PN P-3C to attend RIAT 2008

[lindsyebanks]

Many of you living in and around RAF Fairford, UK may like to know that at this years RIAT 2008 airshow, a P-3C Orion of 28 Sqn Pakistan Naval Air Arm will be attending. Details of the airshow can be found at Details of the air show are available at the RIAT website at ''airtattoo.com'

The Orion is scheduled to land at 1200hrs on Wednesday 9th July and will be part of the static display. Upon landing the aircrew will wave the Pakistan flag from the cockpit as the aircraft continues down the flight apron to its parking area. Tickets are available for the arrival and departure of the aircraft as well as the airshow itself from the above website

If you have a free day and like airshows, show up and give your support to 28 Sqn

Rgds

 

[fatman17]

Many of you living in and around RAF Fairford, UK may like to know that at this years RIAT 2008 airshow, a P-3C Orion of 28 Sqn Pakistan Naval Air Arm will be attending. Details of the airshow can be found at Details of the air show are available at the RIAT website at ''airtattoo.com'

The Orion is scheduled to land at 1200hrs on Wednesday 9th July and will be part of the static display. Upon landing the aircrew will wave the Pakistan flag from the cockpit as the aircraft continues down the flight apron to its parking area. Tickets are available for the arrival and departure of the aircraft as well as the airshow itself from the above website

If you have a free day and like airshows, show up and give your support to 28 Sqn

Rgds

thanks for the news bit! - would u send pics to the forum if u plan too?

 

[Skywalker]

Very expensive tickets.

 

[lindsyebanks]

Sure, will post some pics. I intend to be there both for the arrival on 9th as well as the static display on 12 or 13th.

Rgds

 

[F-16.Net]

thanks for the news bit! - would u send pics to the forum if u plan too?

Sure no problems. Will be there on both Sat/Sun and should get some good photos to post. The tail markings look great by the way!

This photo was taken in Pakistan. Credit: via P3 Orion Research Group, Marco Borst.

 

[EagleEyes]

Pakistani aviation is getting really pretty these days with the paintings. I think PAF (also aviation) and paintings go together.

 

[F-16.Net]

Already naraaz. Saturday at RIAT has been cancelled due to heavy rains during past few days causing the parking areas to turn into mini lakes. Hoping Sunday is still on.

 

[araz]

Pakistani aviation is getting really pretty these days with the paintings. I think PAF (also aviation) and paintings go together.

Hey webby why are you allowing posting such obscene photographs on your website. That P3c ought to have a chaddi on instead of running around loooking proud. Sorry couldnt resist it.
Araz

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Yeahhhhhh!

Go Navy!

Recognition and celebration of 5000 years of Pakistani history!

 

[lindsyebanks]

Hi,

Some of the enterprising ground crew at RAF Fairford bought some squadron badges and souvenir's from the P-3C flight crew during their visit to Fairford and have put it up for sale on eBay. For those interested parties who are keen collectors, take a look All matching items for sale.

Its a pity as apparently there were more items which the crew had brought with them, but all had to go back following the cancellation of the airshow.

Rgds

 

[fatman17]

Hi,

Some of the enterprising ground crew at RAF Fairford bought some squadron badges and souvenir's from the P-3C flight crew during their visit to Fairford and have put it up for sale on eBay. For those interested parties who are keen collectors, take a look All matching items for sale.

Its a pity as apparently there were more items which the crew had brought with them, but all had to go back following the cancellation of the airshow.

Rgds

what a shame the show got cancelled due to bad weather (i guess)!

 

[lindsyebanks]

Hi,

RIAT 08 was a let down as everyone is aware. As you have seen from the initial emails I sent in, the bad weather caused delays on all fronts. I did manage to make it on Wednesday 9th July for the arrival of aircraft scheduled on the day. The rain was very heavy and by 1oam the ground was water logged already in many places. By midday only 5 aircraft had arrived, so it gives you an idea of how bad things were. However it seems that the weather wasn't the main reason for aircraft arrival being delayed, ATC was another big factor. But at RIAT, no one seems to want to tell teh visitors as to what is going on. It would be nice if in future the Airbase will liase with the visitors so we are also in the loop.

