Satenas, Sweden - 18th June 2006

The Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) celebrated their 80th anniversary at Satenas, the home of F7 and their mixed fleet of JAS39 Gripens, Tp 84 (C-130H Hercules) and Sk 60 (Saab 105) aircraft.

Having flown into Gothenburg's Save (City) airport the previous morning, we were parked up in the field outside the base well in time for the 8am opening of the gates. It's no exaggeration to say that conditions were stunning.

The first thing that struck us was the surprise appearance of a USAF C-17A from the 62nd AW, McChord AFB, WA in the static. It was rumoured that the aircraft was present to show off its capabilities to high ranking officials within the host nation.

On a separate taxiway was a wonderful line of Swedish Air Force classics; Vampire, Tunnan, Hunter, Draken, Lansen and Saab 105.

Other than the Hunter belonging to the Scandinavian Historic Flight and the silver SK35C (twin-seat Draken) of Västgöta veteranflygförening, all of the other aircraft present in this line belonged to the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight

The next line of aircraft brought things back up to date, with a Finnish F-18C, Norwegian and Danish F-16s, Hungarian MiG-29, plus Tp 100 Argus and JAS-39 Gripens from the Swedish Air Force.

There were three flightlines for display aircraft, and thanks to the 'spotters package' that the hosts had laid on, it was possible to get out on to the ramps with the participants, and we were transported between them by a specially laid on coach - all free of charge!

One of those lines inparticular really captured the imagination, with a Viggen, Draken, two Lansens, a Hunter, another Finnish Hornet and a Danish F-16 - a taste of what was to come later in the day.

The undisputed highlight for all of us in our touring party was the SK-37E Viggen. This was not just any Viggen. This was from Forsokcentralen, the Central Trials Establishment, based at Malmstatt, and it was still a flyer!

As with the Tunnan, the previously seen Lansens and silver Sk 60, the Draken and this other Lansen are all owned and operated by the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight. It's so nice to see a nation taking such pride in its military history.

The final location we were taken to was the Gripen flightline where an elevated position was provided to get some different angles.

By this stage the flying was getting underway and we were taken to our special 'spotters' enclosure on the crowdline, next to the taxiway, and complete with grandstand, where we were free to spend the remainder of the day.

The organisers had even laid on complimentary bottles of water and goody bags for everyone.

Unfortunately, the location of the crowdline on the northside of the airfield meant that the flying would be shot into the sun, but I was quite happy with the taxi shots that our location would afford. As a consequence I've converted many of the flying shots to black and white in an attempt to get something salvageable from them.

And then things started to gear up towards the aircraft we were all really there to shoot. The Swedish AF Classics, including some of the ones who'd been tucked away in the static park earlier.

What a fantastic series of displays that was! Despite the lack of decent flying shots, the taxi shots alone had made the trip worthwhile on their own.

The show provided me with my first opportunity to see Team 60 and their attractively painted Saab 105s (Sk 60s).

The Finnish Hornet marked the start of the modern era displays with a superb high-energy routine that was made all the better by the humid conditions which ensured copious quantities of vapour were present on the top surfaces for virtually the whole routine.

The Danish Air Force Viper displays is probably the least seen of the three regular European F-16 air show display attendees back in England, and it was nice to see here.

The modern day Swedish Air Force then assumed control. First up was a four-ship routine featuring JAS-39 Gripens. They flew a series of formation passes before flying towards the crowd and perfoming a very photogenic break.

Other displays included a Hercules performing flare and parachute drops, a Hkp 10 Super Puma performing a fire fighting demonstration with a 'bambi bucket', and a paired routine by two Hkp 9 Bo105s.

The show's grand finale was to comprise a massed flypast, but sadly after witnessing the four-Tp 84s (Hercules) and fourteen JAS-39s performing streamed departures, we had to leave the showground to catch our return flight, before the main spectacle had taken place.

The trip had been well worth doing for the classics alone, but it would've been extremely handy to have had the opportunity to have had a day outside the fence (on the right side of the sun) too.

Full marks have to go to the Flygvapnet for putting on a cracking show, and for having the foresight and the generosity to organise the 'spotters enclosure'. I'm sure Sweden will be getting a return visit before too long!

Sincere thanks go to Rachel and Steve Buckby for sorting out the travel arrangements.