Nowy Targ 2018-07-08
10th Aviation Picnic in Nowy Targ. Nowy Targ 2018.
Once again, on 7-8 July 2018, the Aviation Picnic was held at the Nowy Targ Airport. It was the tenth, i.e. jubilee event in Nowy Targ. The event attracts more and more spectators from year to year. This year’s air show can be considered very successful. The weather was good, and most of all the viewers. It is estimated that there were about 30,000 viewers in two days. The organizers of the event aspire to make the Nowy Targ Aviation Picnic the second largest aviation event in the Republic of Poland, after the Radom Air Show.
The Nowotarski Show gathers very good pilots who fly individually and as a team, on various types of aircraft, from Poland and abroad. The organizers have provided parking spaces for the public in a separate part of the take-off area. The cost of parking was PLN 10. For motorists, there was also the possibility of parking in the city of Nowy Trag and a 10-minute walk across the meadows and footbridge over the Biały Dunajec River to the airport. Many viewers came on bicycles and motorbikes. Admission to the event was free. The weather was good. It was warm, but not hot. Maximum temperature +24 degrees Celsius.
There were numerous stalls, company stands, gastronomic stands, an amusement park for children, teenagers and slightly older people at the show. As every year, there was a stage where various bands performed and competitions were held. Toilets and a medical point were not forgotten, and information and help could be obtained from numerous volunteers. The commentators of the event showed great professionalism and knowledge, and the sound system was good.
The Nowy Targ Aviation Picnic is an event with its specificity caused by the presence of Mi-24 combat helicopters from the 56th Air Base in Inowrocław at the airport. Helicopter crews practice flights in mountainous terrain here. The 56th Air Base is a unit subordinate to the Commander of the 1st Aviation Brigade of the Land Forces. 56. The Air Base is intended to support the Air Force and its troops on the battlefield, provide command, carry out transport and liaison tasks, reconnaissance and correct artillery fire, secure the transfer of special groups and tactical landings, and conduct combat search and rescue operations in all weather conditions. In peacetime, it maintains forces and means to remove non-military threats. The unit cultivates the traditions of: 48th Fighter-Assault Aviation Regiment (1952-1962), 56th Regiment of Helicopters (1963-1973), 56th Air Force Aviation Regiment (1973-1982), 56th Combat Helicopter Regiment (1982-1996), 56th Kujawski Regiment of Combat Helicopters (1996-2011). The basic combat equipment of the unit is the Mil Mi-24 W heavy combat helicopters, with a take-off weight of 11,500 kg.
The presence of the Polish Air Force in Nowy Targ means that the picnic has two faces: civil and military. In addition to the Mil Mi-24 combat helicopters, on Saturday we could admire the CASA C-295 M nb 016 transport plane from the 8th Transport Aviation Base in Balice. The plane flew over the take-off area several times, demonstrating tight turns with a large tilt to the wing, and demonstrated high and low flight speed.
On Sunday, at Nowy Targ Airport, you could admire a pair of PZL-130 Orlik planes from the Orlik team from the Radom Base. The pilots gave a display of joint figures, including mirrored figures.
At the static exhibition, the Polish Air Force presented the Mil Mi-24 helicopter and the PZL Mi-2 helicopter. The An-2 "Viennese" plane, also associated with the Polish Army, was a supplement.
A feast for the eyes was the joint show of the Jak-3 U duo with the pilot Mateusz Strama and the XtremeAir XA-41 with the pilot Artur Kielak. We were able to freak out this duo in Krakow, but there, due to the specificity of the shows, the audience could not observe many elements of the show. For the first time, Messrs Mateusz and Artur gave a joint show this year (2018) at the Ławica Airport. Now, in Nowy Targ, the show was refined in every detail. The gentlemen prove that joint shows of various types of aircraft are very attractive. Let us recall that in 2017, Mr. Artur Kielak gave joint demonstrations with the MiG-29 combat plane, at the controls of which was Lieutenant Jacek Stolarek.
Mr. Jurgis Kairys and his Su-31 were also present in Nowy Targ. This is another visit of this world-class and famous aerobatic pilot to Nowy Targ. A man endowed with talent and humor. During his show, the hands themselves fold to applause. A week earlier, Mr. Jurgis Kairys performed in Piotrków Trybunalski during the Fly Fest.
The star of the shows was an English aerobatic group flying two Grob109b motor gliders. The Aerobatic Group is called AeroSPARX and it is composed of Guy Westgate and Rob Barsby. In Nowy Targ, the group performed in three shows. On Saturday after sunset, she presented a night show with pyrotechnic effects. The group flew to Poland straight from England. The AeroSPARX team belongs to six groups in the world (2018) that use pyrotechnic effects during their shows and one of three that do it at night. In Nowy Targ, the AeroSPARX team drew the number 100 in the sky, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining its independence. This year’s 100th anniversary is celebrating the RAF, and these are the British and they also draw the number 100 at home, but with three colored smokes – White, Red and Blue.
It was not the only night show in Nowy Targ. The Flying Dragons performed a bit early and they fly on motor paragliders with light effects. This band was already known to viewers in Nowy Targ from the previous year.
But there were also other attractions. There were evolutions of the Firebirds group and pilots: Adam Labus, Łukasz Świderski, Sebastian Nowicki. And also shows by other pilots: Krzysztof Będkowski, Marek Forystek and Piotr Starowicz. The gyroplane ZEN, Sting TL 2000, Zlin Z-37 ĆMELAK or Falcon 2000 attracted attention.
Mr. Janusz Miś demonstrated the RWD-5 R plane, which has been one of the attractions of air shows since 2012. His performance is always commented on by the audience when they learn that Stanisław Skarżyński crossed the Atlantic Ocean on such a plane. The letter "R" in the name means a replica that has been made to obtain a certificate of airworthiness in accordance with the current regulations.
Mr. Józef Wójtowicz demonstrated the Jak-18 plane, which is a flying monument and owned by the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow. This is another plane that was vividly commented on in private conversations during aviation events. We have heard such statements many times – "Your grandfather (or uncle) flew on this plane, as he was in the army".
On Saturday and Sunday, during the Picnic, those willing could take advantage of the offer of sightseeing flights over the Podhale region. As flights are always very popular, it was necessary to arrive at the airport very early and purchase a sightseeing flight. The flights lasted from 09:00 to dusk. The opportunity to see the panorama of the Tatra Mountains from the air is not often found. The cost of the flight was PLN 90 per person, and the flight time was 10-15 minutes. Flights were carried out with Cessna 172 S or Cessna A 185 F.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman