Sunday 8 June 2014

Singapore Airshow 2014 - Day 2 - On the ground and Goodbyes

Well here we are back on the ground. All the aerial displays are done.

We had lunch, which was Fish and Chips. Yes I know that you don't take such heaty food at 12 pm at an airshow, but it was soo tempting. Just couldn't help ourselves. A bottle of Sprite helped a LOT. Anyway, after lunch, we needed some rest from all the standing and walking that we've been doing. What better way to relax than to listen to the band of the United States Air Force.

USAF Band

They were energetic and simply AWESOME. They had quite a number of classics. From singing on stage to getting down to the crowd and just shaking away. I'm sure they enjoyed performing for the crowd, who by the way were cheering and giving support throughout the entire show.

When they had their break, we made our move as we needed to cover the remaining indoor pavilion before our flight back to Penang. There were not many booths open, since it was nearing the end of the last public day. Most of it were either closed or occupied by the public who were resting after a long walk.

KAI T-50 fighter model

Among the models still there were the T-50 trainer and fighter variants. These are the same type as those used by the ROKAF during their aerial display. There were still a lot of people though. The T-50 model area was where the mini indoor food court was. You could get a hot dog and a cup of coffee.

Hermes 900 Unmanned Drone

At first glance, through the corner of my eyes, I thought I saw a predator drone. I told my friends, "You know what, I thought I saw a predator drone. Let's go see it later." But then, upon closer inspection, it was not a Predator, though it was good enough. A Hermes 900 drone. Wingspan was large and really wobbly when shaked from the tips.

Quad copter

At another corner, the organisers had several quad copters, painting chines characters with extreme precision. These micro aircraft appeared to be pre-programmed to fly a designated path. They even dipped the brush into the ink pot, some distance away several times, before returning to continue with the remaining strokes.

Somewhere around this region, there was a meet and greet session with the Singapore Airforce's Pilots as well as ROKAF's pilots. They could had a chat (albeit a short one), have an autograph and even take a photo with them.

Schiebel Camcopter S-100

Another drone on display was this camcopter. A small little drone with a 360 rotational camera installed onto its belly. This was one of the last displays available. They even had imaging systems on display. Among those I tried a sniper scope with thermal imaging. An interesting experience as you get to see how hot/cool stuffs were, black being really cool and white being really hot.

They even had a line up of military tracked vehicles and also the latest version of the humvee. Looks more aerodynamic

New Humvee

Now that we have covered the entire Airshow floor area, it was time to go. We left via exit 6, which is kindly inviting us back in 2016. Definitely would be there.


Heading out

Even at 2pm, the queue to the shuttle was long, but it was moving. Took the bus back to the Expo station before going on an MRT to Changi airport.

Goodbye Captain Leo

Here are the 45th Anniversary gifts that all ticket holders got:



A bag with interesting goodies. One fan, one tinted shade to look at aircraft flying under the sun, one travelling bag tag, one collar pin (Red F-16) and of course a document bag. This was NOT limited to one per person, as they gave out to EVERYONE who had a ticket. So for those who had the tickets to both public days, (not sure about trade days), the would have gotten 2 sets of these interesting souvenirs.

It was an incredible journey filled with wonderful memories which will stick for quite some time.


A minute before touchdown, with second Penang Bridge in sight


Back on the ground


Just in time for the sunset

As per the plane in the sunset, "WOW" is really the word to describe this truly amazing and memorable trip to the Singapore Airshow 2014. Although it has only been 2 days at the airshow, it was more than enough to make me go back the next round. The displays, the performances and just the feeling of being amongst great flying machines were just magnificent. It goes to show how much we have excelled in a sense of transportation and defence. Apart from the experience there, being with a good company of friends also made that trip enjoyable.

Hope you enjoyed my postings, I hope to have been able to bring the Airshow to you readers. So here goes. After almost 4 months of posting, this is to close the Singapore Airshow 2014 segment.

Went to Singapore Airshow? Checked

SSLee

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