NAA 28 Sqn initially was scheduled to arrive at 14.44hrs according to the flight schedule for the day but did not make it until 18.52hrs. It came in from the east side runway and taxied straight to its parking ramp at the western end of the runway where other big aircraft such as B-52, C-130 etc were parked for the static display.

Contrary to what is the norm at such airshows with plenty of cameras on site, the P-3C was in fact seen by no more than 25 photographers!! There were only a couple hundred photographers on the day to begin with, but the numbers soon dwindled down to 35 by 18:00hrs. It was simply too wet to stay there. People were soaked and unless anyone had use of professional camera equipment which can stand up the rigours of such weather, using anything less was asking for trouble. If you look at the following link airtattoo.com/airtattoo/Tickets/ and look at the picture for ''Park & View East'', thats exactly where we were standing on the 9th and the ground was beginning to look like that by 13:00hrs.

The car park was no better and was difficult to drive into or out of in a non-4x4 vehicle. By the time I left after the arrival of the P-3C, there were only a handful of vehicles left from the 200 or so that were there late morning.
As for good quality pictures, I am not sure where we will see any appear any time soon, however there were 3 of us right there at the start of the runway awaiting the arrival of the P-3. The other two gentlemen probably had the best camera equipment there on the day and you had to see the results to believe it. Both great guys to spend time with on the day and its likely that their pics will be way better than anything anyone else could have captured on the day. One of them Peter Mancus runs his own website http://cloud9photography.smugmug.com.../4347826_h9kUx.
I’ll try to get some pics out for you guys once my colleage and I manage to sort out the photo’s we took with our rain soaked equipment (lenses covered with rain drops) in the ensuing days.


Rgds
Lindsy

 

[lindsyebanks]

For all those curious folk, here's a link to pic of P-3C, tail number 81 at the Western end of the runway at Fairford. Photos: Lockheed P-3C Orion Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

The flight crew comprised 23 officers and men, all of whom disappointed with the cancellation of RIAT. Lets hope that this does not in anyway influence any future decisions not to attend RIAT.

Rgds

 

[EagleEyes]

Nice. The aircraft claims to be the youngest Orion in the world. Sweet.

 

[lindsyebanks]

It is the youngest aircraft in terms of flying time - apparently less than 1000hrs. Although the aircraft was manufactured and came of the flightline in 1990, it was subject to an emargo by the Pressler Ammendment and was placed into storage at AMARC in 1992 along with the two additional P-3C Orions (also belonged to 28 Sqn PN), where it remained until 1996. The 3 aircraft were finally delivered in Dec 96 and Jan 97. A large amount of the infrastructure support was delivered to Pakistan in 1991, on the premise that the aircraft would follow soon after.

Upon delivery of the aircraft in 96/97, the aircraft were flown by contracted Dutch pilots as NAA had none which were current on that particular aircraft. This was only for a brief few months and once this was remidied and NAA wa sable to field its own pilots, the aircraft only flew for 10months before being grounded again when they were due for their ODLM. But guess what? another set of snactions was already in place, so the aircraft were grounded yet again in 1999. This P-3 orion was always severly impacted with the loss of an aircraft along with its 23 member crew in Aug 1999.

So its no surprise therefore that Pakistan's P-3 have flown limited hours since their date of manufacture. It was only in 2004 that sanctions agaianst Pakistan were lefted and Lockheed Martin/Ogma signed a deal to put the remaining two aircraft through SDLM and get them airworthy again. This was subsequently completed in 2006 with the first aircraft being cleared for flight operactions and activated on 13 September 2006, followed by the second aircraft in April 2007.