SHAH ALAM: Kuching airbase open day, October 20. The Kuching airbase open day will be held on Oct 20th,says RMAF chief Jen Affendi Buang said at the Butterworth airbase on Saturday. The open day will showcase the capabilities of the air force to the people of Sarawak and Sabah, he says.
Like the open day at Butterworth, the Kuching event will likely showcase most of the aircraft in service with RMAF. At the Butterworth event, almost all of RMAF aircraft were put on static display from the EC120B, Nuri, EC725, Hercules, Hawk 208, CN-235, F/A-18D Hornet, Sukhoi Su-30MKM and the A400M.
A Nuri on static display seemed swamped by the crowd at the Butterworth airbase open day.
One Hornet and Flanker each took to the skies for flying displays at the open day – two from the Flanker and three from the Hornet – and three Hawks and two Nuri (twice during the day) with a single display by a Pilatus PC-7 Mark II. The flight displays were basically a good overview of the show to be presented at Kuching and Langkawi in March for next LIMA.
Luckly 18 hanging with the flares
Affendi says some 30,000 members of the public visited the open day (as of 3pm). The numbers went the gates closed were actually around 50,000. Asked whether RMAF should extend the open day, Affendi says they had only reserved one day for the Butterworth and Kuching due to budget and operational considerations.
Three Hawks from 15th Sqdn in the opening gambit
As the open day was conducted, Deputy Defence Minister Senator Liew Chin Tong who graced the opening ceremony, was given the oppportunity to fly on a Hornet. Chin Tong after the flight says he was enthused by the experience which afforded him a hands on experience on the challenges faced by RMAF flight crews.
A Nuri seemed to land on the horizontal tail of an A400M
Chin Tong flew for almost an hour, going supersonic in some parts of the flight and reached Pulau Perak along the Malacca Straits. On his return to Butterworth, the aircraft flew low over Penang, which allowed Liew to identify the landmark buildings there.
— Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (5)
Nice, Hope Deputy Enjoy his Ride in Hornets. Plus Off Topic, The Budget might 99% Smaller for Defence. Plus Marhalim, What's The News for Hornets from Kuwait ?
Too bad the Armed Forces need to do 1st hand demo with these politicians to shut them up. Gee, maybe if I make a lot of noise, the RMAF might give me a backseat ride on a MKM....
Herc & Atlas, was the public allowed to go in the cargo hold?
Reply
Yes, both were full to the brim when it was raining in the morning and the rest of the day. They also allowed people on board the CN235, Nuri and EC725
"Yes, both were full to the brim when it was raining in the morning and the rest of the day. They also allowed people on board the CN235, Nuri and EC725"...good.
Was hoping to eyeball cargo hold of Inderasakti but its restricted durin open day in Bintulu middle this year.
Reply
Probably they had a lot of stuff to bring back to Lumut as the ship was on an operational mission when it stop at Bintulu
Slightly off-topic,
US has cleared possible sale of 9 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye to Japan for $3.1 billion including spares and support
That's about $345m per aircraft