Malaysia 2015

Report of a group visit to LIMA 2015 at Langkawi in Malaysia in March 2015.

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10/11/12 March 2015

Full of good intentions, a group of 10 aviation photographers gathered at Schiphol on Tuesday 10 March 2015, ready for departure to Malaysia. Main reason for the trip was the bi-annual show at Langkawi, called LIMA. Unfortunately Malaysia Airlines was not working along and our flight was delayed because of an engine failure (although we were already taxiing to the runway). Many delays and new departure times were communicated but in the end Malaysia Airlines could not fix the aircraft so we were transferred to the KLM flight. With no less than 33 hours delay we finally managed to depart to Kuala Lumpur (on Thursday 12 March already)! Luckily, our program had some room for delay so we were confident that we would not miss anything. After arrival in warm and moist Kuala Lumpur we picked up the rental vehicles and headed to our hotel. The original plan was to visit Subang and Sungai Besi but due to the delay we skipped these bases and drove straight to the hotel. After an easy ride and a first introduction to Malaysian cuisine we arrived in our hotel.

13 March 2015

The following morning (Friday 13 March) we were already up quite early to make our way to RMAF Butterworth. As with previous editions of LIMA, the Malaysian Air Force makes several practice flights in the days preceding the opening of LIMA. For this, the fighter aircraft fly out of RMAF Butterworth. This year was no exception, because shortly after our arrival the first fighters (Su-30s, MB339s, Hawks en F/A-18s) took off! On our ‘regular’ spot near the base we waited for the aircraft to return, which happened after about one and a half hour. The first sunny pictures of Malaysian Air Force aircraft were bagged! After the last recovery, we headed out to Alor Setar, home base of the training aircraft of the RMAF (and some Alouette 3s). Because of our delay on the way to Malaysia, this would be our only visit to this base, but it all worked out as they were flying. We noticed the first PC-7s in the air when we arrived, and we were able to photograph both the old as the new type PC-7s from our spot near the threshold. In the meanwhile we received a phone call that, shortly after our departure, three MiG-29s had arrived at RMAF Butterworth! Maybe, just maybe they would participate in LIMA after all? After finishing at Alor Setar we had some driving ahead, and catch our ferry to Langkawi island. When we arrived, we parked our cars (as cars are not allowed on the boat), bought the tickets and enjoyed the view from the boat. In little over an hour we reached the sunny holiday island Langkawi and picked up our cars. After a small drive we found our hotel, conveniently located near the beach and vivid streets of Langkawi. Time to enjoy a good meal and think about the days to come!

14 March 2015

Saturday 14 March was spent near the airport of Langkawi. Although the LIMA show had not started yet, many participants were already in, including the support aircraft. Amongst them was the Chinese August 1 team, but unfortunately the two Ilyushin 76s from China had already left. We chose to photograph the fly-past from the hill near the airport, to get a different angle on the aircraft. Although a bit further from the airport, the aircraft pass at eye-level making it very nice for pictures. Besides that, the solo displays use the hill as a reference which can result in great action pictures. The fly-past was practiced two times in a row this morning. In the afternoon we found a spot closer to the airport to get some different angles. Again the fly-past was performed twice. Besides that, some more participants and support aircraft came in, making it a day worth wile!

15 March 2015

On Sunday (15 March) we headed out the airport again. We started near the fence to get some good shots of the helicopters participating in the fly-past. Again, the fly-past was performed twice this morning and we were treated to some practice demonstrations. Unfortunately, during the show of the Indonesian Jupiter team it all went wrong. Two KT-1s collided mid-air and became uncontrollable. A bang occurred, followed by the explosions of the ejection seats. What a terrible sight to see two burning aircraft heading to the ground. Of course the show was stopped right away and rescue services hurried to the scene. One of the KT-1s crashed into a house but luckily no one, including the pilots, was hurt in the crash. In the afternoon we visited the part of the island where the Maritime show was held. Besides some boats, a few helicopters and a CL415 participated in the demonstration and there was a small static of two helicopters. Especially the helicopters participating in the small airshow could be photographed very well! After this nice addition we went back to the airport and captured some nice support aircraft, including an Indonesian B737.

16 March 2015

On Monday 16 March we started early near the airport for a short stop and headed to the gate to join the media-day. Despite the sun being on the ‘wrong’ side, we managed to get some good pictures after all especially of the helicopters and some support aircraft. The rest of the day was spent photographing landing aircraft and by the end of the afternoon we drove to the ferry terminal to catch our ferry to the other side. From there, we drove to our hotel near RMAF Butterworth.

17 March 2015

Despite a big traffic jam (on Tuesday 17 March) we made it to Butterworth in time to see the fighters depart for the air power demo. Much to our delight we spotted 3 MiG-29s underneath the QRA shelters with personnel working on them. While waiting for the fly-past aircraft to return, we heard aircraft take-off but could not see which types they were. Luckily for us it turned out to be 2 MiG-29s! Both aircraft could be photographed perfectly during landing; a real bonus to the trip! A very happy bunch of photographers left Butterworth that day, on its way to our hotel near Kuala Lumpur.

18 March 2015

The last day of the trip, Wednesday 18 March, was spent at Subang in the morning, where we photographed several Hercules, A BD700 and a Beech 200. In the afternoon we visited the nice museum at Sungai Besi. Unfortunately no operational aircraft were seen here, but the museum itself was worth the trip. At the end of the afternoon we left for the International Airport to catch our flight home. No delays this time, see you in two years’ time!

Malaysia 2015

Malaysia 2015

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Malaysia (2015)

Malaysia 2015

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