly I am able to fly Cessnas. Dimus, I guess you ARE - most of us can 'only' fly our beloved sims. Great videos, elephant! Some say the "Phantom" was ugly - I always liked the look of that craft very much. A distinct shape, like a "hunting hound of the air". I saw the (quite different) camouflage pattern of the Hellenic Air Force for the first time here. Here is a slide show video with some nice captures of this great old bird in the Hellenic Air Force. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOeW4XcI9ds Edited May 24, 2013 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dimus 0 Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) Thank you for this video Olham! The camo is the "Aggressor" camo worn by the opponent aircraft in "Top Gun". It was worn by the F-16Cs when they first came to this country and was adopted by the HAF for other planes as well, like the F-5As and the F-4Es. I think it works well over the sea, where most of these planes earn their living. I am going waaay off topic here but below is a much more peaceful video of a friend and me flying an old and battered Cessna 152 (SX-AMM) around the Athens bay. Shot by my friend and his Iphone. The plane did not have working headset jacks so we flew without them. Take off from Tatoi, over Athens, across the bay to Aigina, a touch 'n go at Megara and then back home to Tatoi: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.c...ed/zHY-k7A_5vw"?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I do fly nicer and cleaner/newer Cessna 172s with GPS and all like the one below (G-IMAD) earlier flight with another friend). None of those available that day, plus the 152 is charged for less and is much niftier to handle. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.c...ed/BaYZ96a37go" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> PS, I can't embed these videos for some reason, just click the youtube links. Edited May 24, 2013 by Dimus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) I see there are several parks in Athens? I always like to see the landings - they seem the most dangerous moments to me. In the second video, you drop in quite steeply - much steeper than I make my landing approaches in the Albatros. But then your runway is longer than our WW1 airfields. Nice areas to fly over - and we have even seen you flying in person! Edited May 24, 2013 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dimus 0 Posted May 24, 2013 Thanks Olham! Flaps are nice things that let you approach nose down and so you have a better view. It looks steep but it isn't. It is the attitude. WWI planes did not have those. You had to keep your nose up to reduce speed. The 172 needs less than a third of this runway to stop and even less to take off. If you see I exit the runway on the first of the three exits. Now I do have to apologize to elephant for hijacking his thread. For this I will say that I'll offer a free ride whenever any of you are in town, always depending on plane availability and weather. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
corsaire31 7 Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) Some say the "Phantom" was ugly - I always liked the look of that craft very much. You know the famous statement of Mc Donnell engineers about the F4 Phantom II : " It is the proof that a 10 ton brick can fly if you put enough power inside " Among german pilots, it's known as "Eisenschwein"... or "Fliegender Ziegelstein" Edited May 24, 2013 by corsaire31 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) elephant is a fellow Greek - he will forgive you, I suppose. That's right about the flaps. And if you hold the nose high AND use flaps, you can even land the big "Air Force One" of the US president on a rather small airport like Berlin Tegel. I've witnessed their landing - they didn't even use a fifth of the runway. Pilot's pride. Didn't know about those nicknames, Corsair - and I find them unfair; almost insulting. I like the whole appearance of that aircraft. Edited May 24, 2013 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
