Location: Zeltweg AFB, Styria, Austria

Admission: See report

Parking: See report

By the time Austria declared neutrality in 1955, it had just formed an air arm to defend its airspace. One of the tasks of the Luftstreikraeft today is air sovereignty of the country which is the responsibility of the Ueberwachungsgeschwader (surveillance wing) with bases in Zeltweg, operating the Eurofighter Typhoons and in Hoersching, flying Saab 105s. The Hinterstoisser Airbase in Zeltweg was completely renovated with a new control tower, hangars and facilities to receive its complement of 16 Eurofighter Typhoons which replaced the venerable Saab J35OE Drakens for the defense role in 2007. The airbase became a sanctuary for 17 storks, which had nested at the base and would not leave the area for the air show. Some animal activists had protested against having the air show in Zeltweg because of these storks!

The weather forecast called for possible rain on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, leaving Wednesday the best day to see and photograph aircraft that were arriving and rehearsing for the show without having to worry about inclement weather. Fortunately the threat of rain never fully materialized, but at times there were high winds.

Being in or around an airbase before an airshow, gives the opportunity to see many aircraft in the air that will not be flying at the airshow. On Wednesday two Saudi Arabian Typhoons came in, still with their British numbers on the fuselage since they were on their way to be delivered to Saudi Arabia and were being piloted by British pilots. The Saudi Hawks had arrived before Wednesday, but unfortunately the 2 supporting Saudi C-130s did not come to Zeltweg until Sunday. They stayed at the base in Hoersching. Other aircraft that arrived on Wednesday and Thursday, but did not fly at the show were: Dornier Do 27, Red Bull Cessna CE 208 Amphibian Caravan, Swiss Air Force Beechcraft 1900, Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) DC-2, Croatian Mil MI-117 , Turkish Air Force Transall C-160 in support of the Turkish Stars Demonstration Team, two Casa C-295M, one from the Polish Air Force and the other from the Czech Republic, Serbian Soko G2 Galeb owned by the Serbian Galeb Flying Club, Belgian SF 260D, French Air Force Mirage 2000, Irish Air Force Pilatus PC-9M, German Air Force 2-seat Eurofighter, USAF C-21 Learjet, USAF C-130, Embraer ERJ-145 from the Belgian Air Force, Antonov An-2, Hungarian Air force 2-seat Saab JAS 39 Gripen fully loaded with Sidewinder and Maverick missiles and LANTIRN pod, Soko G4 Super Galeb from Serbia, German Air Force F-4F Phantom II, Serbian Air Force Antonov An-26, German Luftwaffe Tornado ECR, 2 Royal Air Force Tornado GR.4.

At 12:30 the Red Bull Skydive team did their demonstration and Hannes Arch did aerobatic performance flying his Edge 540 followed by an elegant flying performance of the Blanix team flying 2 LET L13 Blanik gliders.

Starting at 1PM there were solo displays by an Austrian Saab 105OE in a smart tiger scheme and by an Austrian Eurofighter Typhoon. The next demonstration team to take to the air was the Royal Saudi Hawks flying their green and white BAE Hawks MK 65 and MK 65As for the first time in European skies. On Friday their program was cut short due to a bird strike, but on Saturday they were able to do their entire display program without a hitch.

Around 2PM a Fokker Dr.1 replica was flown by Mikael Carlson from Sweden showing how maneuverable this aircraft was in the First World War. Then there was a unique flying formation by the Flying Bulls: DC-6B, F-4U-4 Corsair, B-25J Mitchell, P-38L Lightning, two Alpha Jets, Pilatus PC-6, PT-17, Stearman, Bell TAH- 1F Cobra, two BO 105s and an Extra 300. A Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16AM flew next, followed by the Croatian demonstration team, Wings of Storm, flying their 6 Pilatus PC-9s.

Around 3:15 PM the Austrian Armed Forces had a combat demonstration by the air support brigade which included ground troops, Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawks along with Bell OH-58 Kiowas and August/Bell 212s and pyrotechnics on the ground. There was also an air interception demonstration by 2 Austrian Typhoons forcing down an Austrian C-130. The Alenia C27J Spartan from the Italian Air Force flew an incredible display for an airplane of its size. That was followed by a solo display from an F/A-18C from the Swiss Air Force. A French Alpha Jet with special scheme also flew before the Patrouille Suisse performed their very precise routine which on Saturday had a short gap on their performance due to one of the base storks was in the flying area.

I would like to thank Vzlt. Gross in getting the spotters and media accreditation for the AirshowsReview staff members that were able to attend the airshow. Also a special thank you for the organizers who put together this memorable air show.