On the two days of the Beja Air Show 2024 (BAS24) it is believed that close to 150 thousand people will be looking at the blue sky and a scorching sun that can surpass the 35 degrees, and among this crowd are hundreds of spotters, who travel from different parts of the world, like the case of two Spaniards, coming from Andalusia.
Jesus Walarcon, 64 year old, retired, resident in Granada, a 458 kilometers from Beja and Francisco Perez, 25 year old, physical education student, living in CĂłrdoba, a 356 kilometers from the city Alentejo, are two of the photography lovers of the “steel birds”. The two Spanish cities are separated by a long 170 kilometers, but the two look more like father and son, the distance being shortened by the same passions, photography and planes and for belonging to a collective of fifty photographers called Associação Spoting AndalucĂa (SO).
Yesterday, from outside the Air Base (BA11) 11, attended training sessions 25 aircraft on display, including five aerobatic patrols and observed the Hungarian Air Force's powerful Saab JAS39 Gripen, It was at Uncle Augusto's Tavern, in the village of SĂŁo Brissos, just over 400 meters from the Beja Civil Aeronautical Terminal (TCB) e a 800 meters from the military unit, who were studying the strategy to get the best photographs tomorrow and Sunday.
Jesus already experienced the Beja Air Show live 2022 and Lidador News (LN) confided: “this is the best military aircraft program in the Iberian Peninsula. I follow the combat pilot program at the Albacete Base, Spain, o Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP), but it doesn't compare to BAS24. It’s truly exciting”, summed up.
Retired from the road transport sector spends a lot of money every month to feed his passion. “I have already spent on equipment 5 a 6 thousand euros. On this journey of almost 1000 kilometers I will spend at least 500 euros”, justified.
By your side of Chuss, the frail Fran, future physical education teacher, reveals that his passion for airplanes has family roots: “my great-grandfather was a pilot in the Ejército del Aire, the Spanish Air Force, and I was almost born between the two-winged wings”, added that photographing the castles, the sun and the moon, with a frame of planes “leave me in ecstasy”, resume.
They have shared friendship for three years and at BAS24 they will do close 5000 photographs to later publish among 150 a 200 on Facebook and in the ASA PDF digital magazine on Tuesday. Yesterday the duo slept in Vidigueira and the plan for today was defined: get up at six o'clock, half an hour later the departure and at 07:00 at the gunport of BA11 to be the first.
F-35A fighter exposed for the first time in public
For the first time, Portugal will have the exhibition of a 5th generation fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II of the United States Air Force.
Beyond the F-35 stealth fighter, Mirage foreign military aircraft will be present 2000 from France and another from Greece, Hungarian JAS-39C Gripen, Swiss F-5 (Swiss Patrol), Romanian F-16, Eurofighter Typhoon da Espanha, in addition to NATO's Boeing E-3F.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
