Israel II (2013)

On Monday morning 24 June we headed south early. Unfortunately we got stuck in a traffic jam for 1.5 hours. Arriving at Hatzerim we first went to the fantastic museum. Here many aircraft are presented in good condition. We had until 13.00 PM, because the museum closed rather early on this day. Nearby preserved are an F-4 and Kfir that we took pictures of, another couple of kilometres away is the airfield Beer Sheva Teyman where two Beech 65s were waiting for better times. Around three o’clock we arrived at the main gate where we had to wait for our guide. After a little confusion we had to go back to the museum to a bus which took us to the festivities. We got paired with an Air Force employee who would always stayed with us.  There we received the program for the late afternoon. At first glance it was a bit disappointing. The air show was a thinned version of previous editions. Arriving at the site we saw a full static with almost all types of the Air Force. Around the ceremony grounds another six T-6s, two A-4 and a Phantom were displayed. The pinning of the wings took quite a while, but in between we were treated to some nice planes and helicopters. Three Blackhawks with flags, a real Harvard with a Stearman, a C-130 with CH-53, a B707 with three F-15s, the demo team with four T-6s, followed by an air power demo of a Blackhawk, two Apaches and an F-15I. Though not a lot, it was very spectacular. After the end of the show we quickly had to leave the air base. We decided to eat in Beer Sheva and invited our guide and head of Public Affairs. Tired, satisfied, but also a tad disappointed by the lack of a number of types in the air, we arrived late at the hotel.