The “Long Ride” Is Over

The An–26 made the “big leap" from Kecskemét to Brussels with Lt.-Col. Barna Jenei at the controls. When the refueling was finished in the military side of the Belgian capital’s airport, Capt. László Fábián took over the controls of the transport aircraft and flew it across the Channel. The two pilots were helped in their work by Capt. Norbert Juris, Capt. József Tóth and 1st Lt. János Horváth.

At 12:00, hundreds of enthusiastic spotters standing by the fence applauded the landing of the Hungarian transport aircraft. It is no wonder that they did so, as their special attention is due to all participants coming from a member state of the one-time Warsaw Pact because the photos taken on these occasions are valuable pieces in the collections.

Some 40 minutes after our arrival, the single-seat JAS–39 Gripen piloted by Capt. Viktor Langó landed at Fairford after the Royal Jordanian Falcons. On Saturday and Sunday, the young display pilot will fly a program that he recently introduced at the Zeltweg air show. A spectacular element of this program is the “dump-and-bum", the moment after a negative g maneuver when the jet fuel dumped into the air is ignited using the plane’s afterburner, and a “torch" appears behind the Gripen for a couple of seconds.

Friday will be devoted to practice, during which not only the display pilot but the ground crew – 1st Lt. Zoltán Weisengruber, WO Csaba Bencsik, Sgt. 1st Class Sándor Erdélyi and Staff Sgt. Dénes “knight" Kenyeres – will have a chance to show their skills.

Photos by the author