Geoff Thomas
What today's air display lacks in quantity it looks likely to make up for in quality.
Lasting for 90min between 12.30 and 14.00, the display features three major international aerobatic teams as well as the added bonus of some fast jet crowd-pleasers for good measure.
The planned appearance by a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit seems to have fallen by the wayside, although given its 'stealth' characteristics some may hold out hope that it will put in an appearance without anyone noticing...
The man in charge of the display is Col Foo Kim Peng (who returns to his 'day job' as commander of the RSAF's Changi Air Base when Asian Aerospace is all over) and he has put together a display featuring a small, but interesting, mix of aircraft types.
Getting the show under way will be the RSAF's renowned display team the Black Knights. Flying four McDonnell Douglas A-4SUs and a pair of Lockheed Martin F-16s, the team will be 'on stage' for 13 minutes. Their display concludes with an attempt to write a giant 2000 in smoke-in celebration of the new millennium's first major air show-in the skies over Changi. The team refers to this as its 'roaring 2000' finale, so it should be worth watching.
Following the Black Knights will be the menacing-looking Boeing AH-64D Apache helicopter displayed by the US Army, a French air force Mirage 2000C and the British Royal Navy's GKN Westland Super Lynx helicopter.
Half-time in the show is marked by the Royal Australian Air Force's aerobatic team, the Roulettes. They'll be flying six Pilatus PC9/As - Roulette Six is flown by the world's only female military aerobatic pilot - and they're followed by a solo USAF F-16C Falcon which has flown in from Japan.
The concluding two items are a solo display by a Dassault test pilot flying the first production version of the Dassault Rafale while the show is brought to a close by the French Air Force's aerobatic team, the Patrouille de France. Flying eight Alpha Jet trainers, France's senior display team is always a popular attraction and its 23min display is sure to being the all-too-brief show to a fitting conclusion.
Source: Flight Daily News
