Yokota AB Friendship Festival 2011

A small sampling of aircraft on display during the 2-day Friendship Festival held annually at Yokota Air Force Base, Japan. The event is open to the general public and features food and entertainment in addition to military aircraft from both the USA and JSDF branches.

A-10C Warthog 78-0685 of the 25th Fighter Squadron "Assam Draggins" / 51st Fighter Wing Osan AB, Republic of Korea

F-16CJ Viper 92-3886 14th Fighter Squadron “Samurais” / 35h Fighter Wing Misawa AFB, Japan

Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Lockheed P-3C Orion 5063 from 3rd Squadron Atsugi AB, Japan

Japanese Air Self-Defense Force C-130H Hercules 75-1075 of the 401st Tactical Airlift Squadron at Komaki AB, Japan

Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-2 03-8555 from 3rd Squadron at Misawa AB, Japan

Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki Heavy Industries C-1 78-1023 402nd Tactical Airlift Squadron at Iruma AB, Japan

Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Northrup Grumman E-2C Hawkeye 54-3458 of the Airborne Early Warning Group Misawa AB, Japan

Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Kawasaki Heavy Industries OH-6D 31220 of Eastern Army Aviation Group Tachikawa Airfield, Japan

Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye 54-3458 of the Airborne Early Warning Group Misawa AB, Japan

Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Boeing E-767 84-3504 Air Warning Control Squadron Hamamatsu Air Base, Japan

US Air Force Fairchild A-10C Warthog 78-0685 of the 25th Fighter Squadron "Assam Draggins" / 51st Fighter Wing Osan AB, Republic of Korea

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Unexpected Surprise

This past weekend I attended a large festival at the Lincolnshire Campground called Grapevine with my family. As we were setting up camp I heard a low rumble in the distance and saw this little dark speck growing bigger and bigger and from one of our party I heard a most excited voice yell "IT'S A VULCAN!" (The voice turned out to be attached to our Pastor who grew up watching Vulcans and B-52s around the area on a regular basis, he hadn't seen a Vulcan in the air since the early 1980's.)

And so it was. It made a low pass perpendicular to the runway at RAF Scampton (home to the Red Arrows) and circled around for a gear-up approach. I lost it in the trees and then, in a glorious knife-edge style it emerged, clawing into the sky and continuing to some unknown destination.

It was marvelous and I was fortunate enough to have my wife's Canon S3 handy to get a couple of images. The Vulcan XH558 is privately funded by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust and more information about the struggle to put this cold-war bomber back into the sky can be obtained by visiting their website here.

No Wings Over Lajes Field

(Originally posted at American Yank in England on 11 May 2007.)


Bad news, I just heard there will be no Community Appreciation Day (CAD) event at Lajes Field in the Azores, Portugal this year. Too bad. Despite the bad-mounthing from the local newspaper it was always a good time and a way to bring both the American and Azorean people together. The War on Terror is, of course, placing huge demands on the airlift and warplanes of the USAF and lately attendence by the big T-tails has been decreasing.

Hopefully something can be worked out for '08 to once again fill the airspace over Terceira Island with planes from the two countries, perhaps even a repeat performance of the Asas de Portugal or Wings of Portugal, the flight demonstration team of Portugal flying their Nifty Alpha Jet trainer aircraft.