The display flight by a Gripen fighter of the Hungarian Defence Forces has been a great success in the final part of the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at Fairford, UK, one of the biggest air shows in the world. The Hungarian audience will be able to see the Gripen during the Kecskemét air show next weekend.

According to a press release sent by the Ministry of Defence to Hungarian News Agency MTI, the 70,000 visitors at the RIAT applauded Capt. Viktor Langó’s landing to thank him for his dynamic program. Viktor Langó flew in the opening phase of the program on Saturday and Sunday.

The spectacular yet safe series of maneuvers included many turns as well as inverted flight and a knife-edge pass. The Fairford RIAT has strict rules, so the aircraft was not allowed to approach the audience closer than 230 meters, and the lowest point of the maneuvers had to be at an altitude of at least 150 meters. The moment of the “Dump and Burn” was a spectacular element of the program after a negative g maneuver, when the afterburner ignites the jet fuel dumped into the air, and a “torch” appeared behind the Gripen for a few seconds.

Besides the flying displays, the visitors to the RIAT had opportunity to see several types of static aircraft on the ground, including planes and helicopters. Among these, the crew of the Hungarian An-26 introduced the arriving Air-Cadet groups to the upgraded systems of the 37-year-old transport aircraft, opening up all the engine covers and even the radar cone.

The Hungarian team returned to Kecskemét on Monday, July 22. The visitors to the Kecskemét air show will be able to see the captain’s flight and the static programs between August 3–4, the Ministry of Defence stressed.

In an interview given to MTI on July 12, Zoltán Borbíró, the MoD Deputy State Secretary for Defence Economy said that this year the Ministry of Defence had organized the largest air show so far as part of the program of the international air show, which is to be held again at Kecskemét on the first weekend of August after a gap of two years. He added that the original plan was to include seven hours of flight time each day, but due to the high number of foreign invitees, the flying programs will last from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A total of 142 airplanes and helicopters will participate in the air show. Besides the aircraft of the Hungarian Defence Forces, representatives from 22 other countries will be present at the event. A special feature of this year’s air show at Kecskemét is the seven participating aircraft formations instead of the usual three or four or at most five ones. In addition to the Hungarians, there will be Russian, Croatian, Turkish, Bulgarian, Italian and Spanish formations flying at the event.

Besides the air show, there will be many programs and displays held on the ground to attract the audience. The visitors will be introduced to the life of the Hungarian Defence Forces, the 75-year-old Hungarian Air Force and the various items of military equipment from smalls arms to the T–72 tanks, and there will be playhouses for children too.

(MTI)