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Armed Forces Day in Southern Bavaria, Germany June 10, 2017
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| Location: : Penzing AB, Germany |
| Admission: Not a public event, spotter's day June 8th, 15€ per person. |
| Parking: On base |
| Value: Excellent |
| Rating out of 10: Not an air show |
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Patch from the Armed Forces Day |
Armed Forces Day in Southern Bavaria, Germany |
| On the occasion of the "Tag der Bundeswehr" (Armed Forces Day) on Saturday, June 10th and this year's 60th anniversary of the Lufttransportgeschwader 61 (61st Airlift Wing) a spotter day was organized at the German Air Force air base Penzing in Southern Bavaria, Germany. 230 aviation enthusiasts enjoyed a perfect day watching a wide variety of current and historic aircraft. The weather was perfect and a spot south of the runway provided excellent conditions for taking photos. The air traffic controllers did an amazing job requesting every aircraft to perform a low approach or a low pass before landing. As the program for Saturday included flying activity, the spotters could enjoy the rehearsal of some of the displays planned for Saturday.
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| Since 1971, Penzing Air Base has been home to the LTG 61. The air base will be put in a low state of readiness at the end of this year, following the disbandment of the LTG 61, which is planned for the end of this September. Until then, the LTG 61 remains the oldest active flying unit within the German Air Force. The wing was established on August 24th, 1957. Its 1st squadron had 18 C-47 Dakota, whereas its 2nd squadron started to receive the brand-new Nord 2501 Noratlas. In 1970, the LTG 61 began the transition to the C-160 Transall. After the transition was completed, the 2nd squadron was disbanded. In 1979, a squadron with Bell UH1D was integrated into the LTG 61. After 47 years of operating the C-160 Transall, the wing's remaining few aircraft will be transferred to its sister-wing LTG 63 at Hohn Air Base in Northern Germany. To celebrate its 60th anniversary, one Transall was painted to look like the aircraft as they were delivered in the early 1970s. The logo on the fuselage depicts the aircraft the wing flew during its existence: C-47 Dakota, Nord 2051 Noratlas, C-160 Transall and the Bell UH-1D. The paining on the vertical tail symbolizes a chamois, the wing's heraldic animal. |
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The Aviation Magazine thanks the Lufttransportgeschwader 61 for a perfectly organized day, tailored to the "needs" of a spotter/aviation enthusiast. |
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Aircraft participating:
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| Type |
Unit |
Air Force |
| A400M |
LTG 62 |
GAF |
| C-160D |
LTG 61 |
GAF |
| CH-53GS |
HSG 64 |
GAF |
| CH-53GA |
HSG 64 |
GAF |
| H145M |
HSG 64 |
GAF |
| EF2000 |
TLG 74 |
GAF |
| Tornado IDS |
TLG 33 |
GAF |
| C-130H |
336 Sqn |
RNethF |
| PC-6/B2-H2 |
lLuTSta |
Austrian AF |
| Diamond DA-20 Katana |
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civil |
| Dornier Do-27A-4 |
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civil |
| Grob G-120TP-A |
Affinity Flying Training Services Ltd |
civil |
| Grob G-120A |
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civil |
| Focke-Wulf FWP-149D |
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civil |
| Nord 2501 |
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civil |
| Douglas C-47A Dakota |
Aces High US Inc. |
civil |
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Report and photography by Ralf Peter Walter for
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