In September 2004 we were able to visit five Portuguese Air Force bases. First stop was made at Alverca on 21 September, for a tour of the Museo do Ar and its storage area. Unfortunately we could not get access to OGMA facility.
The next day we visited Sintra to see the soon to be retired Cessna FTB.337G also know as the "Push-Pull". No less than nine aircraft of Esquadra 505 were present on the flight line. Sintra is also home to a dozen aircraft from the Museo do Ar, some of them are stored in the open.
In the morning of 23 September we headed to Montijo, home of the Hercules of Esquadra 501, the Orions of Esquadra 601 and the Pumas of Esquadra 751. The Portuguese Navy Lynxes are also based at Montijo but none were present during our visit.
Monte Real was the next base on the list and we showed-up at the gate on the morning of 27 September. It is difficult to take parking shots of the F-16s as most of them operate out of hardened aircraft shelters. They only come out a few minutes before take-off and are immediately put back in after landing, once the engine is shut down. The star of the day was without a doubt F-16AM 15121 which only made its first flight after MLU modification the next day of our visit.
On 29 September we visited the last base of our Portuguese tour: Beja. Alpha Jets, Epsilons and Alouette IIIs were the order of the day. Just like at Sintra, Beja is also home to a few Museo do Ar aircraft which are all kept in a hangar.
We would like to thank the Força Aerea Portuguesa Public Affairs Office for organising these visits. Also, a big 'thank you' goes to our escorts at the five bases who made these visits very enjoyable.
|
