On Tuesday 13 November a group of photographers gathered at Schiphol for our third trip to Bahrain. Earlier editions of the Bahrain International Air Show (BIAS) proved to be very interesting, so expectations were high. Via a stop-over in London, picking up some more photographers, we arrived at Bahrain International late in the evening. We picked up our rental cars and headed to our hotel, a fifteen-minute drive.
The following morning, 14 November, it was an early rise for our first day at BIAS2018. After picking up our passes for the show we set foot on Sakhir Air Base. Static consisted of a number of Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) aircraft, a number of civil aircraft and a large amount of USAF, USMC and US Navy aircraft. The flight line showed the Russian Knights, as well as the RAF Typhoon display team, Frecce Tricolori, Al-Fursan and some United Arab Emirates aircraft.
As the sun is only favorable until 11.00 at show ground, we headed for a spot outside the base for the flying display. Opening of the show consisted of a fly-by of three RBAF F-16s and three RBAF F-5s. After that, several of the aforementioned aircraft took to the sky for their display. Not operating from Sakhir but participating were a B-1B (boring fly-over) and a VMFA-211 F-35B (some fly-by’s). From our spot, photography was good, and we were able to get some good shots of the performing aircraft. With the sun setting around 17.00, we are back at our hotel around 18.00 for a meal and some well-deserved sleep.
On Thursday 15 November we basically followed the same protocol as the day before. However, we were not able to access our spot on the other side of the runway anymore, so we found a spot a bit further from the runway. This spot offered some different views, including some landing shots of participating aircraft. The show was roughly the same as the day before, including the fly-overs of the UASAF and USMC aircraft.
Friday 16 November was the last day of the trade show of BIAS, but also the first day of the public days at BIAS. The public area of the show is remote from the trade show area and only had three helicopters on display. Some members of the group made their way to the public part (and back), while others tried their luck outside the base. At the end of the day we gathered at the trade ground for some night-shots. With the sun setting really fast it was possible to take some great night shots of the static aircraft before we called it a day. A bit tired of the long day, but very content we headed back to our hotel.
Although the trade show had already ended on Saturday 17 November, we were allowed to access the base on this day to photograph the departing aircraft. Unfortunately, most of the RBAF were scheduled for departure the following day, but we did manage to catch the newly delivered C-130J that departed. Besides that, we are able to catch the departing US Aircraft and make some alternate shots of the aircraft at the flight line. Before heading to the airport, we freshened up in the hotel. Our late flight from Bahrain brought the group to their homes. Another successful trip had come to an end!
