Nowy Targ 2019-09-01
11th Nowy Targ Aviation Picnic. 2019 year.
Once again, on July 6-7, 2019, the Aviation Picnic was held at the Nowy Targ Airport. It was the eleventh event of this type in Nowy Targ. The event attracts more and more spectators from year to year. This year’s show must be considered very successful. The weather was good, and most of all the viewers. It is estimated that there were approximately 40,000 viewers in two days. The organizers of the event aspire to make the Nowy Targ Aviation Picnic the largest aviation event in Southern Poland.
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. For motorists, there was also the possibility of parking in the city of Nowy Targ 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.
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 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 announcers were Messrs. Witold Sokół and Jacek Stachoń.
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. This year, the helicopters were piloted by officers: Przemysław Bielawski / Sebastian Kuc – Mi 24, Konrad Zastawny / Michał Puchalski – Mi 24.
The main organizer of the event was Aeroklub Nowotarski. "On behalf of the organizers of the 11th edition of the Nowy Targ Aviation Picnic, I would like to thank all sponsors, strategic partners and media partners, as well as all institutions and services that supported the preparation and security of the Picnic." – wrote Mr. Paweł Kos, president of the Nowy Targ Aero Club in the summary of the event. Without people like Mr. Paweł Kos, there would be no such great events in Poland.
The biggest attraction of this year’s show was the Lockheed Martin F-16 Jastrząb nb 4041 plane, flown by a pilot from the Tiger Demo Team, Colonel Dominik Duda. The Jastrząb plane was in Nowy Targ for the first time. The flight of a military plane over Nowy Targ was a great attraction of the event and made the Nowy Targ Aviation Picnic one of the most interesting events in Podhale.
The next participant of the picnic was the Antonov An-2 "Viennese" plane No. 1G7447, which has been taking part in picnics in Nowy Targ for several years. The Viennese was handed over to the Polish Aviation Museum in 2012, thus definitely ending service at the 8th Transport Aviation Base in Balice.
Among the aerobatic pilots, one should mention Mr. Łukasz Czepiel. The first Polish pilot of the Red Bull Air Race. Mr Łukasz recently made his fame by landing on the Sopot pier with the Carbon-Cup. The pilot flies the Edge 540 TK. The Edge 540TK aerobatic and racing plane is the most powerful plane of this class in Poland: weight 640 kg, 350 KM, 1 Max speed 410 km / h, rotation speed around the longitudinal axis of the plane is 420 degrees / sec. The only Edge 540 in Poland, used for Red Bull Air Race races. The plane was brought to Poland in March 2017.
The next aerobatic pilot was Mr. Maciej Pospieszyński, who has been flying the Extra 330 LC for two years. Mr. Maciej could be admired this year at many aviation events. Mr. Maciej, thanks to training, talent and love for acrobatics, won the world’s most important aviation trophies. In 5 years he won about 15 medals of the World and European Championships.
The next aerobatic pilot was a guest from Hungary, Mr. Zoltan Veres, who piloted the MX-2 plane.
The Czech aerobatic team The Flying Bulls was also in Nowy Targ. The pilots are: Stanislav Cejka, Jan Tvrdik, Jan Rudzinskyj, Miroslav Krejci.
There was also a Bölkow B0-105 helicopter piloted by Mr. Maciej Dominiak in Nowy Targ.
Another participant of this year’s picnic was the already known Boeing Stearman No. 1204. Mr. Marek Forystek sat at the controls. The Boeing Stearman was built in 1941 in Wichita, USA. The plane arrived in Poland in 2013.
Photo report.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman